The evolving rules of Twitter. (Grokked from BoingBoing)
The PBS Newshour report on age discrimination, especially for women over 50. I so have the feels for this. No, really, this is what the reboot was all about. Because while women do suffer it more (and it begins at 35), it also hits men (just a little less proportionately). And it has deep roots (they say "evolutionary" but it's actually "cultural"). And some more on it.
So, now that congressional staffers have been exposed to lead (from paint removal in their cafeteria), can we now have a serious discussion of the crisis in Flint? And by "serious" I mean having arrests, and getting those people more help than filters and bottled water (note, showering and bathing with the water can also cause problems because of accidental ingestion and aerosols).
Hey, remember that gas leak in California which may be our nation's worst chemical spill? Turns out it's probably worse than we thought.
Fast construction, Chinese style. A train truck that helps build the train tracks as it goes along, dropping precast concrete sections to build the elevated track. Amazing, until you remember the devastation of some natural disasters that completely destroyed some buildings, or that in one warehouse they stored volatile chemicals too close together and took out a few city blocks. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
A super bright supernova. The light thrown off by this dying star is some few hundred billion times brighter than our own sun. The only reason you can't see it is that it is also incredibly far away. The brightness level, if it holds up, is way above the theoretical limits for how we think these things happen. So that means New Theory is needed! Science! (Grokked from Steven Gould)
"Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) mistakenly called South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) an immigrant in a radio interview posted on his YouTube account Wednesday…" Yea, I'm sure that's not a racist flub.
"'There probably has not been a more racially divisive, economic divisive president in the White House since we had presidents who supported slavery,' (Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL)) said on Alabama radio show 'The Dale Jackson Show,'…" Uh, yea, right. Look, just because he brings out the racist in some meagerly minded people, doesn't mean it's him being divisive. This is what's known as blaming the victim.
Turns out there are a few thousand artifacts stored at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and a lot of archeological sites spread around. So while this article is interesting for that part, and for the complete ignorance on the part of the occupiers about real life and history, I just loved where it ended. "'We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim,' Bundy said. 'There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important.'" OMG, that is so ironic I think I hurt something reading it.
Just how slimy is Sheldon Adelson? Well, he once sued a reporter for a book that casually linked his rise in Boston vending at a time where that industry was mob-controlled. And he offered not only to settle his lawsuit, but pay the reporter's healthcare bills for his child (who had cancer and the bills were enough to drive him to bankruptcy), and all that reporter had to do was admit he intentionally libeled Mr. Adelson. Which would have ended said reporter's career.
Well, things aren't going well for the Bundy clan. First, one of Ammon Bundy's bodyguard, Brian Cavalier (aka Fluffy Unicorn) is arrested in Arizona on outstanding warrants. Turns out he also isn't the war hero Marine he told everyone. And then one of his men is arrested for driving a federal vehicle just outside the refuge. So far, neither were federal arrests, but I have a feeling the feds were involved. A second vehicle was also recovered, although no one else was arrested.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Friday, January 15, 2016
RT (R)(CT)
Well, yesterday I took my CT registry exam. I know I haven't said too much on the blog about it (more so on Facebook and twitter), but I was pretty concerned. For the practice exams I was fairly well stuck at 80 (while it is a percentage, they don't call it a percentage). That was better than the 64 I had when I first took a practice exam. But it's a lot less than I'm used to getting. So yesterday as the test started I was pretty nervous. I do well on standardized tests, always have. And I was fairly certain I would pass. The question was by how much. You need at least a 75. There are about 180+ questions (for our test you have to answer all the questions or let time run out, this is compared to the nursing registry where once you achieve a 75 they stop asking questions). So, after an hour and 15 minutes (we have 3 hours), I scored a 93. Booyeah! Which is slightly less than the 96 I got on the X-ray test, but I'll take it.
So, for now I'm done. In the future I may look at getting MRI (their pay is pretty good, but it's also a much different pace and a lot more actively controlling the scan). I would love sonography, however the limitations of a man going through the program are a little high (there are some highly invasive scans, for my practice/job I would need to have a female tech with me during those scans, a little cost prohibitive on the employment side). So it's an RT(R)(CT) for me. Reboot is done for now.
Which means it's only the CE credits (24 every two-years), hospital education (there is A LOT of that), and recertifications of the licenses I hold (which is also a pain). No more evening/Saturday classes, clinical time (internship), and stupid student hoops to jump through. Just the regular employee hoops.
Not that it frees up that much time, however it does free up some head space (I had to do all of those things before, and go through school and study for the registry, etc).
I don't want to jinx it, but I might be able to have a life again.
Now, as to the writing… I've had discussion about how day jobs affect and inform the writing. Working in health care is doubly so. I have experience working in a factory, working as a pro designer, working as a politician, with various levels and responsibilities in those, you'd think I'd have a lot more. But it's my experiences working at the hospital that I think have added to my ability to tell a story. It might be because those other areas were so well entrenched in my head by the time I decided to get serious about writing and that health care has all been upfront and new. I don't think that's all of it, though. Time (and the words) will tell.
So, for now I'm done. In the future I may look at getting MRI (their pay is pretty good, but it's also a much different pace and a lot more actively controlling the scan). I would love sonography, however the limitations of a man going through the program are a little high (there are some highly invasive scans, for my practice/job I would need to have a female tech with me during those scans, a little cost prohibitive on the employment side). So it's an RT(R)(CT) for me. Reboot is done for now.
Which means it's only the CE credits (24 every two-years), hospital education (there is A LOT of that), and recertifications of the licenses I hold (which is also a pain). No more evening/Saturday classes, clinical time (internship), and stupid student hoops to jump through. Just the regular employee hoops.
Not that it frees up that much time, however it does free up some head space (I had to do all of those things before, and go through school and study for the registry, etc).
I don't want to jinx it, but I might be able to have a life again.
Now, as to the writing… I've had discussion about how day jobs affect and inform the writing. Working in health care is doubly so. I have experience working in a factory, working as a pro designer, working as a politician, with various levels and responsibilities in those, you'd think I'd have a lot more. But it's my experiences working at the hospital that I think have added to my ability to tell a story. It might be because those other areas were so well entrenched in my head by the time I decided to get serious about writing and that health care has all been upfront and new. I don't think that's all of it, though. Time (and the words) will tell.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Linkee-poo's brains are on the floor
Saladin Ahmed's twitter conversation about not being too old to make it in writing.
"The problem of writing is always the problem of who you were." That's an interesting thought. There's a two prong argument in that one paragraph. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
Coal, it's hard to quit you. Considering how well it paid, it was probably the best job many could find. It's really no wonder why people gave up other career paths to go into the mines. But for decades they've been cutting miners out of the loop. For the past five years with the fracking boom power plants have switched to cheaper natural gas, including retrofitting some plants. But sure, coal's demise is all because of President Obama's policies (most of which are still held up in court).
"'Local school boards shall develop and implement policies that require every school restroom, locker room, or shower room that is designated for use by a specific gender to solely be used by individuals whose anatomical sex matches such gender designation,' the (proposed VA law) states." Uh, yea. What could possibly go wrong? "Civil rights advocate Tim Peacock noted that 'adults would be required to inspect children’s genitals before they use the bathroom' for the legislation to be enforceable." Yep, pretty much that. If I were cruel and mean I would just say let's skip the intervening steps and make all school religious schools. Do I need to mention this is being proposed by the GOP? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Turns out Texas' open carry law is having an unintended consequence for concealed carry permit holders. As a part of the open carry law, Texas lawmakers also expanded where people could carry firearms. They also stated that if private property owners didn't want people to carry firearms in their establishment, they'd have to post restrictions. And they are. In large numbers. Which now also affects concealed carry people, barring them from carrying in those places.
