Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Einstein and Moral Relativism

From Paul Johnson's Modern Times - a description of the unintended impact of Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

At the beginning of the 1920s the belief began to circulate, for the first time at a popular level, that there were no longer any absolutes: of time and space, of good and evil, of knowledge, above all of value. Mistakenly but perhaps inevitably, relatively became confused with relativism.

...He [Einstein] lived to see moral relativism, to him a disease, become a social pandemic, just as he lived to see his fatal equation bring into existence nuclear warfare.

Andrew Carnegie on Socialism


"The Socialist or Anarchist who seeks to overturn present conditions is to be regarded as attacking the foundations upon which civilization itself rests, for civilization took its start from the day when the capable, industrious workman said to his incompetent, lazy fellow, 'if thou dost not sow, thou shall not reap.'" - Andrew Carnegie

Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

Apropos of nothing but Donald Sutherland was never nominated for an Academy Award. To help balance the universe for that injustice please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share with others. Do so and although I'm not sure it will make Donald Sutherland feel better - I know it will help me feel better.   

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money." - Moliere

 "Limit yourself to the present." - Marcus Aurelius

"Subordinating your ego is the ultimate form of self-confidence." - Jocko Willink

"Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it." - Sir Henry Royce

Slavery

On this date in 1865 the Congress voted to end slavery. The vote was 119 "yea" and 56 "nay" with 8 Congressmen not voting. It should be noted that every Republican Congressman voted to end slavery (along with 14 Democrats). Of the 56 "nay" votes 50 and all of the not voting (the voting "present" of the day) came from the Democrats.

Just something to keep in mind when you hear the Republicans are the "racist" party.

Monday, January 30, 2023

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Archaeologists discover 1.2 million year old "workshop" in mind blowing find. Discovery pushes use of tools by hominids back by half a million years!

- Louis CK "uncancels" himself.

- Why the Real Thing Matters

- Scientists struggle to understand why Antarctica hasn't warmed in 70-years despite rise in CO2 

A Subtle but Important Distinction

Via

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The odds of dying from various accidents in the US

The Chat AI wars have begun. Predict that legacy corporate media will be upset that people are getting their fake news elsewhere and Google's ad revenue to be hardest hit.

- Mystic chords of memory: Learning from the American story. (From the archives)

- You will never look at McDonald's fries the same again. WTF Japan?

Is This How Douglas Adams Came Up with 42?

Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"For those who expect everything, there are many curses. For those who appreciate everything, there are many blessings." - James Clear

"Forgive your enemies but never forget their names." - John F. Kennedy

"In a democracy, we have always had to worry about the ignorance of the uneducated. Today we have to worry about the ignorance of people with college degrees." - Thomas Sowell

"The next generation will believe that Elon Musk invented social media, rockets, and founded our country." - Louis CK

Pretty Much Sums it Up

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Sometimes History Rhymes

Took the liberty of changing a single word ("war") from a paragraph found in Paul Johnson's Modern Times to the word "pandemic" and also changed the date. But the meaning remains eerily the same:

Thus the war Pandemic demonstrated both the impressive speed with which the modern state could expand itself and the inexhaustible appetite which it thereupon developed both for the destruction of its enemies and for the exercise of despotic power over its own Citizens. As the war Pandemic ended, there were plenty of sensible men who understood the gravity of these developments. But could the clock be turned back to where it had stood in July 1914 March 2020? Indeed did anyone wish to turn it back?

Other Side of Town - John Prine

Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Gerard Van der Leun: December 26, 1945 - January 27, 2023. Memento mori. Hug your loved ones and seize the day. Think Gerard would also want you to love and protect your country.

- The billionaires coming for your gas boiler. America was able to reduce our carbon emissions through the use of natural gas - people who say they want to ban natural gas for the environment are scammers plain and simple.

