Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Monday, October 17, 2022
Suppressing Good News is Scaring our Kids
Perhaps the biggest impact climate change is actually having in America is the anxiety the fear mongers are creating in our young people. It effects all aspects of their lives.
There's never been a better time to be alive. You just wouldn't know it from the news or from people with agendas. They have no shame and nobody is holding them accountable.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"All of our evil is done in the name of good." - Naval Ravikant
"Read history. It closes the mouth and opens the mind." - Annie Jacobsen
"We have to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us." - Charles Bukowski
"Too much effort to increase our happiness transforms it into misery." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Find Something Beautiful Today
The Northern Lights in Scandinavia (Photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Musk Wants Pentagon to Pick up Tab for Starlink Access in Ukraine
Reportedly it costs SpaceX $20 million a month to maintain the Starlink service that has been so valuable to the people and military pf Ukraine. Musk is tired of that cost being his to bear,
Don't blame him.
Black Hole Spews Out Material Years After Shredding Star
Astronomers observe black hole "burping" up stellar remains years after star was consumed. "We've never seen anything like this before."
Must confess that using terms like "burping" and comparing black holes to "messy eaters" doesn't give me the highest confidence on the science involved here.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Through forgiveness, which essentially means recognizing the insubstantiality of the past and allowing the present moment to be as it is, the miracle of transformation happens not only within but without." - Eckhart Tolle
"The healthy wear a crown that only the sick can see." - Proverb
"Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet." - Bob Marley
"Reality cannot be ignored except at a price; and the longer the ignorance is persisted in, the higher and more terrible becomes the price that must be paid." - Aldous Huxley
Cool Stuff
Cyberpunk crossed with a Thomas Kinkade style created by Stable Diffusion. Here's another example. And another.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Being realistic about my chances of winning while gambling in Las Vegas - having a couple new subscribers, some hits on the Like button, and sharing of the link would be a nice consolation to my psyche. Thanks in advance.
Greetings from Las Vegas
By the time you read this I should have landed (safely and on time I hope) in Sin City.
How Does the Russo-Ukrainian War End?
Interesting analysis on the situation in Ukraine and the possible endgame. Agree with the author that use of even a single nuclear device is unlikely, According to the author, "The war ends when Ukrainian military victories alter Russian political realities, a process which I believe has begun."
"...as the instability created by the war in Ukraine comes home, Russian leaders who wish to gain from that instability, or protect themselves from it, will want their power centers [troops] close to Moscow, And this, of course, would be a very good thing, for Ukraine and for the world."
Sounds plausible. Bit of a long read but I thought it worthwhile.
HT Stephen Landry.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Holdings Since 1994
Interesting animated look at the holdings of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway since 1994.
In addition to large investments in public companies like Apple, Wells Fargo, and Coca-Cola Berkshire Hathaway also owns 62 companies outright including well known brands such as GEICO, Dairy Queen, Kraft Heinz, and Duracell.
So if you want to blame someone for all those stupid GEICO commercials - the buck stops with Warren Buffett.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The more vehemently they condemn it, the less of an argument they actually have." - Naval Ravikant
"To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting." - Edmund Burke
"Learn by trying to understand simple things in terms of other ideas - always honestly and directly." - Richard Feynman
"The only person you're destined to become is the person you decide to be." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Friday, October 14, 2022
Tom Cruise in Space!
Interesting - perhaps this yet to be named movie can do for the Space Force what Top Gun did for the Navy?
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Tune out society and its endless and noisy demands." - Naval Ravikant
"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." - Voltaire
"The six best doctors in the world are sun, rest, exercise, diet, self-esteem, and friends. Keep them at all stages of your life and enjoy a healthy life." - Charlie Chaplin
"God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could not learn in no other way." - C.S. Lewis
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Xi's China has Made 3 Foreign Policy Mistakes
Interesting interview with a former top Singapore diplomat who says Xi Jinping's three large missteps are:
- "Prematurely abandoning Deng Xiaoping's approach of 'hiding your capabilities and biding your time." Under Xi it seems the mantra is the time is now which has resulted in China today being held in the lowest regard worldwide in my lifetime. The low profile approach was more successful.
