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A Tuesday ramble, with links

I’m back from a Thanksgiving break. I hope everybody had a filling and fulfilling holiday. Mine was quiet and uncomplicated, exactly the way I like it.

Just some random thoughts …

—–

The Trump impeachment hearings have finally done for me what years of willpower and determination couldn’t do: They’ve made me lose all interest in politics.

For years I’ve known intellectually (and have written) that political “news” is mostly a con and a diversion. For years I swore off news and politics (which are increasingly synonymous) and pledged to ignore them. But I was sucked in anyhow.

Now? I’m just bored.

Does that mean I’m cured of my lifelong addiction?

—–

It’s strange to think that within living memory “news” occupied two small places in average first-world lives: the pages of a morning newspaper and a 15-minute segment (later expanded to half an hour) on television before the real evening programming began.

I suspect we owe Lee Harvey Oswald (or whoever really killed JFK) for kicking off our present 24/7 fixation. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could owe Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, and their media followers for finally ending our obsession/addiction/FOMO on every political development?

Yeah, I know. Tech alone means endless news will always be … endless. Besides, the more all-consuming government becomes, the more everything becomes political, and the more we get sucked in, for sheer self-defense if nothing else.

But a girl can dream.

—–

I’ve been working on a blogosaurus about the cumulative effects of child abuse (both freelance and institutional).

It began with unorganized thoughts and seemingly random memories pouring out on paper, without plan or direction. I wasn’t sure, and am still not sure, it will ever shape itself into anything blogable. But I finally realized that if it had a theme, that theme would paraphrase Stalin’s famous quote about one death being a tragedy, but a million deaths being merely a statistic.

One damaged life is a tragedy; a million damaged lives is a society.

Heaven help us.

Source.

—–

As I say, I don’t know when or whether that blog will ever see daylight. So in the meantime, here’s a link sent by FM on a similar topic:

We must stop labeling and drugging our kids for acting like kids.

—–

And some more links for you:

16 Comments

  1. brew
    brew December 3, 2019 11:46 am

    Wow – those arched cabins just might be the ticket for me… thanks!

    if I could put one of these up on piers (so it’s a ‘temporary structure’), ditch my 5th wheel, get a wood stove and be a pretty darn happy camper….

    brew

  2. Claire
    Claire December 3, 2019 12:02 pm

    Glad to be of help, brew.

    I was also thinking one of those might be a good shed/guest cabin for my place. Thanks again to C2 for the find.

  3. jed
    jed December 3, 2019 1:10 pm

    The main issue with alternatives to Google is that a lot of them don’t work too well. That’s the main attraction Google has. For example, the Librem phone is really rough right now, and I think it doesn’t make phone calls yet. IIRC, Ubuntu Touch can be hit’n’miss re. how well the apps work with a mobile screen. Oh, and I don’t see the major tablets listed as supported devices either. So there’s a rub there. Still, all those things are worth trying.

    Those little cabins look cool. Cheaper than a yurt too! But I don’t think I’d fit in one. Maybe if I had 2 of them, or 3 … which is one of the main arguments for me against something like RV living. There was a story I ran across yesterday, I think, about an Ethiopian who build a 3 bdr house on a big flatbed.

    I’m not sure I’m exactly ‘bored’ with the news, etc., as much as I am just tired of all of it.

    The news I do read just makes me want to go underground. As in:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/business/secret-consumer-score-access.html

  4. brew
    brew December 3, 2019 1:25 pm

    I missed the g00gly alternatives list first time, now I’ve gone over it.

    I don’t use ProtonMail for much of anything, mostly because it’s difficult to find others that are willing to use it as well… it’s just not as convenient as gmail, nor is it (so far) anywhere near as good, but I just like the fact that it is there for me to use if I want to. I’ve donated a few bucks to support them and when they come out with their Calendar program in January, it could be a game changer for me and I think I’ll plan on dumping gmail altogether…

    But a few days ago they came out with a privacy survey, linked here:

    protonmail.com/blog/privacy-survey/

    I was going to participate, but with all surveys I like to look ahead if I can and if they start asking for demographic info like my salary and where I live, I don’t do it.

    This survey didn’t ask those questions, but if you go down to the bottom, they ask these questions below. I find this unsettling. At least at first glance it’s a SJW’s wet dream:

    Please rate how you feel about the following issues (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot)

    Banning single use plastic (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Increasing the use of renewable energy (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Banning genetically modified food (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Eating less meat (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Promoting equal opportunities (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Becoming carbon neutral (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Mass surveillance (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Making the wealthy pay their fair share (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

    Defending democracy (1 Don’t care, 4 Care a lot) *

  5. jed
    jed December 3, 2019 4:36 pm

    I’ve noticed a pretty significant intersection among tech/privacy/lefty interests. Maybe it’s because SJW interests tend towards anti-corporatism, which dovetails nicely with AGW, GMO, etc. and with Progressivism.