- The Motley Fool looks at why Tesla stock seems in good shape. "Tesla's total revenue grew by 37% year over year, and net income increased by 59%." Its EV production rate is also expected to increase by 40% in 2023. Sounds like a good investment.

- Alex Berenson v Joseph Biden et al. This is a lawsuit to keep an eye on.

Good Advice

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires." - James Clear

 "I feel a great comfort and relief knowing that there were others who lived and died and thought and fought so long ago; I feel less tyrannized by the present day." - Iggy Pop

"Authority has always attracted the lowest elements in the human race. All through history mankind has been bullied by scum." - P.J. O'Rourke

"Neil deGrasse Tyson is the go-tp scientist for people who wear masks in public parks." - Jordan Schachel

LBJ Orders Pants

Saturday, January 28, 2023

NFL Championship Sunday

 

There's many making comparisons of Brock Purdy to Tom Brady and the Patriots magical 2001 season. I too see a comparison to that season but its in the way Philadelphia may be overconfident in the outcome of the Championship game they are hosting similar to how so overconfident the Steelers were when hosting New England in 2001. Pittsburgh even went so far as to start giving out travel advice to New Orleans to their fans. That's not to say I think the 49ers will win - just that the game is giving off similar vibes.

As far as the Bengals vs Chiefs in the AFC  - who would be surprised if either team won? Same is true in the NFC. Should be some good football on Sunday.

Heh Heh

HT Feral Irishman

You Know (or Should Know) Who We're Talking About

Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.  

"Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well." - Jack London

"Thought precedes action as lightning precedes thunder."- Heinrich Heine

"Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe." - James Clear

"God is a comedian with an audience that is afraid to laugh." - Voltaire

12 Fucking Rules for Success

Friday, January 27, 2023

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- How Beautiful We Were. An example of how gifted Gerard wrote. 

- Sinclair's sports channels prepare for bankruptcy. This is bad news for sports TV rights and for smaller market teams in general. An ongoing story to keep an eye on.

- How Tim Ferriss changed (and continues to impact) how people look at "work," 

- The definition of a badass

Agree 100%

 
Via

Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Kurt Vonnegut's letter to school children just a few months before his death.

- Elon Musk reveals "secret" Twitter labels still causing shadowbans on conservatives. Guessing Elon has a crack team going through the code line by line. 

- My personal favorite version of America the Beautiful

- Gabe Kaplan to retire as High Stakes Poker commentator. What a versatile guy. Standup comedian, TV star, expert poker player, and perhaps the best poker commentator ever. Also was a heck of a pick-up basketball player when younger.

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"It's impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." - Epictetus

"The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there." - Vince Lombardi

"It's funny how everyone agrees that Facebook is called Meta now, but nobody really believes Google is Alphabet." - Noah Smith

"In a better world we'd get to hear what Michael Crichton and Christopher Hitchens had to say about the WEF." - Joel Engel

France Has it Right on Nuclear Power

Via

Thursday, January 26, 2023

British Government Data Reveal Similar Covid Hospitalization Rates in Vaccinated and Unvaccinated

"The British government had data in October showing nearly identical rates of Covid hospitalizations in vaccinated and unvaccinated people during the summer 2022 Omicron wave." 

"In some age and risk groups, vaccinated people had higher rates of hospitalization than the unjabbed."

The data also show that mRNA boosters are now among the most expensive and useless public health interventions ever tried on healthy adults under 50. That calculation applies even [at] the $30 a jab price paid by the government and even without accounting for any side effects.

Adding in the side effects and sudden deaths make the vaccine interventions monstrous. Alex Berenson continues to do yeoman's work coving the needle and the damage done.

Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

I feel the need, the need for speed having people Subscribe (it's FREE), hit the Like button, and share with others. It's what Goose would have wanted. 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Wow - talk about dark predictions for Russia's future.

- The Top 50 most visited websites in the world. Google and YouTube have more daily traffic than the next 48 sites combined! 

- A much more uplifting thread 

- The Devil's Lettuce

Life Advice from F. Scott Fitzgerald

Via

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you. 

"Professional athletes are not paid to play, they're paid to WIN." - Bill Russell

"Wisdom is foreseeing the consequences." - Shane Parrish

"Sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without passport; whereas Virtue, if  a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers." - Herman Melville

"No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognizes it as such." - Sigmund Freud

Sad but True

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Heh Heh

HT Some It's Just as Well

Apocalypse Now - Ride of the Valkyries

 
Charlie don't surf!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Adult Swim cuts ties with Justin Roiland after charges of domestic abuse. Rick and Morty set to continue with the voices of Roiland (both Rick and Morty) to be recast. The show will never be the same.

- Tesla announces $3.6 billion investment in Nevada. New power cell and Tesla Semi Gigafactories to employ 3,000 additional workers. 

- Interesting - partnership between Stripe and Amazon increases. Basically Stripe becomes Amazon's defacto payments platform for the US, Europe and Asia while Stripe will expand its usage of Amazon's web services for all of Stripes cloud needs.

- Cool - DARPA to create X-Plane with no exterior moving parts. The cynic in me asks, "Doesn't that basically explain how a paper airplane works?" 

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools because they have to say something." - Plato

"The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior." - James Clear

"Show me a man who thinks he's objective and I'll show you a man who's deceiving himself." - Henry Luce

"Nothing is as good as it used to be, and never was. The golden age of sports, the golden age of anything, is the age of everyone's childhood." - Ken Dryden

Michael Crichton - Truth


 ...The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance. 

We must daily decide whether the threats we face are real, whether the solutions we are offered will do any good, whether the problems we're told exist are in fact real problems, or non-problems.... Michael Crichton (from a 2003 speech)

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Patriots (re)hire Bill O'Brien as their Offensive Coordinator

- Whiskey on the American frontier. (From the archives) 

- NRC certifies first US small modular reactor design. Great news!

- Interesting profile of Ester Crawford - the woman behind Twitter Blue. Paul Graham is a fan which is high praise indeed.

Truth

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Why India did not allow Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine. We could learn a lot from India.

- Great Lee Marvin story from the archives

- Don't think Biden will recover from the classified documents scandal. Mostly because the powers that be in the Democratic Party don't want to risk themselves to save Joe or Hunter. 

- If you're wondering what to get me for Christmas ($777,000 so you may want to start saving up now)

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law." - Winston Churchill

"In war there is no substitute for victory." - Douglas MacArthur

"Distrust all men in whom the impulse to punish is powerful." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition." - Rudyard Kipling

Sad News

Sad news as Gerard Van der Leun, operator of American Digest, has been placed into hospice care with inoperable cancer. Never met Gerard in person but years ago he thought American Digest could use a sports editor and he asked me to fill that role. I was honored that Gerard valued my writing and sense of humor but we both agreed that American Digest wasn't exactly the sort of site people went to get their sports news.

May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Monday, January 23, 2023

More Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- US "No Fly List" leaks after being left on unsecure airline server. We're in the very best of hands.

- Exclusive behind the scenes look as Ivan Provorov tells his GM he won't wear the pride jersey. (Don't click the link if you're easily offended)

- National Debt - Your US Government at work

- Tucker Carlson on the Deep State and why Richard Nixon had to go.

China Uses More Coal than All the Sources the US Uses Combined!

Yeah but we're the problem. Yeah right. (Via)

Michael Sheen Performs Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Government is a primary reason NYC's economy is a mess. Let's not forget that woke politicians like AOC also helped chase away 21,000 jobs Amazon was going to bring to the Bronx. 

- Mark Zuckerberg warned his staff about unknown dangers about mRNA vaccines. Remember these social media moguls also don't let their own kids use their platforms because they know how bad they are for kids.

- A sitting President, an incoming President, and two future Presidents. And the last inauguration where people wore top hats.