- The second mistake was beginning to believe their own propaganda that America is in decline. This is similar to the mistake Japan made twice; militarily in the 1940's and economically in the 1990's.
- The third misstep was their "no limits" partnership with Russia. No arguing that point. Big misstep.
Retired Singapore Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan doesn't see the tensions between the US and China lessening for decades to come. I would agree with that.
Gaslighting On Gas Prices
Part of me would just like to see California secede from the Union to be done with their craziness. Part of me is looking forward to Gavin Newsome running for President so that other Democrats can skewer him for his ridiculous policies, like raising taxes on gas to fight high gas prices, in a way the the Democrats and media in California never dared to do.
Simply Amazing
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch and drone ship recovery all in a single shot. Simply amazing!
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"When you understand that you don't have to justify your dreams to anyone else for any reason, that's the day you truly begin to step into who you're meant to be." - Rachael Hollis
"Government's job is not to dictate your values but to protect them." - Yaron Brook
"One day in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful." - Sigmund Freud
"I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." - Ecclesiastes
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
How Smiley’s People Conquered Britain
I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for the book Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy but more so for the movie. Tinker, Tailor is one of those movies that I'll stop and watch every time I come across it while scrolling through my options. What a great cast in that flick.
HT Execupundit
The Nordstream Whodunnit
The plot to the mysterious explosions on Russia's Nordstream pipeline keep getting more, and more interesting. Here's another wrinkle - did NATO try to destroy the pipeline back in 2015? Here's some compelling evidence:
Remember who was President in 2015 and who was his Vice President? Who's pulling the strings today? Something to think about.
Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when I ask you again to please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others.
Netflix vs Disney: Who’s Winning the Streaming War?
Interesting look at the battle between Netflix and Disney for stream superiority. Right now Disney's family of streaming platforms (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+) have barely passed Netflix (221.1 million subs for Disney's family of platforms vs 220.7 million for Netflix).
Both platforms have their own flaws. Think ad supported tiers will actually turn off subscribers for Netflix while Disney's platforms relies upon extensive libraries of content that are being played out. How many times can you watch the "classic" Star Wars or MCU films and the new offerings in those genres are mostly dreck.
Wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the apex for subscribers for both.
Quotes for Today
Here are some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
"The best way, perhaps the only way, to change others is to become an example." - Naval Ravikant
"If it's not right, don't do it. If it's not true, don't say it." - Marcus Aurelius
"Action may not always bring happiness but there is no happiness without action." - Benjamin Disraeli
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Anduril: The Business of Defense
Isegoria introduces us to Anduril, a defense contractor that moves like a startup. The Peter Thiel backed venture is a software based company making great strides in a traditionally hardware based marketplace. This sentence seemed to sum up the company, "Designing from first principles allows Anduril to create novel defense systems."
Isegoria does a nice synopsis of the company but if you want to learn more I highly recommend this article which delves into the founding of the company, the surprisingly non-competitive nature of current Department of Defense procurement, and Anduril's current product line.
America needs companies like Anduril because the technology growth of our enemy countries can be a bit scary.
Is China About to Turn on Russia?
Most forget but in 1969 Russia and China were very close to an all-out war. According to Henry Kissinger, it was this fact that spurred much of the US's policies towards both countries with Nixon supporting China because he "decided that it was against American national interest to have China defeated."
What would be in America's best interest today? We can start with staying out of nuclear war. Other than that - the path forward is hardly clear.
Does This Change Your Understanding of Renewable Energy Sources?