Aw, John Ritzheimer is upset that after asking for snacks and whatever else they needed to keep them feed and busy people aren't sending him what he wants Apparently people think they need dildos and candy dicks. Sometime I despair about the apathy of my fellow Americans. And then there are times I love you all. And isn't this a pathetic cry for more? Seriously, dude, if you had kept quite the avalanche about to be delivered wouldn't have happened. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"The problem of writing is always the problem of who you were." That's an interesting thought. There's a two prong argument in that one paragraph. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
Coal, it's hard to quit you. Considering how well it paid, it was probably the best job many could find. It's really no wonder why people gave up other career paths to go into the mines. But for decades they've been cutting miners out of the loop. For the past five years with the fracking boom power plants have switched to cheaper natural gas, including retrofitting some plants. But sure, coal's demise is all because of President Obama's policies (most of which are still held up in court).
"'Local school boards shall develop and implement policies that require every school restroom, locker room, or shower room that is designated for use by a specific gender to solely be used by individuals whose anatomical sex matches such gender designation,' the (proposed VA law) states." Uh, yea. What could possibly go wrong? "Civil rights advocate Tim Peacock noted that 'adults would be required to inspect children’s genitals before they use the bathroom' for the legislation to be enforceable." Yep, pretty much that. If I were cruel and mean I would just say let's skip the intervening steps and make all school religious schools. Do I need to mention this is being proposed by the GOP? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Turns out Texas' open carry law is having an unintended consequence for concealed carry permit holders. As a part of the open carry law, Texas lawmakers also expanded where people could carry firearms. They also stated that if private property owners didn't want people to carry firearms in their establishment, they'd have to post restrictions. And they are. In large numbers. Which now also affects concealed carry people, barring them from carrying in those places.
Aw, John Ritzheimer is upset that after asking for snacks and whatever else they needed to keep them feed and busy people aren't sending him what he wants Apparently people think they need dildos and candy dicks. Sometime I despair about the apathy of my fellow Americans. And then there are times I love you all. And isn't this a pathetic cry for more? Seriously, dude, if you had kept quite the avalanche about to be delivered wouldn't have happened. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Linkee-poo, it was a god-awful small affair
Apparently, in the Victorian age nipple piercing was a thing. (Grokked from Chia Evers)
"The 2,200-year-old remains of a man with a deformed knee attached to a prosthetic leg tipped with a horse hoof have been discovered in a tomb in an ancient cemetery near Turpan… China." The hood was used because of its friction coefficient, since feet are a tricky thing (we're still trying to get it right), but I'm sure it also made an interesting conversation piece. (Grokked from Chia Lynn)
The whackaloons holdup at the Masher Wildlife Refuge demo a fence to allow rancher to graze their cattle. So that's vandalism and destruction of federal property added to the charges. Also, how much you want to bet that rancher isn't paying grazing fees (which are normally charged at about 7% of what a private land owner would charge).
US bombs ISIS cash horde. Also pointed to as an example of what war is like. "U.S. commanders had been willing to consider up to 50 civilian casualties from the airstrike due to the importance of the target. But the initial post-attack assessment indicated that perhaps five to seven people were killed." And this, kiddies, is why war is not lightly made.
"All five paid staffers in New Hampshire for a Super PAC backing Ben Carson's presidential bid have left the organization to volunteer for Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) presidential bid." Welp, that's gonna leave a mark. Not sure of their choice in presidential candidates, but you gotta admire solidarity.
In case you're wondering just what the Supreme Court case on Unions and fees is all about, "But, (the challengers' lawyer Michael Carvin) added, in a moment of puckish clarity… 'It may impede their ability to become the largest political contributors to the Democratic Party.'" So, what it's meant to do is starve the opposition party by knee-capping any potential supporters.
NJ Gov. Chris Christie on Maine Gov. Paul LePage's verbal diarrhea, "'He's a good man and he's apologized,' Christie continued. 'Everyone of us — me and everybody else who's in public life — says things at times they wish they could take back.'" Well, the thing is, he didn't actually so much apologize as say, "I didn't say that, that's not what I meant." But is Christie still the leader of the GOP Governors Association? I think so. So he sorta has to come to LePage's defense. Don't worry, Gov. Christie, other people are coming to LePage's defense as well. People like David Duke. Yep, great company you're keeping there Gov. Christie.
So, the house finally approved spending caps for the former Presidents' expenses. I would say it's a good move, except I have a feeling it's finally come to the fore because a certain President is about to retire.
"The 2,200-year-old remains of a man with a deformed knee attached to a prosthetic leg tipped with a horse hoof have been discovered in a tomb in an ancient cemetery near Turpan… China." The hood was used because of its friction coefficient, since feet are a tricky thing (we're still trying to get it right), but I'm sure it also made an interesting conversation piece. (Grokked from Chia Lynn)
The whackaloons holdup at the Masher Wildlife Refuge demo a fence to allow rancher to graze their cattle. So that's vandalism and destruction of federal property added to the charges. Also, how much you want to bet that rancher isn't paying grazing fees (which are normally charged at about 7% of what a private land owner would charge).
US bombs ISIS cash horde. Also pointed to as an example of what war is like. "U.S. commanders had been willing to consider up to 50 civilian casualties from the airstrike due to the importance of the target. But the initial post-attack assessment indicated that perhaps five to seven people were killed." And this, kiddies, is why war is not lightly made.
"All five paid staffers in New Hampshire for a Super PAC backing Ben Carson's presidential bid have left the organization to volunteer for Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) presidential bid." Welp, that's gonna leave a mark. Not sure of their choice in presidential candidates, but you gotta admire solidarity.
In case you're wondering just what the Supreme Court case on Unions and fees is all about, "But, (the challengers' lawyer Michael Carvin) added, in a moment of puckish clarity… 'It may impede their ability to become the largest political contributors to the Democratic Party.'" So, what it's meant to do is starve the opposition party by knee-capping any potential supporters.
NJ Gov. Chris Christie on Maine Gov. Paul LePage's verbal diarrhea, "'He's a good man and he's apologized,' Christie continued. 'Everyone of us — me and everybody else who's in public life — says things at times they wish they could take back.'" Well, the thing is, he didn't actually so much apologize as say, "I didn't say that, that's not what I meant." But is Christie still the leader of the GOP Governors Association? I think so. So he sorta has to come to LePage's defense. Don't worry, Gov. Christie, other people are coming to LePage's defense as well. People like David Duke. Yep, great company you're keeping there Gov. Christie.
So, the house finally approved spending caps for the former Presidents' expenses. I would say it's a good move, except I have a feeling it's finally come to the fore because a certain President is about to retire.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Linkee-poo puts on its red shoes and dances the blues
I had to phone someone so I picked on you. Hey, that's far out so you heard him too! Switch on the TV we may pick him up on channel two, look out your window I can see his light…
Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie
Bye, Bowie, bye. Thanks.