- Mexico's great pyramid of Cholula.

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives." - Ronald Reagan

"Republic... it means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose." - John Wayne

"All free men remember that in the final choice a soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." - Sherlock Holmes

Hampton Beach N.H.

Love this. Wish I knew the year. (HT Feral Irishman)
 

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Sunday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

Enjoy the football games today! I know I will. In the meantime please Subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. I thank you for your support.

Interesting Economic Theory

Another example of why I'm enjoying the book Americana so much:

Without the Gold Rush, industrial economies would have been forced to turn to more sophisticated forms of central banking to keep up with advances in technology, production, and science, just as legal frameworks governing eminent domain, patents, copyrights, bond indentures, and the limited liability of corporations had propelled economic progress. Instead, due to this accidental discovery, banking for the industrial age would be continue to be based on metals found in the ground until the next century.

Makes you think (which is the mark of a great book).

Farnam Street Knowledge


 

In the Arena: Citizenship in a Republic

Remind yourself every day that life is not a spectator sport.


Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." - Albert Camus

"The fans are standing up to them! The security guards are standing up to them! The peanut vendors are standing up to them! And by golly, if I could get down there, I'd be standing up to them!" - Hyannisport broadcaster in Slap Shot

"Mental health and health are the same things." - Andrew Yang

"If you were only to read, you might stay and idiot." - Tyler Cowen

Still Funny

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Mapping the World’s Forests


According to the United Nations forests cover 31% of our world's land surface. They absorb roughly 15.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year. 

So basically we should stop celebrating Earth Day and go back to celebrating Arbor Day where people are encouraged to plant trees. Couple this with an embrace of next generation nuclear power and all climate concerns solved. Easy. 

LInky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Great question!

- 11 Oregon counties have voted to join Idaho. They straight up hate Porlandia.

- Subtle, very subtle

- Historical figures AI chatbot is a mess. Still believe we'll have Hogwarts type moving and talking pictures within the decade with direct quotes or close to it from the historical figures in the paintings.

The Culpability of the CDC

"CDC admits mRNA shots can cause myocarditis and blood clots. Also admits natural immunity is real. And concedes that the shots don't prevent infection or spread of the virus." - Representative Thomas Massie

"The destructive capacity of the individual, however vicious, is small; of the state, however well-intentioned, almost limitless." - Winston Churchill 

Have to wonder how soon the idea of "reparations" changes from those who may have had ancestors who were slaves to payments from the government to those who took mRNA "jabs" because they were told by those in charge that they were "safe and effective?" Wouldn't be surprised if this new definition of "reparations" becomes a major campaign issue in the 2024 elections.

The Oral History of Wag the Dog

 

Interesting oral history of the movie Wag the Dog. The movie is a bit prophetic with all the talk of "fake news" these days. Wasn't aware that the screenplay was by David Mamet. Will have to give the movie another watch sometime soon. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." - William James

"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." - Winston Churchill 

"Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore." - Albert Einstein

"We must all either wear out or rust out, every one of us. My choice is to wear out." - Teddy Roosevelt

Heh Heh - Been There

Via

Friday, January 20, 2023

Global CO₂ Emissions and Population by Income Group

And yet is is always the high income individuals lecturing the rest of us about carbon footprints. It's a virtue signaling scam. (Graph via)

Find Something Beautiful Today


Nighttime photo under the Eiffel Tower looking up. (Photo via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

CDC had Facebook censor speech and debate about Covid too

- Yesterday was Dolly Parton's 77th birthday. She's an American treasure.

