Linkee-poo into the night

Not going to talk about the State of the Union, except to note the BAZINGA! in the middle. Also, not going to talk about the response, but damn, we though Kerry was wooden.

Twenty-four things no one ever tells you about the publishing industry. (Grokked from Christine Purcell)

Patrick Rothfuss explains unexamined privilege and how it seeps into culture and then seeps out of our creative minds. Again, it requires that we don't examine ourselves and our places in the world.

How I learned to stop worrying and came to love AI. Or something like that. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"… Taofick Okoya… has created Queens of Africa dolls and Naija Princess dolls that are outselling Mattel's (Barbies)." Math is hard, let's go to the mall. Interesting from both the historical side, the marketing side, and from the point of view of exposing cultural imperialism (just in case you never knew what it looked like).


Apparently, according to a small survey of college men, a third of them think it's okay to force themselves on women (with almost half of them thinking that rape is okay even when the word "rape" is used). What the total fuck? It's like the 60s to 2000 never happened. Actually I'm not totally surprised at this, given the social regression we've had since 2000, accelerated (or at least exposed) since 2008. But now there's not even a veneer of civility for a portion of our population.

Imagine there's no Heaven, it's easy if you try. Well, Alex Malarkey admits he just made up that story about going to Heaven as a kid (hint: seriously, his name is Malarkey). Not that I truly expect it'll change anyone's philosophy or faith. Faith, after all, survives in the absence of proof. That's why it is faith.

The drone pilot shortage. Damn. Here's something you probably didn't know about me; when I took the OCT (Officer Candidacy Test) I scored so high I was told by my colonel that if I didn't have shitty eyes, the Air Force would have paid for my civilian pilot training and guaranteed me (as these things go) a pilot slot. Yea. No reason why drone pilots can't have corrected vision.

"Americans for Prosperity, the most prominent arm of the Koch brothers' organization, put Republican lawmakers on notice Thursday, setting out a conservative agenda for Congress. AFP leaders say it will be pushed by the group's grassroots supporters in 34 states." Strange how we're told the Koch brothers don't have any real influence, yet how their priorities are the Congress' priorities and how they now can put lawmakers "on notice." What's not stated in this article is how much an influence the Koch's have over ALEC. Pay no attention the brothers behind the curtain.

"A Sentinel, Okla., man on Thursday shot the town's police chief four times…" Don't worry, he's (most likely) white, so "… was then released from custody after questioning, the Oklahoman reported."

Keystone XL is so amazing wonderful. It's like a job-farting unicorn that brings economic prosperity and it's so totally safe. What could possibly go wrong. "A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the drinking water supply of an eastern Montana city just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River."

On why modern munitions are so much a problem. There still may be Japanese Ballon Bombs from WWII waiting to be found.