Friday, December 31, 2021

The Wonderful Weirdness of Water

 

Narrated by Neil Gaiman.

Omicron Death

Matt Taibbi on how pandemic scare-coverage reached new heights, or depths, with Omicron. The article notes that Omicron "'reduces two doses of Pfizer to 30 percent effectiveness with AstraZeneca potentially down to zero.'" Supposedly boosters may "restore effectiveness to 75 percent." 

Basically the variant reduces the efficacy of the shots to a coin-flip but with the specter of the vaccine side-effects as your wildcard. All for a variant which has been described as equal to getting a cold. No DEATHS have been reported worldwide from Omicron.

Also really liked the killer bees analogy.  

John Madden

Some good John Madden stories.

If the deal with EA Sports did pay him $100,000 and 5% of sales of his video game (130 million copies were sold) - John Madden must have made much more from the video game than he made in broadcasting. And he was the highest paid broadcaster in the sport.

Farnam Street Knowledge

Sowing Winds and Reaping Whirlwinds

VDH on how the hubris of the Left has summoned nemesis

I take some comfort in the litany of examples of hypocrisy because more and more have become aware of the problems being created, the root of these issues and who is responsible.

And the pendulum is swinging back. Karma is a bitch! 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of disciple or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." - Jim Rohn

"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." - Immanuel Kant

"Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion."  - Steve Jobs

"Knowledge is a skyscraper. You can take a shortcut with a fragile foundation of memorization, or building upon the steel frame of understanding." - Naval Ravikant

If Only They Could Make This a Law

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Jocko Willink - Good

 

A message you need to hear or re-hear every once in a while.

Interesting or Scary?

Interesting scary look at why there is currently no fully authorized COVID-19 vaccine available in the US today.  Even more scary is the evidence that Big Pharma is using children "as legal human shields for their products."

The word Pfizer needs to become a dirty curse word in polite society. 

Notre Dame's New Head Coach Marcus Freeman

Nice profile on Marcus Freeman by Pete Thamel.

How could you not like and root for this guy? I'm a fan. 

COVID Skepticism Isn't About Science

Found this article articulates and mirrors my thoughts and experiences with COVID very closely.  Especially this point:

And can you honestly claim that any of the FDA, the CDC, the WHO, or your state government actually deserve our deference and respect at this point?

I see the lack of trust going forward as perhaps the one main benefit to this whole situation. These people have shown they cannot be trusted. Remember that!

HT Execupundit

Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

If you haven't already - please subscriber (it's FREE!). Also feel free to hit that Like button and if anything made you smile or think - please share with others.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well." - Georg Grey

"Success is the product of daily habits - not once-in-a-lifetime transformation." - James Clear

"A happy person isn't someone who's happy all the time. It's someone who effortlessly interprets events in such a way that they don't lose their innate peace." - Naval Ravikant

"Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things." - G.K. Chesterton 

Find Something Beautiful Today

Chicago, the Northern Lights, and the Milky Way taken from the ISS (Photo Via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

How Fast is Starlink Broadband?

 Interesting update on SpaceX's Starlink broadband speeds:

The median download speed seen by users of SpaceX Starlink satellite broadband in the U.S. in the third quarter was 87.25 Mbps, according to Okkla, provider of a widely used speed test app. That was a decline from the second quarter, when Starlink users saw a median download speed of 97.23 Mbps.

Common sense tells you that the more congested a network gets the slower it goes but a 10% drop is significant. How much will these speeds degrade is the question. Also, equally or more importantly, is the question of upload speeds which was not addressed in the update.

Scott Adams


 

"Our collective awareness is now almost high enough to realize no one used reason to make their vaccination decision. Fear made all of our decisions and we rationalized it after the fact. To imagine otherwise is a denial of what science knows about decision-making."


John Madden

 

Football icon John Madden has passed away. The man went to more Super Bowls than Tom Brady (1 as coach and 11 as broadcaster) and had the best selling sports video game of all-time named after him.

Here's an interesting interview from earlier this year on what Madden thought about the video game and how he watched NFL games once he stopped broadcasting

Here's an excellent SI profile of Madden from almost 40-years ago. The article really brought you the essence of the man. The story of his kindness to Darryl Stingley is one of the first things I thought of when I saw the news of his passing.

John Madden was one of a kind. There will never be another.

Five Tips from Tom Peters

Five tips from Tom Peters.