Wind and Solar represent just 1.8% of all energy sources and some people think we should be relying on them for all our energy needs. Those people are morons. (Via)
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different." - C.S. Lewis
"My wife was afraid of the dark - then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light." - Rodney Dangerfield
"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly." - Abraham Lincoln
"I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them cats." - Eckhart Tolle
Monday, October 10, 2022
The NCAA Is Going To Trial Over Traumatic Brain Injuries
Next week the pre-trial proceedings in Alana Gee vs NCAA begins. Alana Gee is the widow of Matthew Gee who played for USC between 1988 and 1992, who died in 2018 and whose autopsy showed CTE. The widow is suing the NCAA for wrongful death and negligence.
This lawsuit, if lost by the NCAA, could cost hundreds of millions and would lead to many, many similar lawsuits. People were worried about how NIL (Name Image and Likeness) would impact the college game but this lawsuit poses a much greater danger to the game. Don't overlook this lawsuit.
Skarper eBike
Cool stuff, Transforms any bike into an eBike. You get about 12 miles in range on a 30 minute charge and about 35 miles of range fully charged. These are supposed to be available in 2023 but I could not find any pricing on the Skarper website.
This story in Wired gives more background on the product and pegs the retail price at about $1,200.
Excellent Advice
I will have to try this mental exercise.
Excess reactivity does steal happiness and energy. Social media is engineered to do that specifically.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"I like being alone. I have control over my own shit. Therefore to win me over, your presence has to feel better than my solitude. You're not competing with another person, you are competing with my comfort zone." - Horatio Jones
"If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company." - Jean Paul Sartre
"How easily someone is offended is in direct proportion to how stupid they are." - Ed Latimore
"Real wealth is never having to spend time with assholes." - John Waters
Sunday, October 09, 2022
Sunday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
I am Iron Man. No wait - that's Tony Stark. I am a man who consistently loses money betting on college football. As always if anything made you smile or think - please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share the link with others,
Player Comparison
Here's comparison that occurred to me the other morning:
Player A: Passing Yards 3,127 / Passing TD's 36/ Rushing Yards 1,206/ Rushing TD's 7
Player B: Passing Yards 3,365 / Passing TD's 21 / Rushing Yards 629 / Rushing TD's 6
Those stats are from both quarterbacks sophomore NFL seasons. Player A's stats are a little better than Player B's which partly explains why Player A was named NFL MVP for that season while Player B came in second in MVP voting in his season.
You may have guessed that Player A is Lamar Jackson while Player B is Donovan McNabb. Interesting to note that both players are about the same size (McNabb was a little heavier and maybe stronger while Lamar is faster) but both players also led their teams in rushing for those seasons. Donovan McNabb seems to be the natural comparison to Lamar Jackson in my eyes.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Tell me what you know. Tell me what you don't know. Only then can you tell me what you think. Always keep these three things separate." - Colin Powell
"What you owe yourself is to work for your living; what you owe your neighbor is not to interfere with his work." - Ayn Rand
"I decline utterly to be impartial as between the fire brigade and the fire." - Winston Churchill
"Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as it is - then there will be no accumulation of resentment that needs to be forgiven at some later time." - Eckhart Tolle
Saturday, October 08, 2022
Dabo's Red Bandana and BC's Annual Honor
That article does a good job explaining the significance of this year's game. But if you want to know the significance of Welles Crowther - watch this video.
Sergeant York
Sergeant York's fame was spread by the 1941 movie Sergeant York, with Gary Cooper starring in the title role.
Some people may ask why we don't have heroes like this in today's military. The answer is that we do still have such men but the media today just doesn't celebrate them like they used to.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes." - Thomas Aquinas
"Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim." - George Santayana
"If you want to perform when the world is watching, you have to do the work when no one is watching." - Shane Parrish
"Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs?" - Marcus Aurelius
Friday, October 07, 2022
The Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Sabotage?
As far as conspiracy theories go - this one that the US torpedoed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is pretty convincing. Backed up with some questionable verifiable actions on the part of the Biden Administration and the military (HT to American Digest for the link).
To me the Occam's Razor explanation still remains that Russian "maintenance" and what happens to pipelines not properly maintained sounds like the correct explanation but...