Medieval church door flanked by trees, probably inspired the Gates of Moria. (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)
So you may have heard about the Rey not in the Hasbro Star Wars Monopoly set brouhaha. I even re-entered the Great Trolls Wars about it (you'd be surprised just how many "strong men" have codependence issues, well, maybe not) wondering why the hell Rey doesn't have more figurines and toys. To all those who say it was because of "spoilers", JJ Abrams (the supposed "anti-spoiler" person) want you to know that's complete bullshit. (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)
That moment you know you're going to make a great team, when your navigator/radioman keys the mic before you can to do a ground-speed check to put an F18 Hornet pilot in his place. Yea, that one never gets old. Also, in case you're ever wondering, the Blackbird has always been my favorite jet. (Grokked from Dan)
We don't need no stinking regulations or government oversight. A hospital in China is partially demolished before realizing that doctors, a patient, several corpses in the morgue, and expensive equipment were still inside. (Grokked from Chia Lynn)
Why are we working so much? Well, for those of us who have work. Basically we're not making as much per hour, so we have to work more. Also, gee, what started in 1973 that caused this change? Finally, there is more money being made, it's just not going where the money is actually being made. (Grokked from Jeff Beeler)
Even in healthcare there are huge numbers of people who don't understand addiction. Maybe this will help. It's not a moral failing. Opioids rewire the brain to need them. The physical addition to opioids, alcohol, psychedelics, all of it gets hardwired into our heads. While the brain is plastic, reversing these structures (including what chronic pain does to the brain) is very difficult.
Because education and charter schools is going to come up in the election, this is what it looks like when you actually have a culture that values education. Japan's rail authority keeps train station used by one person open for years, because said person used the train to commute to high school. They even adjusted the schedule to accommodate her commute better. So you know the difference between supporting students and giving public money to private companies. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
The problem with crazy is it tend to draw other crazy to it. In this case, after Ammon Bundy's group made a plea for all good militias to come to their aid, one did show up. But the Ammon Bundy group doesn't want them there and has asked for them to go home. You know, just like the residents around the wildlife sanctuary asked Ammon to go home. So basically nobody wants anybody to be around there. Okay, this is getting fun. Munches popcorn, waits for the inevitable crossfire accident. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie
Bye, Bowie, bye. Thanks.
Medieval church door flanked by trees, probably inspired the Gates of Moria. (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)
So you may have heard about the Rey not in the Hasbro Star Wars Monopoly set brouhaha. I even re-entered the Great Trolls Wars about it (you'd be surprised just how many "strong men" have codependence issues, well, maybe not) wondering why the hell Rey doesn't have more figurines and toys. To all those who say it was because of "spoilers", JJ Abrams (the supposed "anti-spoiler" person) want you to know that's complete bullshit. (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)
That moment you know you're going to make a great team, when your navigator/radioman keys the mic before you can to do a ground-speed check to put an F18 Hornet pilot in his place. Yea, that one never gets old. Also, in case you're ever wondering, the Blackbird has always been my favorite jet. (Grokked from Dan)
We don't need no stinking regulations or government oversight. A hospital in China is partially demolished before realizing that doctors, a patient, several corpses in the morgue, and expensive equipment were still inside. (Grokked from Chia Lynn)
Why are we working so much? Well, for those of us who have work. Basically we're not making as much per hour, so we have to work more. Also, gee, what started in 1973 that caused this change? Finally, there is more money being made, it's just not going where the money is actually being made. (Grokked from Jeff Beeler)
Even in healthcare there are huge numbers of people who don't understand addiction. Maybe this will help. It's not a moral failing. Opioids rewire the brain to need them. The physical addition to opioids, alcohol, psychedelics, all of it gets hardwired into our heads. While the brain is plastic, reversing these structures (including what chronic pain does to the brain) is very difficult.
Because education and charter schools is going to come up in the election, this is what it looks like when you actually have a culture that values education. Japan's rail authority keeps train station used by one person open for years, because said person used the train to commute to high school. They even adjusted the schedule to accommodate her commute better. So you know the difference between supporting students and giving public money to private companies. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
The problem with crazy is it tend to draw other crazy to it. In this case, after Ammon Bundy's group made a plea for all good militias to come to their aid, one did show up. But the Ammon Bundy group doesn't want them there and has asked for them to go home. You know, just like the residents around the wildlife sanctuary asked Ammon to go home. So basically nobody wants anybody to be around there. Okay, this is getting fun. Munches popcorn, waits for the inevitable crossfire accident. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Linkee-poo if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes
"You know that book that is really popular and loads of you like? You know how the author has garnered praise for their writing? Well I don’t like it and/or them." In case you haven't been able to see the script for trolling, here is one. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
So, how about those wellness programs, eh? "Promising workers lower health insurance premiums for losing weight did nothing to help them take off the pounds, a recent study found. At the end of a year, obese workers had lost less than 1.5 pounds on average, statistically no different than the minute average gain of a tenth of a pound for workers who weren't offered a financial incentive to lose weight." And now they're trying to figure out if it was how they structured (and the amount of) the payment program (for those who would be paid, or given discounts). Pretty much like every other workplace program out there. Why? Because they're bullshit, because they only focus on the worker, not on the environment around the worker. Same with offering gym memberships for free to the workers, doesn't change their life's timing so they could go workout, nor does it change all the other parameters to actually help the employee get to the gym regularly. Note to businesses, our time off the clock is our time. We barely have enough of it now. Maybe try proper staffing levels, reduced stress, or higher-salaries so your employees can structure their own lives in a way that allows them to live healthier. For me, that would mean affording to live less than an hours commute away (that really sucks out the time and makes me less able to do something "after work").
NPR with more on last year's wild weather. Why is it an issue? "All this weather led to 10 extreme events that each did at least $1 billion (each) in damage. These events included drought, flooding, severe rainstorms, big wildfires and winter storms. That's a wider variety of different types of $1 billion-plus weather events than usual." Yea, that. Noted because of hailstorm last summer which damaged my roof, for which my insurance company denied the claim. After appeals. One of the times I'm glad I have a small house (roof was <$6k, and that was upgrading the materials).
You know how conservative like to say you can't create jobs in Washington? "The (renewable energy tax) extension just passed by Congress will add $30-$40 billion in incremental investment in the industry and bring the industry’s job total to 420,000 by 2020, according to SEIA President/CEO Rhone Resch." And then there was also this tidbit, "Given price trends, Honeyman said, utility-scale solar contracts will likely come in regularly over the next two years at less than $0.04/kWh." Now that is "utility-scale" not "roof-top", but still, damn. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Arizona is looking to criminalize videotaping a police officer from less than 20' away. Of course this isn't to stifle journalistic activity, or protect the rights of citizens. Not at all. It's about safety. Yea, and I have some prime Florida swampland I'd like to sell you. (Grokked from TPM)
Jeb! "Bush's welfare reform plan, which will be unveiled Saturday in South Carolina, would end the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as well as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, according to The Washington Post." Now, he's replace it with a state grant program, but have work requirements. Haven't we played this record before? But I'm sure he'll leave Social Security and Medicare alone. Like his brother did.
A more legalistic response to the whackaloon Texas Governor proposals to amend the Constitution. Besides not understanding how government actually works and instead embracing on right-wing conspiracy theories, just say "nope." (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)
Hey, remember when the wildlife whackaloon occupiers said they'd leave if the locals asked them to? Turns out, not so much. You can add that in to your thought process when they say they're "peaceful" and only have their firearms for "personal protection."
