Press "Enter" to skip to content

Living Freedom Posts

Wednesday miscellany

Angry man pours gasoline on himself. Police arrive. One guess: What does a genius cop do? (Tip o’ hat to P.T.) Intelligent, up-to-date discussion of the Japanese nuclear plant at The Mental Militia Forums. (Tip o’ hat to S.) An era has truly ended. Augustus Owsley Stanley, III is dead. For a brief, shining time, Purple Owsley was the holy grail of psychedelics. Oh yeah, and there was that band he was involved with, too. Oh lord. You know I’m for creators’ rights. But the government version is getting crazier and more Draconian by the day. Absurd. Government by and…

6 Comments

This isn’t really a post about gardening

That gadget you see below is a Soil Cube Tool. It was (very nicely) made by the good folks at Deeply Rooted Organics and (very nicely) sent to me as … well, I think of it as a personal challenge. Because this isn’t really a post about gardening. The tool is for forming — guess what? — cubes of soil in which to start seeds. A recipe for the soil mix and complete instructions come with the gadget. Upon receiving it, I went to the local farmers’ market, bought four packets from the Seed Lady (three types of salad greens,…

20 Comments

More on the Etsy mess

The Etsy privacy mess (which I ranted about a few weeks ago) is finally getting attention beyond the outrage that’s been boiling on Etsy’s own forums since January. The bottom line is that Etsy — in a stupid attempt to become more of a social networking site than a buying-and-selling forum — has chosen to expose every person who ever used Etsy (and potentially many who haven’t, via idiots being encouraged to link their address books to the site). Sellers are mostly aware of this and are opting out. (I opted out, let all my listings lapse, and am looking…

5 Comments

Tuesday miscellany

In better earthquake news: a pair of dogs survive the tsunami. Not only survive, but show some smarts in doing so. Pretty good article on datamining. What it can and can’t do. The author mentions Ghostery, which I already have on Firefox. He calls it tracker-monitoring software, but it’s really much more than that. Depending on your settings, it also turns off most tracking. It slowed my browser down noticeably, but it’s worth it. Man with Fourth Amendment written on his chest sues the TSA. You go, Aaron Tobey. Is the NRA finally developing some spine? That’s an NY Times…

6 Comments

Latest on the Japanese nuclear catastrophe

Even the Japanese government now says the radiation leaks have become dangerous to humans living nearby. The disaster is now considered a six — worse than Three Mile Island, less than Chernobyl — on the seven-level International Nuclear, Radiological Event Scale. Worth noting: Even a seven doesn’t imply the “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” scenario (scroll down for map and info on exposure levels). But just in case (and H/T L.D.), here and here are sites for monitoring the jet stream.

11 Comments

Random ramblings through earthquake-riven lands

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…

15 Comments

Weekend miscellany (and one small grammatical gripe)

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…

37 Comments

Explosion at Japanese nuclear reactor

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…

1 Comment

Lighter side, self-protection, and better things

Well. That was depressing. So let’s look at the other side of life, okay? First (and apropos of what I was just ranting about), there’s new help for self-defense against surveillance. And (via LewRockwell.com), an advanced — if moderately pricey — option for snail-mail privacy. (And a review of the service.) “She Don’t Like Firefly.” LOL. Are Joel and I at risk of blog incest? Dunno. But he does find some damn funny things. Daniel Radcliffe. The more you learn, the more he seems like a cool, bright (check out him singing Tom Lehrer), together, young man — not to…

12 Comments