Solid life advice.  Most of his advice can be boiled down to, "Excellence is the next five minutes." That in no way belittles the other advice - it is just that that one statement is so powerful if you take it to heart. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"If you're not seeking approval, they have no power." - Shane Parrish

"The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. And the first to forget is the happiest." - Unknown

"Keep your attention focused entirely on what is your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours." - Epictetus

"Don't brand yourself. You want to be the kind of person others brand while you keep learning, improving, and moving forward. It's hard to be true to yourself when you've tied yourself to an idea that, years ago, you thought was your best." - Neil Strauss

Reminder

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Heh Heh


Via

Find Something Beautiful Today

The Milky Way over Stonehenge (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

China's Reform Generation Adapts to Life in the Middle Class

Interesting read by an American who taught English in China as he catches up with some students who are now entering middle-age and for many what would be considered the middle-class. I found the article interesting for its look behind the curtain aspect of life in China. Reading with a critical eye - I did not find it flattering to either China or the CCP.

The former teacher used Shakespeare in his class and he describes one Juliet who is enjoying "a successful post-Romeo career with the local government bureau that managed the one-child policy." And a Hamlet who "joined the Communist Party, moved to Tibet, and became a cadre in the Propaganda Department." 

His former students came of age under the changes in China initiated in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping's Reform and Opening policy that led to the boom years of the late 1990's and 2000's. Policies that also led to "the largest internal migration in human history, as more than a quarter of a billion people moved from the countryside to the cities."

The author gives numerous examples of his students whose lives changed when a sibling was disabled and the student had to move or financially kick in a portion of his salary to support the family members effected. Yet many of the people now nearing retirement age - which in China is 60 for men and 55 for women - were subject to the "one child" policy so the burden of support in retirement may fall to the government. And with the people aged 45 to 49 being the most numerous in China - could a potential "unfunded mandate" crisis be looming for the Chinese government?

With the crackdown under Xi Jinping "Chinese officials have become a class apart" but with so many in China having seen or tasted the benefits of middle class life - will the crackdowns just breed resentment under the surface? And with kids coming of age today hoping to become a "cadre in the Propaganda Department" instead of the next Jack Ma - how supportable is the Chinese system over time?

I don't think the Chinese economy is as strong as some may believe it to be.

Farnam Street Knowledge

Principles for Living: An Operating System for Life 

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Government does not exist to make us equal, but to treat us equally. It does not exist to make life fair, but to treat us fairly." - Andrew Klavan

"A book that burns in your belly - something that has to be written before you can go on to something else." - Teddy White (on what makes a "bestseller")

"If you are lonely when you are alone, you are in bad company." - Jean Paul Sartre

"In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, 'Au revoir gopher.'" - Carl Spackler Greenskeeper

Truth

Monday, December 27, 2021

Zen Things

HT Steve Layman

Monday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Please subscribe, hit the Like button or share with others. Greatly appreciated. 

Problems with the COVID Narrative

Two stories of note that cause major issues with the COVID narrative:

First - "New figures out of England show that 65% of people described as 'COVID patients' only tested positive for COVID after being admitted to hospital for something else." My first thought was that people were asymptomatic and were later found to have COVID but as the article points out it is more likely the patients were exposed to COVID after they got to the hospital. Either way this is an indication that the COVID statistics are way out of whack.

Second - first responders are coming forward having "witnessed a surge of young people experiencing severe health problems after receiving COVID shots. Some reports project that the VAERS numbers are underreported by a factor of 5. 

We've politicized medicine and science. 

Tool Libraries

Fascinated by the idea of a "tool library" as a business. 

Have a friend Jimmy whose entire basement is filled with tools. Power tools for every type of job. Jimmy's a carpenter but can do pretty much any sort of household project (plumbing, electrical, etc. - and I highly recommend him if you're in the Central Mass area). But I can't stop thinking that Jimmy could start a tool library.

$150 a year membership which gets you free coffee or beer (make coffee daily and have a keg of beer tapped at all times) and also a discount on the tool "borrowing fee." Say drop the daily rate from $15 to $10 for members. Members also get to put their tools out for lending and get to keep half of the "borrowing fee" for any tools that gets lent out. The coffee and beer would make the "library" a place people would hang out and talk shop. 

