California and Legal Weed

California legalized weed five-years ago. Why is the illicia market still thriving? The short answer is because politicians and bureaucrats in California could screw up a wet dream.

In Massachusetts legalized marijuana seems to be working out fine. In Worcester pot dispensaries are as common as liquor stares (aka "packies") with each dispensary paying a pretty good amount in new taxes that would not have existed prior to legalization. And prices still seem reasonable plus a ton of new jobs have been created. Would be interesting to see what the unemployment numbers would look like in Mass if you took away the pot related jobs.

Mass also allows the growing of six plants per adult for personal use. This has created a literal home-grown market for individuals to make a little side money clipping buds off their well-cared for personal plants. This has become a big hobby for many and their dedication to the craft is admirable. I'd bet that organized crime in Mass has gotten out of  or greatly reduced their role in selling illegal weed in the State.

The Metric System and the USA

Opposition to the metric system remains strong in the US. Mostly due to the "Go Fuck Yourself" attitude of most Americans.

Nobody comes right out and says it but many Americans oppose legalizing marijuana because they are afraid that it is just a gateway drug to the metric system. All that grams of this and grams of that. I also believe that Pokemon Go died out as a fad in the US mainly because they were trying to force good law abiding citizens to participate by metric measurements. Hey Japan do we need to remind you that the Imperial System of Measurement won the War in the Pacific in World War II? Darn tootin'.

And while we're at it - you can keep your Royale with Cheese! In America it's a Quarter Pounder with Cheese! USA! USA! USA!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The New England Patriots never tip their hand to the media that's why most of their big contract extensions or trades seem to come out of the blue. Why would the negotiations with Tom Brady be any different?... If Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as his VP and then Barack and Michele Obama campaign strong on his behalf for the general election - then the Democrats have a really good chance against President Trump in November... If Freezing Cold Takes did politics... Grizzly Slippers would be a good name for a band... I'm all for the legalization of marijuana but deep down I'm afraid that legal weed is just a gateway drug to the Metric System... When I die - I would like my ashes spread from the air over people protesting things that I'm in favor of. I also hope it rains that day so that my ashes would be extra sticky...

Linky Links

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

- The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas a short story by Ursula Le Guin. Russ Roberts highly recommended the story which was enough for me.

- David Stern, one of the greatest sports commissioners in history, passed away Wednesday at age 77. This was a good recap of some of the issues Stern had to deal with during his 30-years of running the NBA.

- A perfect example of how government could screw up a wet dream

- Life's Work: An Interview with Sugar Ray Leonard

- Truth vs Lies

- The Top 5 Episodes of The Knowledge Project podcast 2019

Linky Links

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

- Two years after legal weed was introduced in California - it accounts for only an estimated quarter of all pot sales in the State. Americans do love avoiding paying taxes and California politicians could screw up anything.

- Heh Heh - Burger King's Impossible Burger will give you "manboobs". And it serves you right!

- Classy move by the Patriots

- Have to remember this one for next Christmas

- Victor Davis Hanson - Recalling the Battle of the Bulge

- In case you ever wondered what sailors eat on a submarine

Linky Links

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

- The Ontario government lost $42 million selling weed last year. How is that possible? I've also seen reports that black market weed selling for half the cost of "legal" pot in Canada.

- BangBros porn site bids $10 million for naming rights to new home of the Miami Heat. My sense of humor says "Please let this happen" while my decorum wonders "What the hell has happened to our society?"

- Heh Heh

- Are Generation IV nuclear reactors the answer to green energy? Nice look at the pros and cons (the cost) of Gen IV nuclear reactors.

- The Far Side may be making a comeback online. Doesn't sound like any new comic strips though.

Linky Links

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

- Milky Way Galaxy is warped and twisted, not flat.

- Your move, pessimists

-  Interesting look at the staying power of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

- The rise and fall of superhero Robert Mueller. Matt Taibbi does a nice job in summarizing the religious furor the left gave to Mueller. Give Taibbi credit he does have a talent for turning a phrase.

- And speaking of good writing - this is an example of why Jackie Mac is the best NBA writer on the planet.

- Video reminder of why Ty Law was one of the greatest defensive backs in NFL history. Also made me smile to be reminded how much Law absolutely owned Peyton Manning.