So much for the "we only toss out trouble makers" line. "A Muslim woman wearing a hijab was escorted out of Donald Trump's campaign event on Friday by police after she stood up in silent protest during Trump's speech." And then there's this part, "Despite her silence, Trump supporters around her began chanting Trump's name -- as instructed by Trump campaign staff before the event in case of protests". That doesn't mean that once there were being escorted out people didn't shout other things at them. And of course it's never Trump's fault. "'There is hatred against us that is unbelievable,' Trump said. 'It's their hatred, it's not our hatred.'" Because no one is ever the villain in their own minds. (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
"And he said, 'All these Muslims, they’re making problems for us.'" And then they guy who said that came back to the store on Xmas Eve and started shooting. Yea, it's the muslims who are the problem, not the idiots committing hate crimes against muslims. Just like it's not Trump's hatred, or the "peaceful" armed takeover in Oregon, or… (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)
Tweet of my heart: @pie_r_round The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
So, how about those wellness programs, eh? "Promising workers lower health insurance premiums for losing weight did nothing to help them take off the pounds, a recent study found. At the end of a year, obese workers had lost less than 1.5 pounds on average, statistically no different than the minute average gain of a tenth of a pound for workers who weren't offered a financial incentive to lose weight." And now they're trying to figure out if it was how they structured (and the amount of) the payment program (for those who would be paid, or given discounts). Pretty much like every other workplace program out there. Why? Because they're bullshit, because they only focus on the worker, not on the environment around the worker. Same with offering gym memberships for free to the workers, doesn't change their life's timing so they could go workout, nor does it change all the other parameters to actually help the employee get to the gym regularly. Note to businesses, our time off the clock is our time. We barely have enough of it now. Maybe try proper staffing levels, reduced stress, or higher-salaries so your employees can structure their own lives in a way that allows them to live healthier. For me, that would mean affording to live less than an hours commute away (that really sucks out the time and makes me less able to do something "after work").
NPR with more on last year's wild weather. Why is it an issue? "All this weather led to 10 extreme events that each did at least $1 billion (each) in damage. These events included drought, flooding, severe rainstorms, big wildfires and winter storms. That's a wider variety of different types of $1 billion-plus weather events than usual." Yea, that. Noted because of hailstorm last summer which damaged my roof, for which my insurance company denied the claim. After appeals. One of the times I'm glad I have a small house (roof was <$6k, and that was upgrading the materials).
You know how conservative like to say you can't create jobs in Washington? "The (renewable energy tax) extension just passed by Congress will add $30-$40 billion in incremental investment in the industry and bring the industry’s job total to 420,000 by 2020, according to SEIA President/CEO Rhone Resch." And then there was also this tidbit, "Given price trends, Honeyman said, utility-scale solar contracts will likely come in regularly over the next two years at less than $0.04/kWh." Now that is "utility-scale" not "roof-top", but still, damn. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Arizona is looking to criminalize videotaping a police officer from less than 20' away. Of course this isn't to stifle journalistic activity, or protect the rights of citizens. Not at all. It's about safety. Yea, and I have some prime Florida swampland I'd like to sell you. (Grokked from TPM)
Jeb! "Bush's welfare reform plan, which will be unveiled Saturday in South Carolina, would end the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as well as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, according to The Washington Post." Now, he's replace it with a state grant program, but have work requirements. Haven't we played this record before? But I'm sure he'll leave Social Security and Medicare alone. Like his brother did.
A more legalistic response to the whackaloon Texas Governor proposals to amend the Constitution. Besides not understanding how government actually works and instead embracing on right-wing conspiracy theories, just say "nope." (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)
Hey, remember when the wildlife whackaloon occupiers said they'd leave if the locals asked them to? Turns out, not so much. You can add that in to your thought process when they say they're "peaceful" and only have their firearms for "personal protection."
So much for the "we only toss out trouble makers" line. "A Muslim woman wearing a hijab was escorted out of Donald Trump's campaign event on Friday by police after she stood up in silent protest during Trump's speech." And then there's this part, "Despite her silence, Trump supporters around her began chanting Trump's name -- as instructed by Trump campaign staff before the event in case of protests". That doesn't mean that once there were being escorted out people didn't shout other things at them. And of course it's never Trump's fault. "'There is hatred against us that is unbelievable,' Trump said. 'It's their hatred, it's not our hatred.'" Because no one is ever the villain in their own minds. (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
"And he said, 'All these Muslims, they’re making problems for us.'" And then they guy who said that came back to the store on Xmas Eve and started shooting. Yea, it's the muslims who are the problem, not the idiots committing hate crimes against muslims. Just like it's not Trump's hatred, or the "peaceful" armed takeover in Oregon, or… (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)
Tweet of my heart: @pie_r_round The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Linkee-poo has seen things you people wouldn't believe; attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
I really have to use shorter titles for these things. It really messes up my working view of blogger.
The 2016 (Ohio) Governor's Award for the Arts recipients. Hey, I know people on that list! Congrats John Scalzi. We knew you'd make it big, one day.
The SF writer's hierarchy of doubt. Just in case you think you're the only one who worries about this stuff. "Why is Neil Gaiman disappointed in me?" More like "Why does Neil Gaiman act like he doesn't know who I am?" (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
Philip Pullman pens an open letter saying that authors need fairer terms from publishers. (Grokked from Astrid Julian)
So, you've probably seen the whiskey named "Writers Tears". But have you seen the salt made from those tears? (Grokked from Vince O'Conner)
Richard St. John gives you his 8 secrets to success. While most of what he says is true (you should love what you're doing, and you should persist in chasing your dreams), I've been re-evaluating the TED Talk universe. Mostly because of a conversation I had recently about someone discussing a "self made (rich) man" and how that person's father took him to board meetings when he was your so he learned business early. My response was, "Wait, if his Dad was taking him to board meetings, I don't believe he one: started at the bottom without resources and two: was 'self made'." There's a lot of other things in TED, but a lot of what I've been seeing have been those same "self made men" whose Daddies took them to board meetings when they were young so they cold learn business. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
"According to a study covering more than 880,000 births in Denmark, the overall rate of birth defects was consistent for women who had never taken the pill at all, for those who had used it before getting pregnant and for those who continued on the pill in early pregnancy." Also pointed out to demonstrate some of the fallacies of medicine.
The social media arms race. It's a long advertisement for a site, but a pretty good allegory of what happens in social media (at least from the corporate side of it). And here I will just state that I love you all, but I'm gonna publish what I'm gonna publish because I wanna publish it, not because I'm trying to track my numbers up. Seriously, see any ads on this site (if you do, they're not from me and I'm not getting anything from it, you better check your security settings)? That said I have done the mental gymnastics over the question "why the hell did that post get so many hits? What did I do there people liked?" Most of the time I chalk it up to picking lyrics that people are searching for (or if I get a mention on someone else's site).
And the numbers are in! "The United States saw its second-hottest year on record in 2015, federal scientists announced on Thursday." Hoopla! Note that's just the US, we're still waiting on the international numbers. (Grokked from Vince O'Conner)
Boy, talk about your entitlement mindset. TransCanada is suing for $15B over the Keystone XL. Their basic claim is "The President can't deny us our permits, also because other projects had been approved we were certain this one would be." Uh, no. One, after lobbying the President to approve the project you don't get to say he didn't have the right. And two, past performance is not indicative of future performance. Also, I'm sure this has nothing to do with the price of oil being in the dumpster. Not at all.
Well, Chris Christy, when you lie for political expediency, it's pretty easy to forget what you said previously.
Did you know that there's actually a law that requires healthcare facilities with emergency rooms to accept any patient in an emergency and stabilize them all without regard to their ability to pay? Apparently Liberty Calhoun Hospital hasn't heard of that. And I get it, I have had my share of patients who are faking it (pain, disability, health status). And talking with the sheriffs who we deal with often, they've commented that it's customary to complain about a health problem to gain advantage. But here's the thing, until you can confirm that it's not the case, you should proceed with accepting that what the patient is telling you is truthful. Because if you don't, you have this problem (also note the case of Freddie Grey and Eric Gardner).
"Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson asked a group of fifth graders Thursday at a campaign rally in Iowa who the worst student in the class was and the students responded by singling out a classmate…" Of course, you know, he was making a point about how he was once the worst student in his class (which has been debated if that was true). He also talked directly with that student one-on-one after the rally. But seriously, how tone-deaf was that? "Hey kids who are at an age where everyone is self-conscious to the emo-extreme, who's the weirdo in your class?"
"…Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) finally addressed the hubbub surrounding a pair of his black leather boots that took the Internet by storm this week, wondering Thursday whether people have 'lost their minds.'" Hi, Marco, I see you're new here. Let me introduce you to the GOP News Machine and its expectation of behavior, demeanor and strict adherence to social norms that have been out of style for more than 4 decades.
Sometimes I'd like to see Trump as president, but only to see his face when someone he can't fire tells him to fuck off. Seriously, this is the mindset you have when you don't understand grade-school level civics.
Jeb! Bush blames "bad parenting" for crime in black neighborhoods, but not his own kids problems with crimes. To remind you, his daughter was arrested for both pill shopping and for impersonating a doctor, forging prescriptions on a stolen pad, and then attempting to fill those prescriptions. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Maine Gov. Paul "… LePage responded to a question about how he was tackling substance abuse in Maine. He began talking about how much of the heroin is coming into Maine from out-of-state drug dealers… 'These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty … these types of guys… they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home,' LePage told a large crowd. 'Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.'" Now now, wait. "Peter Steele, the governor’s communication director, said in a written statement Thursday night that LePage’s remarks were not about race, but about the emotional toll drugs have on children." Yea, not so much. I mean, Peter gave the good ol' college try to spin that, but seriously, dude, that didn't even polish the turd. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
The 2016 (Ohio) Governor's Award for the Arts recipients. Hey, I know people on that list! Congrats John Scalzi. We knew you'd make it big, one day.
The SF writer's hierarchy of doubt. Just in case you think you're the only one who worries about this stuff. "Why is Neil Gaiman disappointed in me?" More like "Why does Neil Gaiman act like he doesn't know who I am?" (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
Philip Pullman pens an open letter saying that authors need fairer terms from publishers. (Grokked from Astrid Julian)
So, you've probably seen the whiskey named "Writers Tears". But have you seen the salt made from those tears? (Grokked from Vince O'Conner)
Richard St. John gives you his 8 secrets to success. While most of what he says is true (you should love what you're doing, and you should persist in chasing your dreams), I've been re-evaluating the TED Talk universe. Mostly because of a conversation I had recently about someone discussing a "self made (rich) man" and how that person's father took him to board meetings when he was your so he learned business early. My response was, "Wait, if his Dad was taking him to board meetings, I don't believe he one: started at the bottom without resources and two: was 'self made'." There's a lot of other things in TED, but a lot of what I've been seeing have been those same "self made men" whose Daddies took them to board meetings when they were young so they cold learn business. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
"According to a study covering more than 880,000 births in Denmark, the overall rate of birth defects was consistent for women who had never taken the pill at all, for those who had used it before getting pregnant and for those who continued on the pill in early pregnancy." Also pointed out to demonstrate some of the fallacies of medicine.
The social media arms race. It's a long advertisement for a site, but a pretty good allegory of what happens in social media (at least from the corporate side of it). And here I will just state that I love you all, but I'm gonna publish what I'm gonna publish because I wanna publish it, not because I'm trying to track my numbers up. Seriously, see any ads on this site (if you do, they're not from me and I'm not getting anything from it, you better check your security settings)? That said I have done the mental gymnastics over the question "why the hell did that post get so many hits? What did I do there people liked?" Most of the time I chalk it up to picking lyrics that people are searching for (or if I get a mention on someone else's site).
And the numbers are in! "The United States saw its second-hottest year on record in 2015, federal scientists announced on Thursday." Hoopla! Note that's just the US, we're still waiting on the international numbers. (Grokked from Vince O'Conner)
Boy, talk about your entitlement mindset. TransCanada is suing for $15B over the Keystone XL. Their basic claim is "The President can't deny us our permits, also because other projects had been approved we were certain this one would be." Uh, no. One, after lobbying the President to approve the project you don't get to say he didn't have the right. And two, past performance is not indicative of future performance. Also, I'm sure this has nothing to do with the price of oil being in the dumpster. Not at all.
Well, Chris Christy, when you lie for political expediency, it's pretty easy to forget what you said previously.
Did you know that there's actually a law that requires healthcare facilities with emergency rooms to accept any patient in an emergency and stabilize them all without regard to their ability to pay? Apparently Liberty Calhoun Hospital hasn't heard of that. And I get it, I have had my share of patients who are faking it (pain, disability, health status). And talking with the sheriffs who we deal with often, they've commented that it's customary to complain about a health problem to gain advantage. But here's the thing, until you can confirm that it's not the case, you should proceed with accepting that what the patient is telling you is truthful. Because if you don't, you have this problem (also note the case of Freddie Grey and Eric Gardner).
"Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson asked a group of fifth graders Thursday at a campaign rally in Iowa who the worst student in the class was and the students responded by singling out a classmate…" Of course, you know, he was making a point about how he was once the worst student in his class (which has been debated if that was true). He also talked directly with that student one-on-one after the rally. But seriously, how tone-deaf was that? "Hey kids who are at an age where everyone is self-conscious to the emo-extreme, who's the weirdo in your class?"
"…Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) finally addressed the hubbub surrounding a pair of his black leather boots that took the Internet by storm this week, wondering Thursday whether people have 'lost their minds.'" Hi, Marco, I see you're new here. Let me introduce you to the GOP News Machine and its expectation of behavior, demeanor and strict adherence to social norms that have been out of style for more than 4 decades.
Sometimes I'd like to see Trump as president, but only to see his face when someone he can't fire tells him to fuck off. Seriously, this is the mindset you have when you don't understand grade-school level civics.
Jeb! Bush blames "bad parenting" for crime in black neighborhoods, but not his own kids problems with crimes. To remind you, his daughter was arrested for both pill shopping and for impersonating a doctor, forging prescriptions on a stolen pad, and then attempting to fill those prescriptions. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Maine Gov. Paul "… LePage responded to a question about how he was tackling substance abuse in Maine. He began talking about how much of the heroin is coming into Maine from out-of-state drug dealers… 'These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty … these types of guys… they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home,' LePage told a large crowd. 'Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.'" Now now, wait. "Peter Steele, the governor’s communication director, said in a written statement Thursday night that LePage’s remarks were not about race, but about the emotional toll drugs have on children." Yea, not so much. I mean, Peter gave the good ol' college try to spin that, but seriously, dude, that didn't even polish the turd. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Linkee-poo, what's love got to do with it
14 agents seeking SF novels. May need to cross reference to those I've already tried and have been rejected. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Kate Elliot promises a series on world building. (Grokked from someone, sorry)
Giving up on the Great American Novel (and succeeding at writing). (Grokked from Mrs. Tadd)
Kameron Hurley Simon Owens on making short fiction pay through Patreon. Kids and their new-fangled ways. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
Wanna compute like it's 1979? Of course you do. Here, have a web based Apple II emulator. And you can play Oregon Trail and die of dysentery just like your forbearers did. (Grokked from John)
Remember that jetpack video of people flying around NYC? Your jetpack is ready. Okay, you can't actually buy one, but they're trying harder. (Grokked from Dan)
Can't wait for the jetpack? Okay, how about a human-size quadcopter drone? Note, may not be legal in all jurisdictions (also it's pretty damn expensive). (Grokked from John)
Instructions on how to open a new, hardbound book. Pointed to as an example of how, yes, these things we take for granted are actual tech that requires a user's manual. I remember seeing this as a kid the one year we had new textbooks in class. (Grokked from Christine Daigle)
I'ma gonna just leave this here. "Police shot and killed a California man who opened fire on an apartment building Tuesday night while ranting incoherently about President Obama’s new gun control policy." Crazy people, huh. What can you do?