May have to talk to Jimmy about this. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm."- Publilius Syrus

"Luck favors the relentless." - Shane Parrish

"It is our knowledge - things we are sure of - that makes the world go wrong and keeps us from seeing and learning." - Lincoln Steffens

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." - Lao Tzu

Heh Heh

Sunday, December 26, 2021

I So Wanted This to Be True


Via

Apache Log4j Bug

 Yeah - that's Greek to me but I understand that it's serious. Borepatch has a post on how serious it is.

What intrigued me was this article, "Notify vendors first about security flaws is a cybersecurity industry norm, but a new law encourages Chinese companies to first notify the government."

Why would the CCP want to know about security issues before they are reported to the public if not to exploit them? Don't trust China - China is asshole!

The Lost Art of Reflection

Steven Pressfield on the value of keeping a journal.

 With so many people recommending keeping a journal. I just may make that my New Year's resolution.

Heh Heh

Democrats Insist that True Vaccines Haven't Been Tried Yet.

The Babylon Bee is the best!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"The trouble with conspiracy theories is that, when seen in isolation (particularly without broader context), they follow impeccable logic." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"Events are in the saddle, and ride mankind." - George Ball

"If COVID quarantine is a foretaste of retirement, I'm not retiring." - Amity Shales

"The science of today is the technology of tomorrow." - Edward Teller

Barney Miller, New York City and the Jets

The more things change - the more they stay the same; from the Barney Miller episode Hot Dogs in 1976:

Chano: When people lose faith in government it leads to anarchy. You know what anarchy is?
Yamana: That's when people run around doing what they feel like doing. Like the Jets.

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Naval on the Meaning of Life

@Jack Blocked on Twitter

Amused by the story of Marc Andreessen blocking Jack Dorsey on Twitter because of Jack's Web3 comments

I wonder if Jack would have been blocked if he were still CEO of Twitter but angered by Jack's comment that he's against "corporate controlled lies." This from the guy who founded a platform that censored any mention of Hunter Biden's laptop. Jack has been given a pass by too many people.

I too have blocked @Jack. Merry Christmas ya filthy bearded animal.

The Christmas Truce

 

A touching reminder of the meaning of Christmas. And if you watch till the end a reminder on the fleeting nature of life. Memento mori.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it." - Mike Tyson

 "A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." - Montaigne

"You are the only person who cares about your excuses." - Shane Parrish

"At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box." - Italian Proverb

Merry Christmas

Friday, December 24, 2021

Find Something Beautiful Today

A beautiful tiny library (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Story Worth Remembering

Here's a touching story worth your notice.

We hear these tales - time after time. If you have ears to listen and eyes to see - how can you still be in favor of imprisoning aquatic mammals in places like Sea World? 

Christmas Eve Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations on the day before Christmas.

As always - if anything I wrote made you smile or think please subscribe (it's FREE!), share with others, or hit the Like button.

Monet's Snowy Scene

Hoping for a white Christmas. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Comparison, a great teacher once told me, is the cardinal sin of modern life. It traps us in a game that we can't win. Once we define ourselves in terms of others, we lose the freedom to shape our own lives." - James Collins 

"If you diet, invest, and think according to what the 'news' advocates, you'll end up nutritionally, financially, and morally bankrupt." - Naval Ravikant

"Hey! It's Enrico Palazzo!" - Anonymous Fan 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Americans

Thursday, December 23, 2021

He Makes a Good Point

Via
 

Find Something Beautiful Today

Pemaquid Lighthouse in Maine photo via. Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit. I've taken photos of this lighthouse but nowhere close to this stunning.

Poker and Crypto and House Money

Interesting article on the similarities between the poker boom and the crypto explosion and how "the house money effect" comes into play.

"The house money effect is a theory used to explain the tendency of investors to take greater risk when reinvesting profit earned through investing than they would when investing  their savings or wages."

Can attest that this is 100% true. When playing poker with my buddies - if I'm up I often go into ATC (any two cards) mode. I know it's technically bad poker but it also makes me unpredictable. For me it adds an extra level of enjoyment maybe because of the risk of playing bad hands (including "the hammer" - 7-2 off-suit). 

It would be interesting to look back on some of those grinders who became online poker millionaires and how they are doing financially today. It should also be noted that the federal government ended the online poker boom through legislation known as Black Friday in the poker world. Could there be a Black Friday coming in the crypto world? And are people prepared for it?