- Dianne Francis on the bungled legalization of cannabis in Canada. That "black market dope continues to sell for nearly half the price of the legal stuff" is just the start of the issues in America's hat.

Linky Links

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

- In Trump's first 30 months over 314,000 manufacturing jobs have been added in comparison to Obama's Administration. Wait - I thought we were told those jobs weren't coming back?

- I consider myself a proponent of marijuana but to ignore the possible harmful side-effects is foolish. (I also consider myself a proponent of alcohol but those negative side-effects are better understood and documented.)

- Today would have been Vera Rubin's 91st birthday. She should have won the Nobel Prize for her discovery and confirmation of the the existence of Dark Matter.

- Maybe we should skip manned missions to Mars and go to Jupiter's moon Io instead.

- Wow - is 3.6 septillion yottawatts of power a lot of power? Sounds like a lot.

- Netflix hit with class action shareholder lawsuit following dismal Q2 earnings

- Cool Boris Johnson story.

Is Marijuana More Dangerous Than Thought?

Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about whether marijuana is more dangerous than thought. Now to be fair - I'm a supporter of Legalized Marijuana but I am also a realist who knows that there are some real dangers that might not be getting the attention they deserve.

More than half the population of the US now live in States where marijuana use has been legalized or decriminalized. And marijuana use has become more socially acceptable with little remaining stigma from the past decades. "About 15% of Americans used cannabis at least once in 2017" but the number of Americans who smoke every day (currently about 8 million) is approaching the number of people who drink every day (about 12 million). That's concerning. 

And the pot now smoked or ingested is much, much more powerful than the pot that was used in studies that found marijuana to be a mostly harmless drug. We simply don't know the effects this more powerful pot has on people. Paranoia and psychosis can be a deadly combination and cannabis can often act as a match to that powder keg.

As I said earlier - there some real dangers here that deserve attention and study.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Prior to the second day of the Battle of Stirling the Scots knelt and prayed. Edward II saw this and assumed they were praying for mercy from the English. He was mistaken. The Scots were praying to beg forgiveness from God for what they were about to do to the English forces and their allies... Interesting - according to physics a can of Diet Coke will float in fresh water but a can of regular Coke will sink because of the density of sugar... The crazy-straw sinuses of one particular dinosaur... It would be interesting to track the increase of oral herpes in states that have legalized marijuana. Vape pen sharing is not exactly the most hygienic of things... Hot Urine would be a good name for a punk band. Playing tonight - Hot Urine!... I think if someone managed to cross an Etch-a-Sketch with an iPad type device it would be the best-selling gift of the Christmas season... "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... 

Linky Links

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

- Well Vermont isn't a real state - "true" single payer healthcare has yet to be tried. [Sarcasm off]

- Interesting - how legal pot actually made things worse for people who need medical marijuana in Oregon.

- A look at some of the issues facing law enforcement in the Internet age and new laws that try to deal with those issues.

- Charlie Munger's one way to make progress

- Royal crown jewels stolen in Sweden. How little security seems to have been in place for priceless artifacts.

- Canadian VHS era pop culture icon Troy Hurtubise passes.  I had never heard of Troy so out of curiosity I watched Project Grizzly on YouTube. Couldn't shake the idea that it was actually one long extended Kids in the Hall sketch except it was a real thing.

- Not all heroes wear capes!

Linky Links

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

- Cool - Story Time from Space

- Marlins Man takes his feud with Derek Jeter international. I'm rooting for Marlins Man in this one.

- Heh Heh

- Trump announces support for legalized marijuana. This news should be getting more airtime.

- Boston fans are the best!

- Random thought but I've always felt the flag of Greenland looks more like a corporate logo than the flag of an actual country.

- I am not saddened at the passing of R. Lee Ermey. He lived a very full life. Semper Fi Gunny!

Linky Links

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

- Interesting interview with Dr. Spencer Wells - the man who basically created the commercial market for ancestral DNA testing.

- Not sure if Boston has the requisite number of strip clubs

- Further argument for the legalization of drugs

- What SpaceX means for space exploration. We are looking at a giant step forward.