    The Arched Cabin site mentioned build teams, which they no longer do. Now I’m wondering how many people, minimum, could put one of the larger ones up. You’d think they’d mention that someplace. When you look at all the plans, sq. footage with a loft included looks a lot better. Of course, for us older folks, that loft is getting less and less useful. Maybe there could be a robotic storage / retrieval system for keeping stuff up there. And you have to keep in mind land acquisition and site prep too.

  6. Comrade X
    Comrade X December 3, 2019 8:19 pm

    The zombie kids on drugs article hit home due to knowing of one who killed his parents.

    I would strongly urge parents to reconsider doing it.

  7. Thomas Knapp
    Thomas Knapp December 4, 2019 2:54 am

    Those arched cabins look pretty cool! Personally, though, when I build a tiny house it will either be from scratch on a used large boat trailer, or just amount to gutting and re-doing the interior of an old school bus.

  8. Myself
    Myself December 4, 2019 4:44 pm

    Re: Impeachment, or politics, or professional wrestling…

    I’ll just quote what I wrote the other day.

    “A bit late to this party, so I’m not sure anyone will see this, but the trump impeachment hearings are as big of a scam as the clinton impeachment hearings were, bread and circuses for the masses, trump was placed in office by the same people who placed obama in office, and for the same reasons.

  9. Anonymous
    Anonymous December 5, 2019 9:05 am

    It’s strange to think that within living memory “news” occupied two small places in average first-world lives

    I don’t think the weekly amount of lies to apologize for political power was ever that small at any time in history. All that imaginary stuff they talk about in churches is also fake news. Fiction stories about nonexistent entities and creatures, Kipling just-so stories for tall children. “A long time ago the flying spaghetti monster ate the sun, and that’s why tomato sauce is red. Furthermore, the Earth is at the center of the universe, and the climate is warming. Since we have the best understanding of the universe you better do exactly as we say, else you are doomed. Put your tithes on the plate so we can consume them building a pyramid, er, cathedral, because independence is evil and only slaves who live hand-to-mouth go to heaven.”

  10. E. Garrett Perry
    E. Garrett Perry December 6, 2019 7:45 am

    Regarding the eye exam scam: no kidding!!

    I know my perscription, so I simply walk into a drugstore and buy cheap German contacts for the equivalent of about $6 for a week’s supply of daily-wear disposables. Gotta find an optician to get the Acuvue 3s I prefer, though- they’ll probaby cost about $10 for a pair of monthlies that’ll last me for 6mo or more. Over-the-counter, no muss, no fuss, and paid for with an hour of English teaching. One more reason my expat friends dread the possibility of having to move back Stateside.

  11. buddhaha
    buddhaha December 6, 2019 4:28 pm

    If you have a Disqus account, don’t change your email address with them to Protonmail. Instant ban. Trying to register with them using a Protonmail address is a waste of time.

    Changed my email address to Protonmail, and instantly, every one of my posts were blocked as spam. They provide a button on the blocked posts to dispute the classification. Did so… and wound up shadow banned for two weeks before they just closed the account.

    Never heard a peep out of them. That I had 1100+ posts with 700 upvotes and nothing that could remotely be spam was irrelevant. The most charitable explanation is that they’ve decided that ” Protonmail bad” and they’re too lazy to actually look. The Conspiracy Theory version is that they actually looked at some of my posts and decided that I wasn’t the right sort, where that is defined by the SF (where they are headquartered) zeigeist.

  12. Al
    Al December 9, 2019 5:23 am

    Hi Ive finally got nerve enough to send you a message after meeting Boston T. Party at Saturday night Christmas party at the Hancock’s. Vin told me to tell you he thinks I’m ok ( ya I know, rrriiight) any way I’m a big fan of your work for almost 20 years. Long story short I would be thrilled to meet you someday. Are you ever coming to Arizona? And no I am not a stalker. Just a huge fan.

  13. Claire
    Claire December 9, 2019 1:13 pm

    Hi, Al. Good to hear from you. And boy, do those names you mention bring up memories of some good times.

  14. Al
    Al December 9, 2019 4:27 pm

    So come on down out of the cold for a while. I’m sure Ernie and Donna as well as the rest of the gang would love to see you. we are none to warm but no snow! Who knows you might decide to move down here I’m sure you would be among friends. I admit I have every intention of meeting you if the opportunity arises. Ernie will tell you I’m ok and not a slacker as I built the geodesic dome making equipment.

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