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

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Linkee-poo, for I have dined on honeydew and drunk the milk of paradise

I know some of you are disappointed I haven't posted anything about the Goat-Sacrificing, Blood-Drinking Libertarian from Florida who is running for office. Well, let me just say, anyone who changes their name to a fake Latin/Roman name is not entirely mentally stable. Plus, every time I read about him, this scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian goes through my head and I just lose all sense of respect. This is the equivalent of getting your gerbil an American Express, or putting a dog on the ballot. Same. Exact. Thing.

"Everybody is invited to my all-male, all-white literary panel." That. Is. Hilarious. Thanks, McSweeneys. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

Is your creative process killing you? Based on a designers job, it also translates for writers.

Apropos, yes, sitting at your desk is killing you. Also, something I have been looking for, the Cubii, an elliptical designed for your desk. Although, at $320, my cheapness is going to kill me as well. (Grokked from Janiece)

"Wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in both Germany and the U.K., even without government subsidies, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). It's the first time that threshold has been crossed by a G7 economy." As more and more installed base comes on line, the price between renewables and fossil fuels continues to invert. Although, right now we're in a golden age, where much of that renewable energy isn't requiring replacement. Once that cost comes in the price variability will change again. But renewables (wind and solar) continue to drop in price for installation, compared to fossil fuels which continue to rise in price. Add in all the hidden costs (such as a carbon tax), and renewables now present a nice ROI. (Grokked from Dan)

NASA has released all the photos from the Moon Missions. (Grokked from Dan and lots of other people)

"… The Klencke Atlas featured state-of-the-art maps of the continents and various European states. It was also notable for its size. Standing six feet tall and six feet wide (when opened)…" Now that's an atlas. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Okay, this "diffuse a bomb" game sounds interesting. One person has the bomb in front of them, the other person has the manual. Neither can see each other, but they need each other to diffuse th bomb in time. This is much more like the real world than some other simulations. (Grokked from John)

And what should come as a surprise to no one, "The results suggest that the private Medicare Advantage health plans are managing to get rid of patients once their care becomes too costly, says economist Momotazur Rahman, the study's lead author. 'When the plan finds out this patient is very costly, there are incentives for the plan to get rid of the patient,' he says… The shift of patients who were insured by private companies back to traditional Medicare rolls can cost taxpayers more."

Trigger warning. The girls of El Salvador are disappearing. Either because they're being killed by the gangs, or they're trying to avoid being killed by the gangs. And this is why they come to the US (or try to). Also, I'll point out because of the larger conversation and general wisdom that muslims are horrible to girls, El Salvador is a majority Catholic country. It's not about religion, it's about society. And it's all over the world.

Fuck you, former Representative Ray Dickey. You might remember Mr. Dickey as the person who cut CDC funding to research firearm deaths in the US, which has been added as an amendment (and expanded) to every spending authority bill ever since he first introduce it twenty years ago. Now at 75, he says he has some regrets. "'If we had somehow gotten the research going, we could have somehow found a solution to the gun violence without there being any restrictions on the Second Amendment,' Dickey said. 'We could have used that all these years to develop the equivalent of that little small fence (for highway safety).'" To bad some dick blocked that research.

About your Second Amendment Solution and "I'd shoot the bastard" or "I'd rush the shooter" talk, people who have been in combat don't believe you. (Grokked from Joe Hill)

Turns out, Russia isn't playing nice in Syria. Who could have predicted that. However, keeping Turkish planes on their MiG-29 targeting radar is a Very Bad Thing™. I keep going back to the line in Red October. "This will get out of hand. Someone will make a mistake and we'll be in a shooting war." Turkey is a full member of NATO. An attack on a NATO member country is an attack on all of NATO. Anybody remember WWI?

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