A Reminder

Amid all the recent protestations about Joe Biden helping his son Hunter secure a very, very well paying do-nothing job - I am reminded that Barack Obama arranged for an internship for his daughter Malia at Harvey Weinstein's company back when EVERYONE KNEW what type of person Harvey Weinstein was. 

Think about that for a moment.

Linky Links

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

- Net Neutrality defeated at Federal level but court says States free to act on their own.

- Where does Mexico get its guns? Interesting Fox News article seems to give a plausible justification for the Obama Administration's Operation Fast and Furious but also suggesting the border wall could stem the tide of illegal immigrants coming to the US AND illegal guns into Mexico.

- I did not know this.

- Speaking of exercise - How to work out like Tom Brady

- Good question - why hasn't the FDA made Naloxone available over the counter as a measure to help fight the damage cause by fentanyl?

- It's been 2-years since the passing of Tom Petty. Rolling Stone put together a list of what they consider his top 50 songs to mark the anniversary.

- Journal Nature retracts ocean-warming study. Because of bad math. On a related note - Michael Crichton was a very smart man.

King of Spades

Did you know that the King of Spades on a playing card was originally supposedly designed to represent King David from the Bible? The sword he holds was supposed to be the sword used to cut off Goliath's head after young David killed him with a rock from his his sling.

During the early parts of the Civil War - Robert E Lee was given the nickname "King of Spades" because of his propensity to dig trenches as part of his strategy. At first the nickname was derisive because soldiers hate to dig. Later when the effectiveness of his tactics saved the lives of many of these same soldiers - the nickname became affectionate. Reportedly Lee always loathed the nickname.

And Robert E Lee didn't play cards.

Linky Links

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

- Heh Heh - Man wakes up from coma in Trump's America (HT American Digest)

- Major Taylor should be better known in American culture and history. (I've posted this before but the point still stands)

- Steven Pressfield - Resistance wakes up with me. Great advice.

- 52 things I know at 52 (HT Execupundit)

- Near Earth asteroids continue to be a much bigger threat than climate change ever will be.

- What happens when you go without alcohol for 28-days? I'm about to find out firsthand as I'm doing my own version of Sober October. I'm giving up alcohol and trying to stick to a intermittent fast schedule  of only eating between the hours of 9:00 am to 7:00 pm for the month. Wish me luck!

And Joe Biden Always Means What He Says

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

First year NFL coaches Zac Taylor (Bengals), Cliff Kingsbury (Cardinals), Vic Fangio (Broncos), and Brian Flores (Dolphins) are a combined 0-15-1 though four weeks. At most only two of those four coaches will lose this weekend though (because the Cardinals play the Bengals and the Dolphins have a bye-week)... Holy crap! I don't consider myself to have a fear of heights but this looks insane... Remember that Russian face aging app everyone went crazy for a few months back? Now there's a Russian company making life-like humanoid robots. Now if a Russian company buys 23andMe then Putin would have all the ingredients needed for a really scary episode of Black Mirror... "Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim." - George Santayana... Given what we now know about the gut microbiome - I wonder if mankind would have been better off if we still ate with our fingers instead of utensils... Only humans believe that life may actually have a purpose. All other animals believe there is no purpose just survival... 

My Idea of Great Art

Saying What You Believe.

I'm highly amused by this stunt. Bravo to whoever thought it up.

Even funnier are the people who try to explain why the sign may be offensive to them. Without their "woke" talking points many in Bluest Blue Massachusetts are left confused about what they believe and what they can say.

I can easily say that the Catholic Church is wrong about birth control and same-sex marriage. See nothing difficult about that. Doesn't make me anti-Catholic.

But then again I think for myself. And have no problem stating publicly what I believe. Islam is wrong about women - see not that freaking hard to say.

That task seems much more difficult for those who can't or won't think for themselves.

Another Bad List

Mental Floss does a very poor job in listing The 20 Best Movies of the 1980's. Missing from their list are the following movies (in no particular order):

- Aliens
- Das Boot
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Full Metal Jacket
- Scarface
- Die Hard
- Stand By Me
- Dead Poets Society
- Blade Runner

And of course The Princess Bride (I give special attention to The Princess Bride because its probably the movie I've watched the most from the 80's).

So what movies deserve to be removed from Mental Floss's list? That could be a good debate but it has to start with Ordinary People. That is one of the most overrated movies of all-time! Do you know a single person who has made the mistake of watching that flick a second time?

