Linkee-poo same checks were always cashed, buy a little more distraction

Signal boost, Joshua Palmatier's kickstart project for CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: STEAMPUNK vs ALIENS anthology is getting close to being fully funded.

The shy writers guide to surviving the cocktail party. Also good for general con going tips.

The more they complicate the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain. Probably as a way to distract people from the fact that some implantable devices can now be hacked (the presenter conveniently dead), we now know that it's possible to hack our cars. Great. Oh, someone has already hacked your house.

Remember that coffin found at the burial site of Richard III? Well, turns out there was a sealed lead coffin on the inside. And now archeologists are trying to figure out how to open it without damaging what's on the inside. As the article says, "A wide variety of end-of-the-world scenarios begin with a tableau just like this. Nothing good can come of opening a lead coffin that somebody saw fit to seal within a stone coffin. It’s the medieval equivalent of the Yucca Mountain. Stay away." This is how the zombie apocalypse begins, just saying. Quick, someone send them a copy of The Mummy and The Mummy II with Brendan Fraser. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Rethinking the Goldilock's Zone. Now that we have a better understanding of the physics of our atmosphere, we can run better simulations. And this way we know more about our universe (and the viability of exoplanets to harbor life) and the future of our own planet. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Tobia Buckell reminds us of the wage morality of Henry Ford. Pay your people a living wage and it increases your own wealth. The good news is "The ratio of CEO pay to average worker pay is 273-1, down from a high of 383-1 in 2000, but up from 20-1 in 1965." But then, "CEO pay has increased faster than wages to high-skilled workers, suggesting that the salary market isn’t very efficient. 'Consequently, if CEOs earned less or were taxed more, there would be no adverse impact on output or employment,' the report (from the Economic Policy Institute) concludes." (Grokked from the Slactivist except for Tobias' article)

And this is why unions form. When a corporation disrespects it's employees, unions gain strength. And companies, like Walmart, has been disrespecting workers for decades now.

"Republican State Sen. Dave Lewis… wonders what that (Montana Free Clinic for State Employees) free price tag is actually costing the state government as well as the wider Helena community." Turns out, Senator, in it's first year of operation it saved the state $1.5 million. It's also providing more healthcare (catching more people with diabetes, hypertension/high blood pressure, and obesity), diagnosing people earlier (so treatment is less expensive and more than treating symptoms) and even the healthcare workers like the setup. Let's see, "free" (it's a part of the state employees's healthcare insurance, so their premiums go to pay for it), happier doctors and nurses, more employees using the system, catching diseases before they become big ticket expenditures, and reducing costs. I believe they call that a win-win-win scenario. Don't worry, I'm sure the conservatives will find something to bitch about, at the very least that it's to close to "socialism" and that it actually is state provided care. Also note the major reason for the cost savings is the removal of the mark-ups (ie. profit).

"I guess having two awesome parents who taught me to be a respectful young man paid dividends." Allen West on his never experiencing racism. We will ignore the race-baiting part of this quote and get to the main question, really? Hell, I've been with friends and seen the responses the president talked about. I'm going to add one more possibility to the thought train of this article (either he's lying or good for him) and add in the option of, "Maybe Mr. West is so wrapped up in himself he doesn't notice what goes on around him"? I'm sure he's also never had a problem hailing a cab, either. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Sort of like this. "(A) report released Monday from the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that up to nearly 1 million workers may voluntarily leave their jobs because of the new health care law." Queue up the conservatives to say people will just go on the public dole. Note two quotes to this in the article. However, what it really does is it allows people to leave jobs they hate for ones they may love. In other words, it brakes the first chain in the wage-slave relationship most employees have with their employer. And that diminishes their power over you. And now you know why so many business people are freaking-the-fuck-out over it (looking at you, Pappa John).

"But that’s not really the debate here. The real debate is: they don’t deserve it." In case conservatives continue to wonder why progressives think they're cruel and heartless. And then there's the taking of millions in farm aid, then deny others food when they're hungry. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Hey look, it's the "raise the minimum wage" argument again. Only this time the workers are getting involved. Rut' rho'. Fast food better be careful, this is how unions form. Also, that "profit margins are slim" and "we won't be able to hire more people" arguments are complete bullshit. This is like "NFL owners don't make any money." Yeah, right.

I guess when you tell one lie, the other come easier. That's a story debunking the "study of stress on women's reproductive cycle done by Nazis" (aka "women have a way of shutting that whole thing down") canard that I guess is making the rounds again. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"Anyone with the capacity to Google 'ho chi minh thomas jefferson' would have been able to find all of this in seconds. Wait until Allen West and right-leaning editorialists discover that Karl Marx was a supporter of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. Or that Margaret Thatcher supported the ultra-Maoist, genocidal Khmer Rouge in the 1980s." I think the writer of this misunderstands the label of "low information voter." Or "don't confuse me with the facts, I've got my outrage to get out." President Obama tells the historical fact that Ho Chi Minh was inspired by the Declaration of Independence and our Founding Fathers and the conservative echo chamber goes bat-shit crazy (again). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Are we burning vinyl again? Seriously, a call to burn records (and by extension books) because of "Satanic" influences? Time to break out the "Time Warp" again and travel back to the 80s. Seriously, I know the social conservatives are a retro movement, but to be shown that the 1980s were too progressive for them is really… well, I guess expected. Also, pro tip, if you decide to "burn" cds, stand upwind. Just a hint. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Fred Clark (aka the Slactivist) and his take on Pope Francis saying, "who am I to judge?" There's lots of links to good reading in there. I'm just happy to see a pope who appears to have read the Bible and understood the teaching of the Christ to be something more than, "womp on their asses." 'Cause I don't ever remember reading him saying that anyway.