Sorry for the silence. When too much is going on, I need to retreat and cogitate. I love the Internet, but I don’t like that aspect of it that expects everybody with a few brain cells and a keyboard to be an instant expert, and I don’t like that aspect of it that treats the most profound human experiences as just another fleeting newsbit or opportunity to promote an agenda. How does one respond to a catastrophe like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami? Everything you read or see appears to be the work of the six blind men inspecting an…
Category: Miscellaneous
Eighty-five-year-old sniper still has it. Geez, this seems like the last thing anybody should be thinking about right now. Dumb criminal of the day. He does have a point, though. The lady might be armed. (Tip o’ hat to Rational Review News.) Once again, Massachusetts proudly leads the way. Eejits. (Tip o’ hat to S.) Slowly, the states begin to defy the Fed’s funny money. Yeah, this is just a token gesture. But still … (Tip o’ hat to MH.) This is a token gesture, too. But ya gotta love it. ObamaCare waivers. For everybody. Granted this conference took place…
Those poor folks. It just gets worse. here’s an update from the BBC that goes into detail about what might be happening at Fukushima Daiichi and how nuclear reactors work — and fail. Right now, the seriousness of the explosion is anybody’s guess. And here’s an account of the Japanese history with natural disasters. The only good thing about this: If anybody is prepared for catastrophe, it’s the Japanese. I know that some readers of this blog have friends over there. My best to them all — and please post in the comments if you have any word from the…
Good news (thanks to P.T.): the first 11 markets where Atlas Shrugged will be released. And a tiny hint of hopeful news (courtesy of Jim. B). Remember Nathan Fillion’s recent comment about wanting to revive Firefly? Well … The secret of long life isn’t what we’ve been told. But it may — no surprise — involve a depressing amount of exercise (NYTimes free subscription link). Whatever it involves, it doesn’t hinge on any “medical establishment” — as this depressing graph makes clear. For more impressive charts, check out Dave’s Friday blog. Silver. Shazam. The FDA pulls 500 prescription cold and…
I like wandering through old cemeteries. In the same spirit, every couple of years I visit the Social Security Death Index online. The entries there aren’t as poignant or informative as old tombstones (though they do contain something tombstones don’t — defunct SS numbers). But every once in a while I’ll think of people from a long time ago and enter their names. A depressing number of my old acquaintances turn out to be dead. Not because I’ve reached that age where it happens (knock wood), but because of war and drugs and other bad habits long ago. My best…
Plague death in Chicago: A scientific detective story. Don’t tell your cat-lady friends, but they’re being manipulated. Oh. I expect they already know that. A happier detective story: Finding the lost library of Thomas Jefferson. (NYTimes free subscription link.) How Obamacare is already damaging the U.S. medical system in ways that will be hard to undo even if the Rs are sincere about repealing or defunding it. How to be the luckiest guy on the planet in four easy steps. By James Altucher. You could nitpick the specifics. (I think his third goal sets him up for a fall, in…
My deadlines are going better than I thought. Still blogging. (But don’t be surprised if I miss a few days. The hardest part hasn’t hit yet. I’m working up my nerve to be Brilliant. You can only imagine what an effort that requires.) Hm. We knew “our representatives” were corrupt, hypocritical, and a lot of other things. But crazy? I mean, crazier than you’d have to be to want to run other people’s lives in the first place. LOL! Here’s the tale of a man who foreclosed on Wells Fargo. Seriously. The sheriff was going to auction off the local…
The Swiss vote to keep their guns. Sounds as if their nannifying hoplophobes are just as bad as ours, though. NAFTA North. For “security” this time. Complete with more plans for biometric ID and tracking. Sigh. But don’t worry. The fedgov’s rushing to the rescue to protect our online privacy. I especially like the part about all those levels of government that are above the proposed law. Kevin Wilmeth, Rifleman Savant, gets it exactly right on Egypt. The future’s still dangerous (isn’t it always?). But the NOW has been magnificent. And zownds! — the Empire was irrelevant to it all.…
I’ve been working on a followup to last November’s blog “Defending Boundaries” (or, as I originally typoed it, “Definding Boundaries”). Will try to have that later in the week. But today I’ve accepted an invitation from a friend to go to the Big City. Not just the local Big City with the Wal-Mart (population 10,000 or so), but a real big city. Where I get to do something I’ve never done before — visit an Ikea store. Since I’ve always loved Scandinavian furniture, this could be dangerous — even aside from what friends assure me are the many other addictive…