Variety - Inside China and Hollywood's Frayed Relationship

A second major Hollywood news source talks about China no longer being a cash cow for Hollywood. 

"...2022 will be a chapter marked not only by bilateral friction between superpowers, but by the Chinese film industry's decoupling from the broader global film industry as a whole, as the country turns inward under President Xi Jinping." 

Found the use of the word "decoupling" interesting. Any US firm still doing business with China should already be decoupling. It also seems Hollywood has awoken to the fact that Winnie the Pooh Xi Jinping will only allow domestically produced propaganda.

Maybe Hollywood will go back to making films that weren't America hating? Don't hold your breath.

A Christmas Carol

"Spirit! are they yours?" Scrooge asked, horrified. He could say no more.

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, "and they cling to me, appearing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, but most of all beware the boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."

- Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"The only problem with capitalism is that it works so well that people think they don't need it." - Dan Held

"An infected mind is a far more dangerous pestilence than any plague - one only threatens your life, the other destroys your character." - Marcus Aurelius

"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more." - Jonas Salk

"I'm old enough to remember when chicken soup, ginger ale and rest were prescribed for the flu instead of communism." - Mattea Merta

Santa Was a Badass

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Find Something Beautiful Today

The Ring Nebula via. Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

South Park on NFT's

Farnam Street Knowledge

The Common Denominator of Success.

"The common denominator of success - secret of success of every individual who has ever been successful - lies in the fact that he or she formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.

It's just as true as it sounds and it's just as simple as it seems."

Long read but worth it. Lot's of truth and good practical advice such as, "Every single qualification for success is acquired through habit. People form habits and habits form futures."

Metaphor I Enjoyed

Nature is behaving with us like that elderly rabbi to whom two men went to settle a dispute. Having listened to the first, the rabbi says: "You are in the right." The second insists on being heard. The rabbi listens to him and says: "You're also right." Having overheard from the next room, the rabbi's wife then calls out, "But they can't both be in the right!" The rabbi reflects and nods before concluding: "And you're right too." - from Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

The metaphor was used in relation to General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics but can be used in many instances. Often I can really relate to the old rabbi.


Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder." - Kinky Friedman

"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." - Immanuel Kant

"I don't get my news from CNN for the same reason I don't eat out of the toilet." - Roger Stone

"When setting out on a journey, do not seek advice from those who have never left home." - Rumi

Merry Christmas from Your Lawyer

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

It's A Wonderful Life (in 30 Seconds)

It's a Wonderful Life in 30 seconds.

And recreated by bunnies. 

A Splash of Vodka on Everything - But NO Wire Hangers (or Hippies)

Hollywood's Relationship with China Has Cooled

"You have to lower your ideals of freedom if you want to suck on the warm teat of China." - South Park

Well I guess the first step is admitting you have a problem

As the article states, "Hollywood has lost any semblance of a moral high ground," which assumes Hollywood ever held the moral high ground in the first place (they did not). To be clear in this "relationship" Hollywood was the whore and Xi Jinping the John who no longer desires her company.

Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

As always - if anything made you smile or think please Subscribe (it's Free!), share with others, or hit the Like button. Much appreciated.

NHL Participation in Beijing Olympics "Highly Unlikely"

The latest COVID outbreak is the reason why logistically the NHL probably won't be having players participate.

I like to think once the decision is made some players will speak up about being morally conflicted about playing in China in the first place (although I won't hold my breath because realistically their countrymen will still be there and why cause issues for them).

No matter to me - I won't be watching.

Crony Beliefs

Interesting look at our different beliefs and why we believe them. The essay introduces "merit beliefs" and "crony beliefs." I like the idea that "the greater our urge to talk about a belief, to wear it like a badge, the more likely it is to be crony." That would explain vegans and why they are so vocal about explaining they're vegan.

On a more global basis I also like the idea that "social incentives are the root of all our biggest thinking errors." 

Long read but worth the time. If you believe in "good explanations" - this one fits the bill.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Disagreement is not oppression. Argument is not assault. Words - even provocative or repugnant ones - are not violence. The answer to speech we do not like is more speech." - Douglas Murray

"A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others." - Confucius

"The more the Internet exposes people to new points of view, the angrier people get that different views exist." - Benedict Evans

"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto them that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." - Book of Proverbs

Modern Christmas Carol

 

Monday, December 20, 2021

Darth Trump

Find Something Beautiful Today

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit

The FBI is Corrupt

Time to tear the whole thing down and start from scratch? Its become clear over the past few years that there are two sets of laws in this country. One set for the rich and politically connected and another for ordinary Americans. 