Dear Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID), "civil disobedience" does not included "armed standoff." I thought you might like to know that little fact. Also, "peaceful" typically does not involved people with rifles, stating they're willing to "do whatever it takes" and possibly "I'm willing to put my life on the line." That's the difference the media is noticing that you're oblivious to.
So, when the Bundys and Hammonds claim that the "feds robbed us of our land", it's pretty much been settled law since the beginning of the 20th century that "Nope, the Feds own it, never gave up title to it."
Kate Elliot promises a series on world building. (Grokked from someone, sorry)
Giving up on the Great American Novel (and succeeding at writing). (Grokked from Mrs. Tadd)
Wanna compute like it's 1979? Of course you do. Here, have a web based Apple II emulator. And you can play Oregon Trail and die of dysentery just like your forbearers did. (Grokked from John)
Remember that jetpack video of people flying around NYC? Your jetpack is ready. Okay, you can't actually buy one, but they're trying harder. (Grokked from Dan)
Can't wait for the jetpack? Okay, how about a human-size quadcopter drone? Note, may not be legal in all jurisdictions (also it's pretty damn expensive). (Grokked from John)
Instructions on how to open a new, hardbound book. Pointed to as an example of how, yes, these things we take for granted are actual tech that requires a user's manual. I remember seeing this as a kid the one year we had new textbooks in class. (Grokked from Christine Daigle)
I'ma gonna just leave this here. "Police shot and killed a California man who opened fire on an apartment building Tuesday night while ranting incoherently about President Obama’s new gun control policy." Crazy people, huh. What can you do?
Dear Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID), "civil disobedience" does not included "armed standoff." I thought you might like to know that little fact. Also, "peaceful" typically does not involved people with rifles, stating they're willing to "do whatever it takes" and possibly "I'm willing to put my life on the line." That's the difference the media is noticing that you're oblivious to.
So, when the Bundys and Hammonds claim that the "feds robbed us of our land", it's pretty much been settled law since the beginning of the 20th century that "Nope, the Feds own it, never gave up title to it."
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Linkee-poo turns me right around, baby, right around
So, Speaker Ryan, now that you've lead the GOP Congress in their 6th Annual Circlejerk, can you actually do some actual work and help the American People? Yea, I know, but I thought I would ask.
On when the song dies, collective memory, the weight of the past, and carrying the dead. (Grokked from Terri Windling)
The Ferrett takes up the gauntlet dropped by Robert J Bennett and gives writing advice to middle-agers who want to make a living off writing. Short answer, don't quit the day job. And he tosses out two good truisms. "The dirty secret… is that the people who succeed are usually the most tenacious, not the most talented." That goes for everyfuckingdamnthing in life, just a hint. Also, "(Y)ou gotta put in the work. And you’ve got less time."
Gratitude, the new self-help selfishness that started out as selflessness. But then, really, would we expect anything else from the self-help movement? Also there is a large body of research how things like charity, paying-it-forward, donating time, etc all are done mostly to please the giver and make them feel better about themselves (I made a difference). Now, this is not to say you shouldn't do these things, or practice gratitude, but being conscious of our motivations and what we receive from these interactions is an important part of self-awareness. (Grokked from Terri Windling)
So, there's this theory that ancient Greek sailors used snakes as projectile weapons. Adds "throwing snakes, maybe catapult" to the list that includes, "setting hogs on fire and drive them at enemy".
He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he knows how long you've been using Windows 10, as in hours per day. (Grokked from John)
The mistake of using video of the Moroccan border in Trump's own commercial about the American border was "1000 percent on purpose." Yea. Sure. These are the people you want with the nuclear keys.
"'I have missed votes this year,' (Marco) Rubio said when asked about his voting record during an Iowa town hall. 'You know why? Because while as a senator I can help shape the agenda, only a president can set the agenda. We’re not going to fix America with senators and congressmen.'" And this is why the GOP wants a King, not a President. Seriously. This is a grade school civic's class fail. This is your bright, rising star conservative? Go home, GOP, you're drunk.
Ah, those fine upstanding citizens the militia has decided to rally around. Let me just give this hint to the Utah/Oregonian separatists, when you sell land, take cash money for it, it's no longer yours. You have to stop thinking of it as still being your land.
On when the song dies, collective memory, the weight of the past, and carrying the dead. (Grokked from Terri Windling)
The Ferrett takes up the gauntlet dropped by Robert J Bennett and gives writing advice to middle-agers who want to make a living off writing. Short answer, don't quit the day job. And he tosses out two good truisms. "The dirty secret… is that the people who succeed are usually the most tenacious, not the most talented." That goes for everyfuckingdamnthing in life, just a hint. Also, "(Y)ou gotta put in the work. And you’ve got less time."
Gratitude, the new self-help selfishness that started out as selflessness. But then, really, would we expect anything else from the self-help movement? Also there is a large body of research how things like charity, paying-it-forward, donating time, etc all are done mostly to please the giver and make them feel better about themselves (I made a difference). Now, this is not to say you shouldn't do these things, or practice gratitude, but being conscious of our motivations and what we receive from these interactions is an important part of self-awareness. (Grokked from Terri Windling)
So, there's this theory that ancient Greek sailors used snakes as projectile weapons. Adds "throwing snakes, maybe catapult" to the list that includes, "setting hogs on fire and drive them at enemy".
He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he knows how long you've been using Windows 10, as in hours per day. (Grokked from John)
The mistake of using video of the Moroccan border in Trump's own commercial about the American border was "1000 percent on purpose." Yea. Sure. These are the people you want with the nuclear keys.
"'I have missed votes this year,' (Marco) Rubio said when asked about his voting record during an Iowa town hall. 'You know why? Because while as a senator I can help shape the agenda, only a president can set the agenda. We’re not going to fix America with senators and congressmen.'" And this is why the GOP wants a King, not a President. Seriously. This is a grade school civic's class fail. This is your bright, rising star conservative? Go home, GOP, you're drunk.
Ah, those fine upstanding citizens the militia has decided to rally around. Let me just give this hint to the Utah/Oregonian separatists, when you sell land, take cash money for it, it's no longer yours. You have to stop thinking of it as still being your land.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Linkee-poo, a time when the corn is all into the barn, the old cow's breath so frosty white
Having difficulty generating story ideas? If only there was a helpful website that could auto-generate them. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
Robert J Bennet's advice to aspiring writers looking to make a living off writing. Short answer, don't quit the day job.
Turns out, when people are drunk or in a rush, they tend to favor strict hierarchical thinking. While the report goes on to talk about how this is somewhat a reference to childhood (where we have "parental authority"), I'm gonna call bullshit on that. See humans are animals, and animals have hierarchies. This is most often talked about in "alpha" and "beta" members of the community, but that's also a great oversimplification. Each animal within any community knows their place and relative position to every other animal in that community. There is no "leader" and "group", there is a #1, #2, #3, and so on. And we can see it mostly in predatory animals, but it also exists in prey and herd animals (seriously, if you've worked with cows, you've seen this). And (I hate to break this to you all) we're herd and prey animals (this view of humans being "the top predator" is a falsehood because one, there isn't such a thing, and two, our biology proclaims it pretty loudly). So our brains have evolved to accept inegalitarian systems. Or, as stated in the movie The American President "Democracy is hard. You really have to want it." Also note, this is the real reason behind Donald Trump's numbers in the polls. Our brains for the most part are wired to see him as a successful strong person (no matter what the reality). That's appealing. I would go on to say that it's mostly from people who are drunk, but that would be unkind (and not necessarily truthful).
