Weekend Linkee-poo double dip, mostly Jay Lake version

I'm trying to catch up with the enormous backlog of reading. I doubt I'm ever going to be able to fully catch up and may just ignore many posts that I shouldn't. Can't be helped.

Tobias Buckell on doing the math about your publishing. Especially if you're self-publishing (because there's no gatekeeper to inform you it's a series may be a losing proposition).

What to do once you're at the point of getting an agent.

Because my friends and I are approaching that age, the Diane Rehm show on managing your elderly parent's finances.

Why AIs won't arise in a blink of the eye. Yes, this. And a response. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Because it's related to research for Class. "Optogenetics is a breakthrough technology that is giving scientists precise control over what animals feel, how they behave, and even what they think. It relies on modifying the DNA of neurons so that they send signals—or are blocked from firing—in response to light." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

The Airlander and a chance to win tickets on its inaugural voyage. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)

A form of cultural bias in advertising. The stories we tell ourselves. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"Capital One… recently sent a contract update to cardholders that makes clear it can drop by any time it pleases. The update specifies that 'we may contact you in any manner we choose' and that such contacts can include calls, emails, texts, faxes or a 'personal visit.'" Because most criminals use enforcers to intimidate people. I'm almost half tempted to get one (I don't have a Cap One Card) just to try and goad them to show up at my day job. That would be hilarious. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Ten signs your religious freedoms are under attack. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

Some more on the Biblical concept of marriage. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

That Kappa Beta Phi dinner for the uber-rich and powerful of Wall Street that you may have heard about. Still think these people should be protected and not regulated to within an inch of their lives? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Russia is forming a special naval command for the opening Arctic Ocean. Here's a little secret, Russia's (and the former USSR's) Northern Fleet based out of Severomorsk has never really been able to field and effective blue water fleet (a combination of location, weather, shoddy workmanship and the nature of Russia's conscription force). But now with global warming, they might actually become a serious threat.

"As the jet stream winds weaken, they become more prone to wandering much farther south. And, as they do, the cold air follows them." A nice description of what is happening, and why it may be tied to global warming. And a small clarification from Phil Plait. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

A long article on the cheating in the Nuclear Forces and just what has been happening with those forces. Full disclosure, as a young man I had to affirm that, given the lawful order, I would end half of the world and plunge the rest into nuclear winter. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

This is why there are recall provisions for most legislatures. A NY State legislature tells a local constituent who's mother was injured riding her bicycle to work that people just shouldn't be riding bicycles in the county. Wow. What an asshole. Dear Legislator Thomas Barraga, buy a fucking clue already, okay. As a former local representative, there were many things my constituents did that I disagreed with, but if they weren't illegal, I tried to help them. This is what it means to be a representative. Also, hiding behind "telling them the truth" is a coward's way out. If you have that many injuries happening while people are legally on the road, you have a problem you need to solve. Telling them not to do what they have a right to do isn't the answer. But I guess that's better than saying it was a good thing the Aurora shooter had a 100-round magazine. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Some conservative lawmakers who don't want to expand Medicaid coverage even after they use it themselves. Hypocrisy, thy name is conservative politics. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"Still, you can already see some on the right groping toward a new strategy, one that relies on highlighting examples of the terrible harm Obamacare does. There’s only one problem: they haven’t managed to come up with any real examples." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Wow, a reporter does their homework while interviewing Bob Corker on his role in helping defeat UAW organization of the Volkwagen plant. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Can't we just make Tom Perkins wear one of those signs Bill Engvall talks about? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Whackaloon quotient goes up, again. Seriously, progressives are the "KKK but with minorities"? How do these people feed themselves and keep from drowning in a rainstorm? (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"We found that homicide rates in states with a version of the Stand Your Ground law increased by an average of 8 percent over states without it — which translates to roughly 600 additional homicides per year. These homicides are classified by police as criminal homicides, not as justifiable homicides." Guns make us safer my Aunt Fanny. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Sure, racism and inequality are all in the past. (Grokked from Jay Lake)