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

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Linkee-poo hangovers

The brouhaha over at the RWA. "Romance novelist Courtney Milan, a former board member of the Romance Writers of America and longtime advocate for tackling racism in the genre and the industry, was suspended by the group this month following complaints by fellow authors that she violated the group’s code of ethics with her negative online comments about other writers and their work." (Grokked from Jason Sanford)

"At the beginning of the 2010s, the world seemed to be poised for an ebook revolution." The revolution has been postponed. Funny how people discovered the cost of publishing isn't affected by the actual cost of print. For those outside the rarified world of design, printing is a commodity. That means it compete on price (mostly). Since the 2000's print has been in a race to the bottom (well the mid 90's actually). Printing is very cheap for most items (a few have become more expensive).

"Abstaining from food for 16 to 18 hours a day could be key to treating a variety of health conditions -- even if you've got to train yourself to push past the hunger." We've been down this road before. Yes, there are studies which show our health can improve if we limit caloric intake to "daylight" hours. And it's best if you don't eat after 8pm for those on a "normal" schedule. But it's that "normal" schedule thing, who has that anymore? Also we evolved to survive periods of starvation. However, just remember, it's also been shown that intermittent deprivation (fasting) can also trigger the body's mechanisms to lower metabolism and increase fat storage. So it's a mixed bag. Eat less, exercise more.

"In a study published in August this year, led by Caltech mineralogist Chi Ma, scientists analysed the Wedderburn meteorite and verified the first natural occurrence of what they call 'edscottite': a rare form of iron-carbide mineral that's never been found in nature." Ah, something new has been added.

"By comparing star catalogues dating back to the 1950s with more recent datasets, researchers with the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations project have identified around 100 bright dots that seem to have vanished without a trace." Something has been taken away.

"Normally, Betelgeuse is among the 10 brightest stars in the sky. However, the red giant began dimming in October, and by mid-December, the star had faded so much it wasn’t even in the top 20, Villanova University’s Edward Guinan reported in an Astronomer’s Telegram." Astronomy is looking up.

"Whether you have a new gift card burning a hole in your wallet or an unwanted gift to return, after Christmas sales offer a chance to buy what you want for yourself at a discount." Let the greed and avarice continue.

"In the end, though, the Navy punished its own sailors for failing to master a flawed system that they had been inadequately trained on and that the Navy itself came to admit it did not fully understand." Just another day in the military, which took 9 lives and which the Navy was quick to say was the result of other sailors and the captain. It's a long read, btw. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"The SECURE Act opens the gates for more employers to offer annuities as investment options within 401(k) plans. Currently, employers hold the fiduciary responsibility to ensure these products are appropriate for employees’ portfolios, but under the new rules, the onus falls on insurance companies, which sell annuities, to offer proper investment choices." I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, aren't we all PhD level investment wizards?

"The Trump administration proposal would require millions of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries to re-prove their eligibility for benefits as often as every six months — far more frequently than is currently the case. There is no justification for this policy. The United States already has some of the strictest eligibility criteria for disability benefits in the world. More than half of all claims are denied." (Grokked from Michele)

"Toxmap allowed users to pull up detailed EPA data for each toxic release site, and to overlay other information, such as mortality statistics, onto those maps… Those capabilities appear to no longer be available to the public." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"Hundreds of protesters marched through festive Hong Kong shopping malls on Thursday, aiming to disrupt business in the Asian financial hub for a third day over the Christmas holidays, with riot police deployed in the event of unrest."

"The photojournalist Mark Peterson has documented this year, traveling the country to surface the extent of the activity and catalogue the most dangerous ideologies. His quotidian look at contemporary American Confederacy and white nationalism shows us our neighbors in other robes. The people portrayed are living among us in every region of the country, in our workplaces, in our government, on social media, and, for some, in our homes. Their culture is made up of both public rallies and private rituals." White supremacy in America. Fucking Nazis.

"An Iowa woman who told police she ran over a teen because she 'was a Mexican' has been charged with another attempted murder after police say she hit a 12-year-old boy on the same day." There's a whole bunch of lone wolves out there, almost like they're a pack or something.

"Deaths in custody. Sexual violence. Hunger strikes. What we uncovered inside ICE facilities across the US… A USA TODAY Network investigation revealed sex assaults, routine use of physical force, poor medical care and deaths at facilities overseen by ICE."

"Two Russian state institutions with close ties to Vladimir Putin funded substantial stakes in Twitter and Facebook through an investor who later acquired an interest in a Jared Kushner venture, leaked documents reveal." For it being Ukraine, there still are a lot of fucking Russians around here. Also Jared "forgot" to disclose that he formed a company with his brother to help funnel that money. He just forgot a few hundred million dollars. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"Trump’s business applied for the trademarks (in Argentina) in late December 2017. Shortly after the close of the trademark opposition period, in May of 2018, the United States reached a deal with Argentina and a few other countries to permanently eliminate tariffs on aluminum and steel, on the condition that the countries agreed to limit steel exports… After Argentina approved the trademarks in November, the Trump administration restored the tariffs on steel and aluminum." Wow, what another unbelievable coinkydink. (Grokked from Chip Dawes)

"To gain more context and insight into this ongoing crisis, I asked several of the country’s leading mental health experts for their thoughts on Trump’s impeachment letter and what it indicates about the president’s emotional state and behavior."

"The ostensible purpose of the (Chuck Todd) Rolling Stone interview was to promote a special edition of Meet the Press on December 29 that will focus on the weaponization of disinformation. But its effect is to bring MTP — and by extension similar shows — into epistemological crisis. With Todd’s confessions the mask has come off. It could have come off a long time ago, but the anchors, producers, guests, advertisers and to an unknown degree the remaining viewers colluded in an act of make believe that lurched along until now. One way to say it: They agreed to pretend that Conway’s threatening phrase, 'alternative facts' was just hyberbole, the kind of inflammatory moment that makes for viral clips and partisan bickering. More silly than it was ominous." The choices we make. And no, I doubt Meet The Press and Chuck Todd will make the actual changes required to combat this disinformation. That would be uncomfortable and alienate a large audience (which needs that alienation, IMHO). It also requires a hellofalotata hard work (although with how TV shows function that work could be distributed). (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"Monday’s split-screen drama, as the House Judiciary Committee weighed impeachment charges against President Trump and as the Justice Department’s inspector general released a 476-page report on the FBI’s handling of its 2016 investigation into Trump’s campaign, made one truth of the modern world inescapable: The lies and obfuscations forwarded ad infinitum on Fox News pose a dangerous threat to the national security of the United States." They have been since the 90s, it's just finally become so apparent that people can no longer pretend it's a matter of perspective. (Grokked form Xeni Jardin)

"Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said she was disturbed to hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there would be 'total coordination' between the White House and Senate over the upcoming presidential impeachment trial." Ah, concerned senator is concerned again. Murkowski and Collins should form their own caucus, the Concerned Senators of America. Basically they'll leverage their slight inclination toward moderation to gain some benefit for their states. It's an old fashioned kind of politicking.

"Security officers in Moscow raided the offices of Alexei Navalny, the most prominent foe of President Vladimir Putin and the governing United Russia party." The beatings will continue until moral improves. Stay safe, my Russian friends. You never know when it'll be your turn. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

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