Yea, there's no problem here, no need for regulation. Philadelphia newsletter company forces employees to clock out when taking small breaks, like to go to the bathroom. I'm sure the free market will correct for that.
Big history? You mean, science class taught as history? Okay, I get it.
Yes, Virginia, being forgetful is a part of the natural aging process.
To make the news of the coming year more interesting, try these word substitutions from XKCD. They're probably more truthful anyway. (Grokked from Dan)
Gene Roddenberry's words finally recovered from his floppy disks. What those words are, however, we don't know. Yet. Part of the problem of the modern historian. See, the letters and journals of the pre-digital era still work. Getting the emails and e-journals of the digital era may need to be both recovered from disused media and converted into new file formats. It's an archivist's nightmare. (Grokked from John)
And in the world of synchronicity, NPR had a story about this problem (the transient nature of our records).
Boy, I wish the government would leave the Bundys alone. I mean, shit, they're costing us a fortune in benefits they receive from the government.
Tweet of my heart: @ClaireRousseau Wait, wait. Hasbro said no Rey in Star Wars Monopoly to avoid spoilers? What's the spoiler? That she's the main character? #WheresRey
Robert J Bennet's advice to aspiring writers looking to make a living off writing. Short answer, don't quit the day job.
Turns out, when people are drunk or in a rush, they tend to favor strict hierarchical thinking. While the report goes on to talk about how this is somewhat a reference to childhood (where we have "parental authority"), I'm gonna call bullshit on that. See humans are animals, and animals have hierarchies. This is most often talked about in "alpha" and "beta" members of the community, but that's also a great oversimplification. Each animal within any community knows their place and relative position to every other animal in that community. There is no "leader" and "group", there is a #1, #2, #3, and so on. And we can see it mostly in predatory animals, but it also exists in prey and herd animals (seriously, if you've worked with cows, you've seen this). And (I hate to break this to you all) we're herd and prey animals (this view of humans being "the top predator" is a falsehood because one, there isn't such a thing, and two, our biology proclaims it pretty loudly). So our brains have evolved to accept inegalitarian systems. Or, as stated in the movie The American President "Democracy is hard. You really have to want it." Also note, this is the real reason behind Donald Trump's numbers in the polls. Our brains for the most part are wired to see him as a successful strong person (no matter what the reality). That's appealing. I would go on to say that it's mostly from people who are drunk, but that would be unkind (and not necessarily truthful).
Yea, there's no problem here, no need for regulation. Philadelphia newsletter company forces employees to clock out when taking small breaks, like to go to the bathroom. I'm sure the free market will correct for that.
Big history? You mean, science class taught as history? Okay, I get it.
Yes, Virginia, being forgetful is a part of the natural aging process.
To make the news of the coming year more interesting, try these word substitutions from XKCD. They're probably more truthful anyway. (Grokked from Dan)
Gene Roddenberry's words finally recovered from his floppy disks. What those words are, however, we don't know. Yet. Part of the problem of the modern historian. See, the letters and journals of the pre-digital era still work. Getting the emails and e-journals of the digital era may need to be both recovered from disused media and converted into new file formats. It's an archivist's nightmare. (Grokked from John)
And in the world of synchronicity, NPR had a story about this problem (the transient nature of our records).
Boy, I wish the government would leave the Bundys alone. I mean, shit, they're costing us a fortune in benefits they receive from the government.
Tweet of my heart: @ClaireRousseau Wait, wait. Hasbro said no Rey in Star Wars Monopoly to avoid spoilers? What's the spoiler? That she's the main character? #WheresRey
Monday, January 4, 2016
Linkee-poo first Monday back, can't I just take up competitive drinking?
"The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is sending out William Shakespeare's First Folio to all 50 states to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard's death. Published seven years after he died, the First Folio is the first printed collection of all of Shakespeare's plays." They have 6 copies, so the dates overlap. It'll be at the Cleveland Public Library June 20 to July 30.
Something(s) new has(have) been added to the periodic table.
Because someone had to, the best electric toothbrush. (Grokked from Dan)
What happens to all that stuff people return. For stores these days it's basically cheaper to just not handle it themselves.
Reachers are testing to see if a lack of sleep leads to Alzheimers. Now they just need to find humans who can fall asleep in very powerful MRI. Good luck with that.
In December of 2014, a "… woman fired shots randomly at vehicles and continued to aim her gun at vehicles even while she was being chased by police. She also pointed her firearm at police officers, but she was eventually arrested and taken alive." Why yes, she is white. Why do you ask? (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
Just how mindfucked are these "patriots"/idiots? Well, their sire, Cliven Bundy, filed a handwritten lawsuit against President Obama in 2014. It was dismissed because he forgot to pay the $350 filling fee (note to Cliven Bundy, pay your fucking bills, jackass). Among the jewels of this document are his claims "to have seen Bill Clinton cross dress in a burqa and claims to have seen Obama sell 'Muslim oils at a street vendor stand with a wig and mustache.'" And his son is leading the group at the wildlife refuge in Oregon. They aren't even in shouting distance of sanity. Well, technically "The lawsuit, which was filed by a man named David Rothrock and lists a Pennsylvania prison as a return address, was apparently sent by Rothrock in his and Bundy’s name." (Grokked from Annalen Flower Horne)
Also, when the guy with the eye patch calls your movement whackaloon, you might want to rethink. Also, it's customary to shore up your support before you go sporting for a fight. The "they made a stand and people woke up and joined them in their cause" is a Hollywood fabrication and a conservative wet dream. You line up support before you make the stand. Thank the gods for stupid criminals.
And having the guy who called Nathan Bedford Forest (of the Night Raiders fame) the first civil-rights leader call for support doesn't help.
Something(s) new has(have) been added to the periodic table.
Because someone had to, the best electric toothbrush. (Grokked from Dan)
What happens to all that stuff people return. For stores these days it's basically cheaper to just not handle it themselves.
Reachers are testing to see if a lack of sleep leads to Alzheimers. Now they just need to find humans who can fall asleep in very powerful MRI. Good luck with that.
In December of 2014, a "… woman fired shots randomly at vehicles and continued to aim her gun at vehicles even while she was being chased by police. She also pointed her firearm at police officers, but she was eventually arrested and taken alive." Why yes, she is white. Why do you ask? (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
Just how mindfucked are these "patriots"/idiots? Well, their sire, Cliven Bundy, filed a handwritten lawsuit against President Obama in 2014. It was dismissed because he forgot to pay the $350 filling fee (note to Cliven Bundy, pay your fucking bills, jackass). Among the jewels of this document are his claims "to have seen Bill Clinton cross dress in a burqa and claims to have seen Obama sell 'Muslim oils at a street vendor stand with a wig and mustache.'" And his son is leading the group at the wildlife refuge in Oregon. They aren't even in shouting distance of sanity. Well, technically "The lawsuit, which was filed by a man named David Rothrock and lists a Pennsylvania prison as a return address, was apparently sent by Rothrock in his and Bundy’s name." (Grokked from Annalen Flower Horne)
Also, when the guy with the eye patch calls your movement whackaloon, you might want to rethink. Also, it's customary to shore up your support before you go sporting for a fight. The "they made a stand and people woke up and joined them in their cause" is a Hollywood fabrication and a conservative wet dream. You line up support before you make the stand. Thank the gods for stupid criminals.