Given Joe Biden's track record this new conspiracy theory gives me pause. Take for example Joe blocking Trump's plan to refill the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) at $24 a barrel only to now have to empty the SPR because OPEC+ has given him the middle finger and oil is now hovering around $100 a barrel. And more importantly Biden's actions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline itself where one of the first things he did as President was remove the sanctions Trump had put in place that was preventing the completion of the pipeline in the first place.
From a Glenn Greenwald article from May 2021:
Trump - even as he was shrilly depicted as an agent of the Kremlin - was obsessed with stopping the Russian pipeline and thus sabotaging Putin's key geopolitical project.
Greenwald's choice of the word "sabotaging" is certainly ironic given the circumstances. It would be par for the course for Joe Biden to remove the hurdles to Putin to get the pipeline completed only to later have to risk an act of war with Russia to destroy it.
As Barack Obama once said, "Never underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up."
Is Elon's Purchase of Twitter On or Not?
Some conflicting reports on this story. One report says Judge delays Twitter trial, gives Elon Musk time to seal buyout by October 28th. That story states that "Twitter disputed Musk's claim that the San Francisco=based company is refusing to accept his renewed bid."
Another story says Twitter refuses Elon Musk's renewed $44 billion bid. "In a court filing, Elon Musk's attorneys said, 'Twitter will not take yes for an answer.'"
My guess is that Twitter is willing to accept the $44 billion deal, already approved by their board, but is insisting on inserting some conditions on the deal. Musk's attorney's don't want any new conditions and view these as a refusal of the deal.
Some day this whole drama would make a great HBO miniseries.
Joke of the Day
Bill worked in a pickle factory. He had been employed there for a number of years when he came home one day to confess to his wife that he had a terrible compulsion. He had an urge to stick his penis into the pickle slicer. His wife suggested that he should see a sex therapist to talk about it, but Bill said he would be too embarrassed. He vowed to overcome the compulsion on his own. One day a few weeks later, Bill came home and his wife could see at once that something was seriously wrong. "What's wrong, Bill?" she asked. "Do you remember that I told you how I had this tremendous urge to put my penis into the pickle slicer?" "Oh, Bill, you didn't!" she exclaimed. "Yes, I did." he replied. "My God, Bill, what happened?" "I got fired." "No, Bill. I mean, what happened with the pickle slicer?" "Oh...she got fired too."
Quotes for Today
Some quotes that I hope resonate with you.
"Get better daily. Don't try to get it all done in a day." - Shane Parrish
"We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything." - Thomas Edison
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
"The most courageous decision that you can make each day is to be in a good mood." - Voltaire
Thursday, October 06, 2022
Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 Explained
Brian Greene does a nice job explaining quantum entanglement and the significance of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Biden’s Secret Promise To OPEC Backfires
In 2020, Democrats blocked Trump's proposal to buy American oil at $24 a barrel. Yesterday, a Biden official disclosed a secret offer to buy OPEC+ oil at $80 a barrel. That offer was turned down and oil will soon be at $100 a barrel.
Michael Shellenberger continues to do yeoman's work on the energy sector and the politics involved. Kudos.
It can be argued that the single decision to block refilling the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) at $24 a barrel will cost the Democrats both the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. Wonder if Chuck Schumer is still crowing about that decision.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Free education is abundant, all over the Internet. It's the desire to learn that's scarce." - Naval Ravikant
"Being nice counts the most when you are nice to people ignored by others." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
"If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's." - Joseph Campbell
Wednesday, October 05, 2022
5 Years After Las Vegas Concert Shooting, an FBI Whistleblower Reveals Probable Motive
We've known the "what" for 5-years - that Stephen Paddock opened fire with an arsenal of weapons on an outdoor concert in Las Vegas killing 58 and wounding another 869 people. What we've never been told, and seemingly the media never dug into the story to find out, was "why?" What was the possible motive for the massacre?
Now an FBI whistleblower has come forth to say the evidence points to ISIS being behind the massacre (though the story buries that lede).
