I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Friday, November 13, 2015

Linkee-poo slugs it out into the weekend

Apex open call for anthology on the subject of Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)

Independent bookstore pays reward for showrooming Amazon's Seattle bookstore. (Grokked from Dan)

One hundred movie scripts for download. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

Why is American Business failing? Here it is in a nutshell. All the managers/owners want everybody else to do their work for them, and then are unwilling to pay for the experience they want. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

Why is diversity important? Because someone would have recognized that this Bloomingdales ad was inappropriate. Or, seriously, hire people with a smidgen of intelligence.

The difference in the judicial system between blacks and whites. (Grokked from Julie)

The rise of the robot farmer. So close. (Grokked from John)

A free press doesn't mean I have to be friendly to the press, or engage them in any way. To bad reporters (who are too often sought out to stuff press releases in their hands or microphones) don't understand this. They were pushed, hell people have been arrested for protesting in public spaces and reports remain mostly silent or file "he said, she said" reports on it. Just because I tell a reporter to get the fuck out of my face doesn't mean I don't understand or support their first amendment rights. It means I'm exercising my own, and I don't believe that either the reporter, or their news organization can either help me, or give an unbiased view.

"Today, the rhetoric of free speech is being abused in order to shut down dissent and facilitate bigotry. On behalf of everyone with liberal tendencies, I’d like to know why and how we’ve allowed this to happen." I tend to see more of this from the conservative spectrum, but there are some fossilized liberals who evoke the "free speech" protectionism of their own privilege. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)

So, let's say you've got a million bucks to transport. I don't know, maybe you're in a movie, or someplace where payrolls are handled in cash. Yea, there's a bag for that. (Grokked from Dan)

"Plenty of companies are now capitalizing on the allure of 'metabolism-boosting' foods and drinks. Among the most-hyped substance is green tea — for its supposed powers as an aid for weight loss and weight maintenance." For the record, I drink green tea. Not for any "fabulous" stuff, but because I feel better (physically and psychologically) drinking green tea over black tea. I haven't noticed any weight or metabolism changes by drinking it (except that caffeine is an appetite stimulant).

"Initial ratings for Fox Business Network's Republican presidential debate on Tuesday night show that the network drew about 10 million viewers, close to the 14 million viewers who tuned in to the CNBC debate in October, according to CNN." Um, no, 10 is just a slight more than two-thirds of 14. Although to the total overall viewership, yes, then it's not much difference. "'Debates need to focus on the issues, and that goal was accomplished tonight,' RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. 'Our candidates, not the moderators, were at the center of tonight’s debate, and they were all treated with fairness and respect.'" Or, Reince gets on his knees and blows Roger Ailes for making sure the GOP didn't implode from it's own stupidity.

When you hear politicians talk about "states rights" or "this should be handled by the states" these are the types of things they are protecting. And in many cases, they are intentional about it. That's a NYT article on gun running within the US, how criminals (well, "law abiding citizens") buy guns in states (and municipalities) that have lax gun laws and transport them to states and municipalities that have more restrictive gun laws. Also pointed to on why we need to increase background checks and maybe have a registry.

Dear Carly, see, there's a difference between someone who has immediate experience with you, having been fired by you, and still being bitter about it and expressing their opinion and someone making factually, demonstrably wrong whackaloon conspiracy statements in front of you.

You know, for a "doctor" Rand Paul is pretty dumb. Look, if you believe college are these bastions of liberal thought and beliefs you really haven't been following just what the hell people are protesting against on campuses. Also, you've probably not been on a campus in several decades. Also, he's is correct that the Earth is that old (kisses off the evangelical vote) and that our planet has gone through climate extremes with higher CO2 in the air. But here's the thing, we weren't alive then. And when the climate changed in a major way, we had large extinction events. The question of climate change isn't will the Earth survive, it's will we as a species survive.

No comments: