October 2017 – Living Freedom

Tuesday links

Published October 31, 2017 7:35 am by Claire

Former Baltimore gun squad member justifies himself by saying he and his pals committed crimes only while on duty. That’s so noble of them.

And here’s what it’s like to be a convicted gun criminal who did nothing wrong. The story of Brian Aitkin in his own words.

Inevitable: the liquor industry is getting in on cannabis.

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FYI on the Paladin going-out-of-business sale

Published October 31, 2017 5:24 am by Claire

I just took a look this morning and discovered that the discounts have gotten even steeper at the Paladin Press close-out sale. Books are now at 65% off, putting the Bad Attitude Guide to Good Citizenship at $8.05 and The Freedom Outlaw’s Handbook at $12.60. Equivalent bargains on ALL Paladin books. So get ’em while you can. The last day Paladin will be be selling is November 29, but I would expect many titles to be gone long before then. It’s the end of an era, folks. Again, NFI to me, except for royalties paid on my own titles. At…

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Monday links

Published October 30, 2017 2:10 am by Claire

I think it’s tongue-in-cheek, but how do you tell? It’s time to ban men from the workplace.

Dan Adams of the late, great Earthineer is now creating Steader: video courses in “skills for abundant living.”

Meet Sophie — who socially engineers herself into high-security buildings.

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Weekend links

Published October 28, 2017 2:11 am by Claire

Two women and their dogs are rescued after five months adrift at sea. They were smart about at least one thing.

Be of good cheer. Even the “obvious” bump stock ban is having trouble making it through Congress.

Congratulations to Jim Bovard. He’s finally made the grade of having one of his posts censored by F*c*b**k for casting the fedgov in too negative a light.

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Stupid, stupid, stupid Amazon security

Published October 27, 2017 1:44 pm by Claire

[rant] I have a vendor account on Amazon to sell dead-tree copies of RebelFire and Hardyville Tales. Yesterday I logged in, only to learn that as of next Tuesday, all vendors will be required to have two-factor identification or be locked out of their accounts. Well, that’s rather short notice. But I don’t mind two-factor ID. So today, Amazon nags me again and I click … and discover the ID can only be by phone. No email. Grumble. I absolutely hate the damn noisybox telephone. But what can I do? I choose SMS over voice. They send me a code.…

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Story fragment now on Patreon

Published October 26, 2017 4:15 pm by Claire

If you’re one of my Patreon subscribers (in any amount), you can now read a draft fragment of the promised RebelFire story. I just posted it for critiquing. I also plan to share the story, when it’s finished, with a few Friends of the Blog. And someday perhaps it’ll be part of a RebelFire novel for one and all; I don’t know. Meantime, I’ll post fragments, and random thoughts about the writing process, on Patreon, with some posts open to public view. Happy reading.

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The Oatmeal: Reaching people on the Internet

Published October 26, 2017 10:21 am by Claire

Matthew Inman nails it once again (click to embiggenate):

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Thursday links

Published October 26, 2017 10:17 am by Claire

The DoJ is trying to get personal data on five Twitter users (one or two of whom you may know) because they received a smiley from a security researcher the feds have it in for.

Black preacher claims he was banned from a health club for giving an interview supporting Donald Trump.

Via Wendy McElroy: Big data meets Big Brother. In China. But I’ve seen hundreds of people on credit forums who’d think this horror was a fabulous idea.

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Writer’s to-do list

Published October 25, 2017 1:29 pm by Claire

1. Get RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone into a Kindle edition.* 2. Get Hardyville Tales into a Kindle edition.* 3. Create a second edition of How to Kill the Job Culture Before It Kills You (currently out of print) for Kindle and print-on-demand. 4. Create a new edition of The Freedom Outlaws Handbook for Kindle and print-on-demand. 5. Write that new story in the RebelFire universe! For my Patreon subscribers only. (It’s in the works, folks, and I have the most clever co-conspirator helping with key developments.) 6. BIG, TOP SECRET COLLABORATIVE MYSTERY WRITING PROJECT. More later if it…

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Midweek links

Published October 25, 2017 6:36 am by Claire

Bovard: let us not forget the FBI’s own long criminal record.

Well, Jeff Flake (who went from libertarian-ish rep to RINOish senator) was right about one thing: “Resentment is not a governing philosophy”. More mainstreamers should be asking what causes so much resentment and why it’s become a driving force in both “right” and “left-wing” poly-ticks.

Five years from now, will we will we be wearing headbands to stimulate our brains and make us smarter? (H/T JB)

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Month: October 2017