Just missing my list are Batman (Jack Nicholson as the Joker), Wall Street, Hoosiers, and The Terminator. I wouldn't argue much if you had any of those movies on your list.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I would love to watch a documentary on Internet trolls narrated by David Attenborough... A major study finds little evidence that eating red meat is linked to cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Yay meat!... Who knew? During Prohibition Walgreens grew from 20 stores to 500 in large part from sales of "medicinal" whiskey... Really looking forward to the NBA season - not just to see how Kemba Walker fits with the Celtics but also to see how Russell Westbrook fits with the Rockets... Roddy Piper set to Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes. Rowdy Roddy was the best... "It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes." - Thomas Aquinas... I would love to see Larry Bird made head of USA Basketball...

Let's Party Like Its 1973

Love these Russ Roberts videos.

Linky Links

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

- Damn it! Handjobs are still sold out!

- Cool - the pet turtles (Cuff and Link) from the movie Rocky are still alive and well (and still living with Sylvester Stallone)

- A reminder - this is what we were talking about a year ago.

- You know this actually isn't a bad argument

- The Gospel according to Coach Scar. Well worth the read for any football fan - plus there are lessons that can be applied to business or life.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Given this a lot of thought and if I were a Democratic candidate running for President in Iowa I would come out hard against the Des Moines Register because of the way they handled the Carson King story. I think that would play well with all Iowans these days... Thinking this guy might be Mike Hunt's cousin... "You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." - CS Lewis... I actually want one of these... In Massachusetts there are safe spaces for heroin injections but now vape pens are against the law. Part of me wonders if vape pens have driven down the tax revenue in Mass the State was getting for tobacco sales and this in part explains the ban... Actually six if you include Billy Joel too. Wonder what the Vegas odds would be of Queen Elizabeth II outliving them all?... If I ran an NFL team all of the player contracts would have a clause that prohibits them from being vegans. Seriously. Looking at you Cam Newton...

Simulation Hypocrisy

"Science is a culture of doubt. Religion is a culture of faith." - Richard Feynman

"Atheists are just modern versions of religion fundamentalists: they both take religion too literally." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Always amazed that people who seriously believe we are living in a simulation also mainly tend to be atheists. They have no evidence we are living in a simulation but they have faith in the idea nonetheless.

At least the major religions have historical proof that their leaders existed - the Buddha, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. What proof do those who believe in the idea of a simulation have? None. And what's the answer if you ask them who created the simulation?

Yet these folks seriously don't see the irony of having "faith" in something you have no proof of and suggesting that this reality is the product of some invisible programmers in the sky.

Just an observation that amused me.

Linky Links

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

- The Two Rules in Life

- Now here's a real controversy. Leaving out the adult diapers at least isn't as bad as leaving out the American flag in First Man.

- Cool

- Stat of the day.

- Scott Adams on everything the press gets wrong about the Ukraine call.

- Excellent physics joke.

- Victor Davis Hanson on the eroding of American citizenship.

Will There Be a New Mayor of Buffalo Today?

Little known fact but there's a rule in Upstate New York that if a Bills fan is able to hit either Tom Brady or Bill Belichick with a dildo thrown from the stands - the person that throws that dildo automatically becomes the new Mayor of Buffalo.

It's the Niagara Region's answer to Medieval England's sword in the stone.

The more you know! Go Pats!

Soul Kitchen - Echo and the Bunnymen

Starting Sunday off with a little music. Nice Doors cover by Echo and the Bunnymen - who don't get the recognition I think they deserve.

Product Idea

Here's a product idea - an Evel Knievel Red, White and Blue adult onesie!

You could wear it as pajamas. You could rock it out at the clubs on a Saturday night channeling the ultra-cool that was Evel Knieval.

Don't you want one? I do.

Cape would be extra.

Carson King and the Cancel Culture

Carson King became an instant celebrity when he held up a sign asking people to donate to his Busch Light beer fund via Venmo in front of ESPN's College Gameday crowd before the Iowa / Iowa State game.

Carson King became a hero when the amount donated became well in excess of what he'd actually need and he decided to donate the money to Iowa's Childrens Hospital. People appreciated the gesture so much that the amount donated to his Venmo account quickly topped $1 million.

Then Aaron Calvin, a "reporter" for the Des Moines Register tried to harm Carson King's reputation by digging up a couple of stupid Tweets from King from 2012 - when King was just 16-years old.

Carson King was acting from a pureness of heart. Aaron Calvin and the Des Moines Register acted solely out of malice. A malice brought on by the sick "cancel culture" gotcha ethos and lack of common sense. Where were the adults at the newspaper?

There was a backlash.

People were so disgusted by the actions of the paper that the Governor of Iowa honored Carson King for his actions and the amount raised has now topped $2 million for the children's hospital. Meanwhile people looked into Aaron Calvin's social media and found racist and homophobic posts from his past. The Des Moines Register was forced to fired the dick.

So it's a story with a happy ending.

Weekend Reminder