- Basic mountain bike maintenance

- 12 people you might not have known were Olympians

- Heh heh

The Weed Economy

Parts of the country where marijuana is not "legalized" but "decriminalized" may be heading toward a weed economy nonetheless. This article from yesterday describes how the "free gift" economy is working in Washington DC. You "buy" a near worthless item like a key-chain for $60 and the vendor "throws in" a bag of marijuana for "free" (of course the street value on the bag of weed is also $60). This is just one step below the legal sale environment of places like Colorado.

I think things could also evolve into a more pure barter economy type arrangement. (As an aside did I really use the terms "evolve" and "barter economy" in the same sentence?) In Massachusetts you are now allowed to own 6 cannabis plants for personal use and consumption - or 12 plants per household. Is it really a stretch to think that people you already do business with wouldn't be open to some trading? A haircut could be worth an eighth of an ounce to your barber or hair stylist. Work done on your car? You pay for parts but your mechanic will take a half ounce for the labor. There are many such transactions this barter could apply to.

Even in places where weed is legal you could still have these barter transactions - because avoiding taxes is as old a practice as taxes themselves. 

Too bad I don't have a green thumb.

The Metric System

Opposition to the metric system remains strong in the US. Mostly due to the "Go Fuck Yourself" attitude of most Americans.

Nobody comes right out and says it but many Americans oppose legalizing marijuana because they are afraid that it is just a gateway drug to the metric system. All that grams of this and grams of that. I also believe that Pokemon Go died out as a fad in the US mainly because they were trying to force good law abiding citizens to participate by metric measurements. Hey Japan do we need to remind you that the Imperial System of Measurement won the War in the Pacific in World War II? Darn tootin'.

And while we're at it - you can keep your Royale with Cheese! In America it's a Quarter Pounder with Cheese! USA! USA! USA!

El Chapo and the Secret History of the Heroin Crisis

This is both must reading and scary.

One of the unforeseen consequences of legalized marijuana. The US needs to both learn from this and do something about it. There's hardly anyone anymore who doesn't personally know someone that has been hit by this scourge.

Linky Links

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

- This is scary and bound to adversely affect Tinder stock

- Rio is not ready for the Olympics and the IOC is to blame

- Why pharma companies are fighting legalized marijuana

- I so want this yacht!

- Vietnam vet who saved dozens of soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor

- In my opinion quantum biology will be the next big thing in science

- A reminder to live in the moment and to cherish life comes from the WSOP and the story of Bob Brundige

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

No I did not watch the GOP debate last night. I wasn't around a TV. And if I was I probably would have been watching the Boston Bruins game instead anyway... Great - just what we need! More signs of the Apocalypse... Saw a pregnant gal yesterday with thigh-high leather boots with 6-inch heels. My immediate thought was "She'll make a great mother"... Seriously - the GOP Presidential field makes the Cleveland Browns QB situation look stable in comparison... Food That Looks Like Dongs would be an awful name for a band (or for an early bird dinner special)... Trump is polling at 38% vs Hillary Clinton. Here's what 38% looks like... Not for nothing but if Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is allowed to participate in the debates against Hillary and Trump (if it comes to that) - then Johnson has a real chance to win the election. Nobody really wants to vote for Hillary or Trump... Heh heh... The GOP's new slogan should be "The Republican Party: Embrace the Suck". Have the bumper stickers been made up yet?... Where have you gone George W.? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you... I'm all for marijuana legalization but I am afraid that legal weed could just be a gateway drug to the Metric system... Heh heh - Hillary says she speaks to God daily, but won't reveal her fee...

Linky Links

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

- Can't argue with this - Carrie Underwood does have nice legs

- Heh heh - RG3-11

- Allen Craig is an overlooked trade piece. But other than a salary dump or a chip in a trade for an ace - the Red Sox have very few needs.

- Washington Post, Greenpeace thinks "they walk on higher ground". Fuck Greenpeace.

- Interesting amendment to Cromnibus may have ended war on legal marijuana

- Heh heh

- What Greenpeace's apology should have looked like
.

Legalized Pot

For the most part I am in favor of medical marijuana and decriminalizing pot. No worse than alcohol in my book. However, I am kind of glad that the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative was defeated.

Imagine all the old drivers and crazy people in Florida. Now imagine them driving around whacked out on legal weed. Florida would be so much more of a driving nightmare if Amendment 2 passed.

Just saying.