- This is what real journalism looks like

- Morgan Housel on FOMO: the worst financial trait

Friday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

Thinking of having "Nuke the WEF" bumper stickers made up. Think those would sell pretty well both here and in Europe.  Please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. I'd be grateful if you did.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Knowledge is either from direct experience or from verifiable, falsifiable science. There is knowledge that is transmitted but not verifiable / falsifiable, and this knowledge is indistinguishable from that which is false." - Naval Ravikant

"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously." - Hubert Humphrey

"The amount of attention a problem gets is the inverse of its importance." - Cyril Parkinson

"What ever crushes individuality is despotism, no matter what name it is called." - John Stuart Mill

Analysis True!

Via

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Rep Gaetz introduces Abolish the ATF Act. I've long supported abolishing the ATF (and I don't even own a gun)

- Ben Franklin's 4 Rules for Living (HT Steve Layman)

- Heh Heh (HT Some It's Just as Well)

- RIP Chris Ford. It's tough when the athletes you grew up rooting for start passing away. Memento mori. 

The Real Life Rat Patrol

The Special Forces that helped win the desert battles of World War II. I bet the guys in the picture above had some great stories to tell. In case you don't recall the TV show The Rat Patrol.

The Virgin Mary Punching the Devil in the Face

I understand this is how she started every morning (this was before coffee). Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you. 

"It is capitalism that pulled billions out of poverty. Not vapid virtue signaling." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it." - Swedish proverb

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." - Lao Tzu

"I want to see boys able to box, wrestle, play football and hold their own stoutly... and I also want them brought up to feel that it is incumbent upon every true man to be gentle and tender with the weak." - Teddy Roosevelt

Life's Simple Instructions

Via

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Oh the Historical Irony

Another cool example of why I'm enjoying Americana by Bhu Srivivasan so much:

In 1824 Gibbons vs Ogden was decided by the Supreme Court in the aging Gibbon's favor. Gibbons vs Ogden went on to become the landmark case affirming that only the federal government had the right to regulate interstate commerce. Waterways and roads connecting states all fell within the framework, as ruled by the court: The era of monopoly grants was over. Indeed, it fell upon the native Southerner Gibbons, a plantation owner from Savannah, to affirm the superiority of federal rights over the states' rights in matters of interstate commerce.

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The 7 Habits of Freedom Loving Academics

- Dozens of media companies set 2023 media deals with Twitter

- Agree - Thailand might have the best commercials

- Analysis - true!

Dan Jenkins Rules for Sports Writing

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Very cool application of physics

- Covid-19 drugmakers pressured Twitter to censor activists 

- Walter Matthau was the best!

- Heh Heh

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expense equal to my wishes." - Edward Gibbon

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." - Confucius

"A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason." - J.P. Morgan

"There's a saying that if you get public recognition for donating money, it's not charity - it's philanthropy. And if you demand recognition, it's not even charity - it's a business deal." - Morgan Housel

Amen

Via

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Eli Whitney's Revenge

Eli Whiney is remembered most by history as the inventor of the cotton gin which made raising cotton in the South extremely profitable. Problem is Whitney never made any money off his invention because it was so simple that people made their own without licencing his patent or paying him any royalties. In a way though Whitney would have his revenge. From the book Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism by Bhu Srinivasan:

Whitney was on to a more lucrative venture altogether. Starting in 1798, having come to terms with the fact that little money would come to him from the cotton gin, he had turned his attention to weapons. With his skill in manufacturing and fame as inventor of the cotton gin, he received an initial order for ten thousand muskets for $134,000 from the US government. His long-awaited fortune eventually came from guns. In doing so, Whitney set the stage for the Connecticut River Valley to become a leader in arms manufacturing, a competitive advantage for the North that poetically would be felt by South Carolina and Georgia decades later.

Really enjoying this book which looks at American history through the lense of capitalism and what the economic motives of the times were.

Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

When I find myself in times of trouble I ask, "What would Pete Buttigieg do in my situation?" and things immediately get 50% worse. If anything you read made you think or smile - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share with others. Thanks! 

