Press "Enter" to skip to content

Author: Claire

A pair of weekend reads

“A Few Thoughts on Current Events.” I wake up every day around two or three in the afternoon, make a cup of coffee and turn on the news, just waiting for the day when it finally happens, the day that something finally snaps, and I am listening to Sheppard Smith breathlessly trying to describe shaky video of a mob of 500,000 or 800,000 pissed off taxpayers that has invaded Washington and are lining every street in D.C., armed to the teeth, and erecting scaffolding on the National Mall. Actually, that’s not how I think it is going to go, but…

11 Comments

“Disappearing” David Codrea

Now it’s not only Mike Vanderboegh who is persona non grata at KABA. David Codrea gets sent down the Memory Hole. Remains to be seen whether all things Codrea will be “disappeared” or just that one news item. As David notes, KABA is Gottlieb’s property. He can ban anybody he wants from it. But perhaps somebody should send Mr. G a copy of The Commissar Vanishes and a certain Orwellian book or two

10 Comments

Friday links

The newest, most shocking, and “scientifically proven” danger from legal cannabis! Stoned bunny rabbits! Srsly. Not from The Onion. (H/T JW) “The Envy of Frank Underwood.” Is Netflix the prime mover (and prime beneficiary) behind federal control of the Internet? Ever call your credit card company’s customer service line? They might have secretly voice fingerprinted you. If it’s such a great idea to prevent fraud, why aren’t they being upfront about it? Seems all that shrill weirdness coming from the hoplophobe ranks recently isn’t just a side-effect of “gun control.” Even some of the most major distracting drivel is apparently…

11 Comments

Death and gratitude

Monday evening, after a good day’s work, I relaxed in a recliner with a cup of hot, sweet tea. You know how it is; relaxing is often not actually relaxing, as our minds rove from the things we didn’t get done today to the things we’d better do tomorrow, then back to the things that happened 10 years ago or might happen 10 years in the future. But that evening I really relaxed. I felt profoundly happy to be in my little house, looking out a big window at a small, pleasant view. For once I wasn’t bothered by the…

12 Comments

Monday links

Seems most of the commentors on this piece don’t understand the concept of the straw that broke the camel’s back. A reminder of how fragile the infrastructure of modern communications can be. (And here’s some analysis with links to some conspiracy theorizing.) The sad irony in Boris Nemtsov’s murder. “Dark Leviathan.” A darkly cynical look at Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road, the Darknet, and what the author believes is the inevitable fate of libertarian ideals. Someone needs to give this article a great fisking. F*c*b**k blocks a fundraiser to help a father reunite with his son. (Hint: the reason is G-U-N-S.)…

19 Comments

I knit a dragon while attempting to stay sane

You know how last week I went off in a huff, unable to endure the stupid that blasts from the ‘Net these days like an old-fashioned Texas gusher? Well, I decided for sanity’s sake to knit a dragon. This dragon. Here it is on day one. That’s its head. And. I was back online an hour after I huffed away. Sigh. Can’t win. ‘Cause this dragon, though probably only of intermediate knitting difficulty, was beyond me and right away I had to look up how to do some of the stitches. (Books tell this, too, but I left the excellent…

16 Comments

For your own good

An acquaintance made two statements about the same event. The statements are incompatible. One is probably true. But it’s impossible that both are true. Only question is which statement is the lie and which the truth, and that’s not answerable.

But no, this is not some version of that conundrum in which you have to figure out how to act on a statement made by someone from a tribe of liars and you might get eaten by alligators or something if you don’t guess right.

In this case I don’t much care which statement is true and which false. The specific matter is minor. Nothing is at stake. No alligators are involved. My rambling brain is just piqued by the nature of the lie, which would be very different, depending on which statement is false and which true.

29 Comments

Leonard Nimoy, RIP

Oh shoot. Spock is dead. I was never a fan of Star Trek (except in the sense that, for a time, it was the only thing remotely SF-like on television and you take whatever slim pickins you can get). But I was a fan of him. He held up beautifully into old age, too. Leonard Nimoy, RIP. Spock, live long and prosper.

7 Comments

Friday links

Dear foolish and gullible Americans. There’s a reason the government wants into the ‘Net. Religious freedom blogger Avjit Roy hacked to death. By guess who. And guess why. More. Cultural treasures and books have to go, also. Dog is shot twice but still stops home invasion. (H/T MR) This was a freelance home invasion. Had the thugs been wearing badges, presumably they’d have used large enough calibers to off the pesky mutt. The feds are now attempting to halt the liberty movement in Washington state using extralegal “detention” and intimidation.

13 Comments