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack five times! I no longer know what to believe coming from the FBI but this answer to "why" seems to fit Occams' razor for the explanation. We owe it to the victims to learn the truth.
Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
With Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter back on - I suddenly have the song Highway to the Danger Zone stuck in my head. As always please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share the link with others. Seriously - the song is stuck in my head now.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat." - Jean Paul Sartre
"The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom." - John Locke
"With Great Pumpkin comes great responsibility." - Linus
"I was ashamed of myself when I realized that life was a costume party; and I attended with my real face." - Franz Kafka
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Prisencolinensinainciusol
This nonsense song always makes me smile. It was a hit in Italy simply because it had a good beat and sounded like American English but it's total nonsense.
Bill Belichick's Mental Toughness
As an aside, if I were President, I'd make Bill Belichick my Press Secretary. Those press conferences would be must see TV.
Script of Deadwood's Pilot Episode
Here's the script to the pilot episode of the show Deadwood.
Was reading David Milch's autobiography last night and when he got to the part on how the show Deadwood came about, I felt the desire to read the script to the pilot episode. And this morning I felt the need to share it.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." - C.S. Lewis
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."- Stephen Hawking
"Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke." - Hermann Hesse
"Absent action, all animals are sad," - David Milch
Find Something Beautiful Today
The Acropolis of Lindos, on Rhodes Island, Greece. (Photo via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.
Monday, October 03, 2022
So True!
Think this falls into the sorry, not sorry category of things. I know I do it, but I also know I'm not going to stop buying those new books.
Monday Flotsam and Jetsam
Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Not sure how much a rainbow weighs but I'm sure its Pretty Light. Please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. Thanks I'll be here all week.
News and Trends
Niall Ferguson on news and trends. News is always bad because of the "if it bleeds, it leads," mentality but are trends today positive or negative?
Ferguson actually seems to be taking both sides of if trends are positive or negative today. First he spouts the Ray Dalio Chinese propaganda of everything being rosy under Xi Jinping. But then he states that he fully expects China to unravel like the Soviet Union in his lifetime.
The article was interesting nonetheless. One thing did bother me is Ferguson's propensity to try and invent new words. He tried it in his book The Ascent of Money with his combining of China and America into "Chimerica."And here he does it by trying to combine trends and events into "trevents." Stop trying to make fetch trevends happen Niall.
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"If you're trying to fit in, you'll never reach your potential." - Shane Parrish
"Socialism is astrology for beta males." - Jack Posobiec
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic." - Frank Hebert Dune
"Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts." - John Wooden
Sunday, October 02, 2022
40 Irish Singers Cover Cranberries' Dreams
Very cool but also goes to show just how awesome Dolores O'Riordan's voice was. Gone way too soon.
Currently Reading
One thing does pang the conscious though is the fact that with Milch now suffering from dementia I wonder if one of the motivations behind the book was one last payday for his children. Milch famously lost his fortune due to his gambling addiction. Wonder if that's covered in the book later on?
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"The secret to being likable is to not care if people like you." - Ed Latimore
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self." - Ernest Hemingway
"If you take care of the minutes, the years take care of themselves." - Tibetan Proverb
"It's called Sex Panther. It's illegal in nine countries. It's made with bits of real panthers so you know it's good." - Brian Fontana
Saturday, October 01, 2022
The Power of Coffee Compels You
Some good news for coffee drinkers from Dr. Rhonda Patrick:
Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day was linked with a longer lifespan and lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with avoiding coffee. • 27% lower all-cause mortality - ground coffee • 11% lower all-cause mortality - instant • 14% lower all-cause mortality - decaf
Quotes for Today
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"All cruelty springs from weakness." - Seneca
"Professionals are people who can do their best work when they don't feel like it." - Alistair Cooke
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Carl Sagan
"The light is too painful for someone who want to remain in darkness." - Eckhart Tolle
Sober October
I'll be doing Sober October again this year and hope to make it the entire month and not tap out on Halloween again like I did last year.
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