Nothing to See Here - Move Along

Via

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting look at Teslas's price cuts and what it means for the EV marketplace

If NASA captured this asteroid everyone on Earth could get $93 billion. Or we might be able to pay off our National debt

- Interesting profile of Tyler Cowen. He may read as many as 5 books a night but doesn't drink coffee or alcohol. I prefer to savor my reading over coffee or a cold beer. May not read as much but that's just fine by me. 

- Cool Army Air Corps training cartoon

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser." - Socrates

"I really believe that normal people are only capable of accomplishing normal things. I don't know that I ever had a great player that was normal." - John Madden

"You can get to about the 90th percentile in your field by working either smart or hard, which is still a great accomplishment. But getting to the 99th percentile requires both - you will be competing with other very talented people who will have great ideas and be willing to work a lot." - Sam Altman

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." -  Napoleon Bonaparte

It Doesn't Count if You Don't Do It


Other ways to put this:

"It doesn't count if you don't do it." - Doug Stanhope

"Vision without execution is hallucination." - Walter Isaacson author Leonardo Da Vinci

Monday, January 16, 2023

Heh Heh

Via

Linky Links

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- What "Impossible" meant to Richard Feynman.

- Reportedly Jeff Bezos did not submit a bid for the Washington Commanders. More interesting is the idea that its because Dan Snyder will not sell to Bezos because of the way the Washington Post has treated him.

- How can we trust the institutions that lied about Covid? The answer is - you can't and you shouldn't ever again.

- Satchel Paige - American icon

North Dallas Forty

I agree that North Dallas Forty is a great sports movie. (I disagree that it's the best sports movie ever - that title belongs to Slap Shot which doesn't even make the writer's list). 

Just after the passing of Mac Davis, I too rewatched North Dallas Forty and was surprised how well it holds up. It really does give a good insight into the dynamics of the league works. The drugs, the contracts, the special status, everything.

What surprised me upon rewatching the movie after a couple of decades was my own perspective. As a young man I would have thought nothing of taking painkillers in order to keep playing the game and the opportunity to "get knee deep in a pile" at an orgy from time to time. Thought it was unfair the team used evidence of Phil smoking pot in order to kick him off the team. As a mature adult - I finally understood that Phil (Nick Nolte's character) was cut from the team for sleeping with the owner's brother's fiancée. You can't do that.

North Dallas Forty is worth a rewatch if you get the chance.

Heh Heh

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"I have as much authority as the Pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it." - George Carlin

"Do one thing today that makes tomorrow easier. Repeat." - Shane Parrish

"But I will accept any rules you feel necessary for your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them, if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." - Robert Heinlein

"Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom, pee, brush your teeth, look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself. Do it every morning to start off the day, as a practice." - Bernie Glassman

Martin Luther King Jr.

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- I could watch Larry Bird highlights for hours.

- Very cool - Sir Anthony Hopkins letter to Bryan Cranston after Hopkins finished binge watching Breaking Bad

Very Cool

- That's because Congress exempted themselves from vaccine mandates

What a Great Speech

 

Farnam Street Knowledge


 

The Shortness of Time.

"The part of life we really live is small."

Ave Maria - Dolores O'Riordan and Pavarotti

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"But when we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results." - James Clear

"The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet." - William Gibson

"I went to the doctor and told him 'my penis was burning.' He said, 'that just means someone is talking about it.'" - Gary Shandling

"I found that if you love life, life will love you back." - Arthur Rubinstein

Scott Adams' Happiness Formula

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Bill Murray in Washington Square Park singing Ain't Necessarily So

Tesla Cuts Prices

Tesla cuts prices on all makes and models by up to $13,000 in US.

Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

Hope you all have a great Saturday. Please Subscribe, hit the Like button, and share the link with others. Appreciate you. 

Truth

Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." - Charles Kettering

 "Feedback is a gift, but most people don't know how to unwrap it." - Angela Duckworth

"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates

"Every word has consequences. Every silence too." - Jean Paul Sartre

Reminder