Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

Peace is celebrated in the Middle East, China blusters about trade, Jared Isaacman may be back on as Director of NASA and oh yeah - the government shutdown continues but now the RIF's have begun. Now EPA's Lee Zeldin announced he's RIFing 90% of the Democrats on staff. If I worked at the EPA and had a D next to my name I'd change my party affiliation ASAP and if I were a Democratic Senator I'd tell the White House I'm changing my vote to YES so please don't fire any of my constituents.

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Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Peace in the Middle East?

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- This may be a bridge too far.

- I don't care your politics - this is funny.

- A little history humor.

- Funny - not funny.

Linky Links

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

- Jonathan Turley on what may be Comey's legal defense. Good primer on the case.

- Predictions for AI security.

- How bank loans actually work.

- The European Death Wish. Think it may be more accurate that European decision-makers reached their nadir with this policy. Hopefully the pendulum has begun to swing back to sanity.

Elon Musk's Algorithm

Elon Musk has certain rules he lives his life and runs his companies by per Walter Isaacson's book Elon Musk. These are worth reviewing for your own use:

• Question every requirement. He views any regulation set by man as recommendations. Only really need to obey the laws of physics.
• Delete any part or process you can. Put another way - simplify! simplify! simplify!
• Simplify and optimize.
• Accelerate cycle time. Every process can be speeded up. But only follow this after the first three steps. Aiming for your personal best is good advice but only after you've mastered the basics.
• Automate. That comes last.

Friday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

As the situation in Israel and around the world proves - when people say "Never again!" most don't really mean it. They will go right back to the attitudes that made the October 7th attacks or treating Jews as subhuman possible. Same is true in our country. We should never have to say "Never again!" when it comes to weaponizing government departments or abridging rights that should be held sacred.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Life Advice from Bill Walsh

Your Real Competition

Via

The Making of the Atomic Bomb

"The Japanese assessment was essentially technological.  Like Bohr's assessment in 1939, it overestimated the difficulty of isotope separation and underestimated the U.S. industrial capacity. It also, as the Japanese government had before Pearl Harbor, underestimated American dedication. Collective dedication was a pattern of Japanese culture more than of American. But Americans could summon it when challenged, and couple it with resources of talent and capital unmatched anywhere else in the world." - Richard Rhodes The Making of the Atomic Bomb

Tough to read that paragraph and not think that maybe China may be making that same mistake today.

Linky Links

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

- Is the war in Gaza finally over? Let's hope its a lasting peace.

- Nobel physics prize awarded to US based trio for discoveries in quantum mechanics.

- Long but interesting: An existential guide to making friends. "Friendship is logistics performed tenderly." Could have done without the moss analogy though.

- Am I an awful person for knowing who this is or for laughing at the joke?

Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

The big news is the announced peace deal between Israel and Hamas over Gaza and the hostages. However, don't overlook James Comey's not guilty plea, more details about Artic Frost coming out, the government shutdown continuing, and every other thing seemingly happening all at once. I didn't even have time to mention the Boston Bruins are undefeated on the NHL season.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Reading

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is told in jest.

- As I said - many a truth is said in jest.

- The definition of insanity.

- It worked before.

- Analysis true!

Spying on GOP Senators

It was announced that first the FBI under Christopher Wray and then White House "Special Counsel" Jack Smith under "Artic Frost" spied on eight sitting GOP Senators and one GOP Congressman.  (I put "Special Counsel" in scare quotes because Smith was NEVER confirmed by the Congress.)

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino and Director Kash Patel felt it was important to brief the senators "as soon as possible" after discovery of the record. The timing of the revelation of the spying may not be optimal but the FBI has pledged to transparent as possible and holding back information would defeat that purpose. Guessing GOP Senators are much less likely to be willing to deal with Democrats on reopening the government now. Can you blame them?

Have a post up on Substack about the situation.

The Americans: The Democratic Experience

"From the raw material of this census of 1850, Hinton R. Helper, a North Carolinian shaped his Impending Crisis of the South (1857), probably the most influential antislavery work of nonfiction. Helper aimed to prove with statistics that the South as a whole, and especially the free white laborer, was being impoverished by slavery. He therefore attacked slaveholders as the enemies of Southern prosperity. Because Helper was a Southerner his book created a stir even greater than that of Uncle Tom's Cabin five years before. And the Republican Party ordered one hundred thousand copies to support Lincoln in the campaign of 1860." The Americans: The Democratic Experience by Daniel Boorstin

Knew about the effect Uncle Tom's Cabin had on the war but this history was new to me.

Linky Links

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

- Two years since the Oct. 7th slaughter. Slaughter was the appropriate word for what the barbarians did.

- From the archives: The power of humming.

- The Biden corruption in Ukraine. It's as bad as you imagined.

- The first step towards a war with Venezuela. One the one hand it's a bad look for a "man of peace" to start a war but on the other do Democrats really want to support Maduro's dictatorship?

Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam

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

Did not include any thoughts on the Biden Administration spying on GOP Senators or suppressing proof of their corruption in Ukraine. Too many thoughts on those situations and plan longer posts later.

As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button or share the Link. Thanks!