The Lost MMA Diary of Anthony Bourdain

For years, the chef and TV star posted anonymously to a martial-arts forum on Reddit - but his voice was too singular to go undetected for long.

Gone way too young.

A Few Good Questions from Morgan Housel

Morgan Housel poses some good questions worth pondering - such as:

"What do I think is true but is actually just good marketing?"

"Which of my current views would change if my incentives were different?"

HT to Steve Layman. Normally on top of Housel's postings but somehow this one slipped through.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "Jill Biden has the same degree as Bill Cosby." - Dan McLaughlin

"You get paid linearly for analyzing and solving problems and non-linearly for spotting and seizing opportunities." - Shane Parrish

"I'm not afraid of the media. Why should anyone listen to the media? Who are these people? What makes them experts? What have they accomplished?" - Dana White

"There's one thing worse than change and that's the status quo." - John Le Carre

Bastogne


On this day in 1944, the 101st Airborne is surrounded at Bastogne. Here's VDH on the Battle of the Bulge from a couple of years ago. Guessing the 101st Airborne may argue over the importance of General Patton coming to their "rescue."

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Situation Many Find Themselves In

NSA Employee of the Month

Dean Martin - The Coolest Cat Who Ever Lived

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"When immigration is done by single individuals, it is immigration. When done by groups, it is invasion." - Nassim Taleb

"But test and prove all things until you can recognize what is good; to that hold fast." - 1 Thessalonians 5:21

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer

"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said Let us pray. We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land." - Desmond Tutu

Good King Wenceslas

 

Good King Wenceslas one of my favorite Christmas carols. Did you know that he was a real person and that on September 28, 935 AD he was killed by his brother? Now maybe you can think of that cheery fact this Christmas when you hear the tune. At least you can take comfort in thinking no matter how stressful your family gatherings are at least you probably won't be killed by one of your siblings.

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Cheers to a Merrier World

The Entire Bay Area Has Become a Large Declining Tech Company

Peter Yared discusses how San Francisco and the Bay Area in general have become similar to a large declining tech company.  He documents five categories of similarities between San Fran and Yahoo!:

1. The monoculture and the shunning of heretics

2. The declining brand and the power of buzz

3. The empty campus and petty crime

4. The people who leave and the people who stay

5. The shenanigans with finances and metrics

Very insightful and accurate comparisons. And the conclusion is spot on; "The Bay Area needs the equivalent: people who know how to grow a metropolitan area, build housing and infrastructure, and attract new business. The problem is that the voters have to vote for a change agent, and the change agents are all moving to Miami."

The Absurd Covid Rules (and Rulemakers) Should Be Mocked

Adam Carolla praised for mocking Covid tyrants.

There are some comedians who will not hesitate to mock these ridiculous rules - think Dave Chappelle and Joe Rogan for just two examples. I'm guessing Rogan will have at least 20 good minutes devoted to the subject in his next special. 

I miss Norm Macdonald - he never hesitated to mock the ridiculousness.   

Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

As always please subscribe (it's FREE!), hit the Like button or share with others. Thanks in advance. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "Me and my wife were happy for 20 years. Then we met." - Rodney Dangerfield

"When it comes to medicine and nutrition, subtract before you add." - Naval Ravikant 

"Truth is revealed by wine and children." - Plato

"You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." - Marcus Aurelius

A Very Calvin and Hobbes Christmas

Friday, December 17, 2021

Still Awesome

Why Billionaire's Row in NYC is Half-Empty

 
Found this video fascinating.

Heh Heh - Perfect!


 Via

It's Time to End "Emergency" COVID-19 Powers

Agree 100% with Glenn Reynolds on this.

My city has a mask mandate but most places don't enforce it. If I go to a restaurant that does - I go to another restaurant. Something with a 99.9% recovery percentage is not an emergency and it's time we all recognized that fact.

Fauci delenda est.

California Could Screw Anything Up

The legal weed market in California (of all places) may be on the verge of collapsing

High taxes, crime (and associated high security costs), and cheaper illegal options are cited as the major causes. I don't buy the "pot desert" excuse. Local communities that don't issue cannabis licenses probably weren't big markets anyway (nothing like a vote on cannabis to get pot smokers involved in a local vote for the first time).