And having the guy who called Nathan Bedford Forest (of the Night Raiders fame) the first civil-rights leader call for support doesn't help.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Linkee-poo it's a brand new year
The Founder's Bible by the liar David Barton. No, not the Jeffersonian Bible, which was a real thing. Nor the Bibles used by any of the actual Founding Fathers, but the book that retrofits US history, retells some very discredited lies, and makes logic jumps that would make Evel Knievel jealous, to tell a story about Christianity being the founding principle of the US. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
The "crazy pants liars" post all the kids are talking about. (Grokked from many people)
Sure, there's no war on women. The representatives of the GOP think that if a woman exposes a nipple, say to breast feed her child, any guy around should be able to both ogle and or grab at it themselves. You just can't make this shit up. I guess what I'm wondering is if this bill (which supposedly does protect breast feeding) actually demands women wear padded bras. Cause at least in my life I've seen a lot of nipples, not all of which have been bared on purpose. Also, I have man nipples, does that mean I need to wear two undershirts? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"So California's utilities want to pay new solar customers less for their extra electricity and to add new monthly fees." It's not exactly only about solar. Here in Ohio our utilities want to add fees to help pay off our nuclear power plants and some coal fired plants they built 10-20 years ago which haven't made money.
You know how Iran was just using the agreement negotiated with the Obama Administration to just fool the West? Like how they're moving quickly to transfer their stocks of enriched Uranium to Russia so they can… uh, something something something mushroom clouds over Tel Aviv and New York. A nuclear program is very expensive, and it doesn't really give them any more advantage than they have now (that their arch enemy was taken out by the US) and would make them a much larger target.
To be fair to Jeb!, the police did shoot a lot of black men last year. It's easy to get confused about them, especially when you really don't care.
"The Bundy family of Nevada joined with hard-core militiamen Saturday to take over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, vowing to occupy the remote federal outpost 50 miles southeast of Burns for years." This will not end well. They say this is all about upholding the Constitution, but that's just so much crap. See, they think they won at the Bundy Ranch, and now, drunk on power, they're expanding their stupidity. At best they will all end up in jail. They think they're starting the Revolution, and my guess is they will see exactly what happens to "revolutionaries" in a Constitutional Democracy. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
No ABC News, armed separatists occupying a federal building (no matter how small) is not a "peaceful protest." Or, as Genevieve Valentine tweeted "Want media coverage of your armed takeover of a government building to be smoothly sanded-down? Try Whiteness(tm)!" (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
The people are looking for martyrdom. Although it's interesting that there were unable to recruit even the father and son who this protest is nominally about to join their cause. Although I guess they do have copies of the Constitution with them in there. Maybe with the extra time they'll actually read it. (Grokked from CC Findlay)
"Seventy-three percent of whites said they get angry at least once per day, compared with 66 percent of Hispanics and 56 percent of blacks… Republicans are angrier than Democrats. Sixty-one percent of Republicans say current events irk them more today than a year ago, compared to 42 percent of Democrats." It's almost like there was a supposed news outlet dedicated to making people upset. A news outlet that was mostly watched by conservatives. I mean, that might explain it. Or maybe "Overall, 52 percent of the country said the idea of the 'American dream' no longer holds true. The group most pessimistic about the thought that anyone in the country can work hard to get ahead is Americans between 45 and 64 who are thinking about retirement… Very rich Americans earning household incomes above $150,000 were the least angry income bracket. The poorest Americans earning less than $15,000 were the most angry." So basically, the people who uphold the "bootstrap" theory of success are now getting pissed because they're finding out that it was a lie all along. However, since the framing is skewed, they just think it's the opposition which is holding them back. Or that other people are "taking their country away from them." But unfortunately they didn't ask just what made them angry. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
Tweet of my heart: @namirari #WhitePrivilige means no going to sleep tonight wondering if there'll be a spike in hate crimes against people who look like Bundy tomorrow.
The "crazy pants liars" post all the kids are talking about. (Grokked from many people)
Sure, there's no war on women. The representatives of the GOP think that if a woman exposes a nipple, say to breast feed her child, any guy around should be able to both ogle and or grab at it themselves. You just can't make this shit up. I guess what I'm wondering is if this bill (which supposedly does protect breast feeding) actually demands women wear padded bras. Cause at least in my life I've seen a lot of nipples, not all of which have been bared on purpose. Also, I have man nipples, does that mean I need to wear two undershirts? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"So California's utilities want to pay new solar customers less for their extra electricity and to add new monthly fees." It's not exactly only about solar. Here in Ohio our utilities want to add fees to help pay off our nuclear power plants and some coal fired plants they built 10-20 years ago which haven't made money.
You know how Iran was just using the agreement negotiated with the Obama Administration to just fool the West? Like how they're moving quickly to transfer their stocks of enriched Uranium to Russia so they can… uh, something something something mushroom clouds over Tel Aviv and New York. A nuclear program is very expensive, and it doesn't really give them any more advantage than they have now (that their arch enemy was taken out by the US) and would make them a much larger target.
To be fair to Jeb!, the police did shoot a lot of black men last year. It's easy to get confused about them, especially when you really don't care.
"The Bundy family of Nevada joined with hard-core militiamen Saturday to take over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, vowing to occupy the remote federal outpost 50 miles southeast of Burns for years." This will not end well. They say this is all about upholding the Constitution, but that's just so much crap. See, they think they won at the Bundy Ranch, and now, drunk on power, they're expanding their stupidity. At best they will all end up in jail. They think they're starting the Revolution, and my guess is they will see exactly what happens to "revolutionaries" in a Constitutional Democracy. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
No ABC News, armed separatists occupying a federal building (no matter how small) is not a "peaceful protest." Or, as Genevieve Valentine tweeted "Want media coverage of your armed takeover of a government building to be smoothly sanded-down? Try Whiteness(tm)!" (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
The people are looking for martyrdom. Although it's interesting that there were unable to recruit even the father and son who this protest is nominally about to join their cause. Although I guess they do have copies of the Constitution with them in there. Maybe with the extra time they'll actually read it. (Grokked from CC Findlay)
"Seventy-three percent of whites said they get angry at least once per day, compared with 66 percent of Hispanics and 56 percent of blacks… Republicans are angrier than Democrats. Sixty-one percent of Republicans say current events irk them more today than a year ago, compared to 42 percent of Democrats." It's almost like there was a supposed news outlet dedicated to making people upset. A news outlet that was mostly watched by conservatives. I mean, that might explain it. Or maybe "Overall, 52 percent of the country said the idea of the 'American dream' no longer holds true. The group most pessimistic about the thought that anyone in the country can work hard to get ahead is Americans between 45 and 64 who are thinking about retirement… Very rich Americans earning household incomes above $150,000 were the least angry income bracket. The poorest Americans earning less than $15,000 were the most angry." So basically, the people who uphold the "bootstrap" theory of success are now getting pissed because they're finding out that it was a lie all along. However, since the framing is skewed, they just think it's the opposition which is holding them back. Or that other people are "taking their country away from them." But unfortunately they didn't ask just what made them angry. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
Tweet of my heart: @namirari #WhitePrivilige means no going to sleep tonight wondering if there'll be a spike in hate crimes against people who look like Bundy tomorrow.
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