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

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Linkee-poo, when I'm a good dog, they sometimes throw me a bone

Not pointed out for that "oh, look at these backward ways," but pointed to as world-building material and as a check on your ability to make it real. The effort to eradicate open defecation.

Whither Twitter? Please don't be Microsoft, please don't be microsoft… Well, good thing I kept this blog, then, eh? (Grokked from Dan)

Glowing blobs in SPPPAAAAACCCCEEEE!

Who are these Bozos? You know, it's rare that you get to say that in a literal fashion. Kentucky police finally apprehend one of the few people dressing as clowns and "lurking" (obviously not Olympic grade lurkers here). I shouldn't be so glib, because it's thought these clowns (again, literal clowns) are luring children to follow them, and not in a "let's go to the candy house to the tune of the elephant walk" manner either. "Dressing as a clown and driving, walking or standing in public can create a dangerous situation for you and others," police in nearby Barbourville, Kentucky, said in a statement online… 'While dressing up is not, in and of itself against the law, doing so in public and thereby creating an unnecessary sense of alarm is illegal.'" I guess cosplay is right out. And here I should make a statement that the various clown organizations have actually disavowed these creepers.(Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

What do you do when practically every job is automated?

As the retweet says, this guy is going to vote. Make sure you do too. For those of you who don't want to click, it's a "man on the street" interview with a guy in a Trump hat, speculating that Obama was behind 9/11, taking vacations and not being in the Oval office. Jordan Klepper asks him why he thinks Barack Obama wasn't in the Oval Office on 9/11, and the man responds that he doesn't know, but would like to get to the bottom of (mirroring the language of the candidate he supports). (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)

"A federal appeals court says Ohio's elections chief has been wrongfully removing eligible voters from the swing state's registration list."

Congress, you had one job… (NPR report on how Congress may miss the opportunity to pass a CR to continue funding the government until Dec 9th, which the real job, the real deadline, would have been to pass actual appropriations bills for the FY2017, so the CR is the "Plan C" option, actually "Plan D" because they originally wanted a CR until February, but Dec 9 was the next best date).

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is betting on a hard-driving strategy to get the government funding bill over the finish line before the Oct. 1 deadline, but defections from his own party and objections from Democrats could mean the Senate may run out the clock before a must-pass spending bill is finished next week." BTW, I love the rationalizations for including funding for Louisiana but intentionally not including funding for Flint. How much more racist can these people get (yes, I know, but seriously)?

"Trumps regularly peddles “facts” that aren’t true, describes events that never happened or denies engaging in actions that everyone saw him do. He utters his falsehoods so fast that before reporters have the chance to correct one, he has tossed out five or six more." Although this time, there's both video of the debate and an official transcript of his testimony which are in contradiction. Did Trumpster want casino gambling in Florida? Why the actual question is superfluous, the obvious lie (either in the debate, or to the court as sworn testimony) is the main issue here. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"This is what (Tump) wants to do with America, he said. Acquire it, gut it to the steel and remake it in his own image… It didn’t matter that the story Trump told was exaggerated. That Ivanka was said to have worked out most of the deal by herself. That people on the other side of the deal believed Trump had overpaid for the property by as much as $60 million… That contractors Trump hired to make the resort great again were filing liens against him because he hadn’t paid them for their work. That rooms in the redone hotel could be booked, same-day, on Priceline.com for $160, which was $9 cheaper than rooms at the nearby Courtyard Miami and $109 cheaper than the Marriott Vacation Club just a few blocks away." That's pretty much what a Trumpster Presidency would bring to America, overpay for substandard items, lots of people screwed over, and a then having to put things on sale to get usage numbers up. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"U.S. intelligence officials are seeking to determine whether an American businessman identified by Donald Trump as one of his foreign policy advisers has opened up private communications with senior Russian officials — including talks about the possible lifting of economic sanctions if the Republican nominee becomes president, according to multiple sources who have been briefed on the issue." And no, it's not the one you're thinking of. Holy shit, how compromised is the Trump Campaign? "Speaking at a commencement address for the New Economic School, an institution funded in part by major Russian oligarchs close to Putin, (Carter) Page asserted that 'Washington and other West capitals' had impeded progress in Russia 'through their often hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change.'" Thems fightin' words. Jesus Hopalong Christ, it's almost as if I expect them to burst into flames if they mention (the sainted) Reagan. (Grokked from Wil Wheaton)

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