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Leonardo da Vinci

"Actually we're better when we're sober... But it's not as much fun... So we get drunk." - Shane MacGowan

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." - Marie Curie

"I'm not upset that you lied to me; I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Annie Lennox

 

One of my favorites sung by a great, great singer.

Thursday, December 16, 2021

One of My Favorite Venn Diagrams

Good Question


Via

Cracked Icons

VDH on how we are slowly returning to reality after four years of mass hysteria. "Our media-deified, progressive icons are finally being exposed as the deceivers they always were."

Agree 100%. Hopefully this time people will have longer memories and not be fooled a second time by similar charlatans. 

Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up at Substack.

 As always - if anything made you smile or think please subscribe (it's FREE), hit the Like button or share with others (on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or email the link to a friend). Thanks in advance.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Have we reached the ultimate stage of absurdity where some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, while other people are not held responsible for what they themselves are doing today?" - Thomas Sowell

"The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately." - Seneca

"It is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are those least suited to do it... Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." - Douglas Adams 

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is." - Albert Einstein

Season's Greetings from Bill Belichick

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

London Calling

This week in 1979 The Clash released their third studio album London Calling. One of the great albums of all-time.

Today also happens to be the 66th birthday of Clash bass player Paul Simonon. It is Simonon who is pictured smashing his bass guitar on the cover of London Calling.

Happy birthday Paul!

Find Something Beautiful Today

The "Spanish Dancer" galaxy 40 million light years from Earth (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

America's Broadband Mapping/Access Problem

 
I'm in the industry and this is a pretty good explanation of our broadband availability problem. It really only scratches the surface. For example - NY State says their State is 100% covered because people in really rural areas have access to satellite based broadband.

Heh Heh - Senator Karen

Elon Musk is the best!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." - Jonathan Swift

"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." - Eckhart Tolle

"The bully is the man who acts on the assumption that he will not have to fight." - GK Chesterton

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." - Marcus Aurelius

Still One of My Favorites

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Heh Heh

Great Protocol Politics

The 21st century doesn't belong to China, the United States, or Silicon Valley. It belongs to the internet.  Interesting article by Parag Khanna and Balaji Srinivasan. 

They look at 10 ways in which the world is transitioning from an age of geopolitics to one of "techno-politics" - in specific crypto currencies and Web3.

Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

I have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up at Substack.

As always - if anything I wrote makes you smile or think - please share the post, subscribe or hit the Like button. Thanks in advance. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"I don't want to believe. I want to know." - Carl Sagan

"The number of people who think US Senate seats are gerrymandered never ceases to amaze me." - Thomas Massie

"The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushcev

"Never regret anything that made you smile." - Mark Twain

Give the Gift of Life


Monday, December 13, 2021

Good Books

 "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." - Mark Twain

Morgan Housel with a list of book recommendations. I've read 3 of the books on the list (Tribe, Breath, and Born Standing Up) and of the remaining 14 books - I will putting all of the ones I haven't read on my wish list except Seinfeldia - no interest. 

Find Something Beautiful Today

Royal Portuguese Reading Room via. Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit

He's Still the Bad Guy


 Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - George Elliot 

"The most important trick to be happy is to realize that happiness is a choice you make and as skill set that you develop. You choose to be happy, and then you work at it. It's just like building muscles." - Naval Ravikant

"Writing comes easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank piece of paper until your forehead bleeds." - Douglas Adams

You Call It Magic But I Call It Physics

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Find Something Beautiful Today

Photo via. Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Woke Got What It Wanted - Now What?

Your periodic dose of reality from VDH. I really hope people have long memories when it comes to what these people are doing to our country.

And rooting for karma does not make me a bad person.

Farnam Street Knowledge


 Love, Happiness, and Time.

The word "grateful" doesn't appear in the essay but it should have - because a "grateful mindset" is what is really being discussed.

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Vision without execution is hallucination." - Walter Isaacson

"If you open your mind too much - you brain will fall out." - Tim Minchin

"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet." - Gandhi

"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." - Psalm 82: 3-4

America Today

The saying a decade ago was:

America is not at war. The Marine Corps are at war. America is at the mall.

Today the saying may as well be:

America is not at war. Communist China is at war. America is on lockdown.