Kameron Hurley's writing income report of 2017.
Jim Hines' writing income report of 2017.
Speaking of Jim, he reviews another friend's book, Catherine Schaff-Stump's The Vessel of Ra. Cath is a wicked good author and fellow VPXIII alumni, and that cover has a severe case of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" about it.
John Scalzi on why he no longer is giving an annual report on his income. John is an outlier, very far outside the box lines. And his experience and current income scheme is so atypical as to skew any comparison. Scalzi gave the basic outline of his deal back when he signed it.
"Here are five weapons you really don’t want to see your opponent bring to a fight." And article on fantasy swords. Odd, no mention of Morganti weapons (although technically not an individual weapon, but a group of weapons created by the Serioli). I have a love/hate relationship with magical weapons. Some are very cool (in a writerly way) like Stormbringer. But they tend to tip the odds to far toward the hero. Morganti weapons are an interesting balance. They don't care about intent. Such as, if the wielder cuts themselves with the blade, well, all the blade is interested in is drinking their soul. In my story collection (partials and notes for novels) I have only two magical blades. But I think I've given them enough twists and odd powers that while they are useful, they are more of a curse than a blessing.
The "2017 Locus Recommended Reading List" all the cool kids are talking about. Hey, I know some of those people.
"SpaceX launches satellite into orbit on a used Falcon 9 rocket."
"Activating T cells in tumors eliminated even distant metastases in mice, Stanford researchers found. Lymphoma patients are being recruited to test the technique in a clinical trial."
"There are a few ideas being tossed around trying to understand what might be happening around these larger galaxies. Some of the theories focus on the idea of tidal forces in the formless void of space." Our galaxy cluster might not be so odd as first thought.
"About three months ago, the car-size robot captured a series of photos from Vera Rubin Ridge, more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the floor of Mars' 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale Crater. Mission team members have stitched these images into a panorama that shows some of the key regions Curiosity has explored since touching down on the Red Planet in August 2012."
"What if your employer made you wear a wristband that tracked your every move, and that even nudged you via vibrations when it judged that you were doing something wrong?" This is where the Ironman suit becomes an annoying nag and tattletale. At one time we were upset to know that some electronic keycards could also be used to track an employee's movement around the office. The dystopias in fiction aren't often imposed from top-down (although they rule that way). As 1984 taught us, the were ushered in with the full willingness of the people being governed because it was easier (or had shiny things attached).
Where were they radicalized? "She said Mr. Osborne then dived into the right-wing media sphere and 'seemed brainwashed' by that world. Devices seized by the police showed internet searches for a variety of such sites, including that of the English Defence League, a far-right anti-Muslim group… Mr. Osborne was also found to have received an automated direct message on Twitter from Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First, another far-right organization. Some of the group’s videos were re-tweeted by President Trump last year in an episode that caused outrage in Britain." Well, that's where one was.
"Four migrants have been shot in a gunfight that broke out between Afghan and Eritrean migrants in France's port city of Calais." This may not seem weird to American eyes, but in Europe guns laws are much more strict. "It is unusual for migrants to carry firearms." It's unusual for anyone to carry firearms. "The clashes come weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron signed a treaty with Britain to speed up processing of migrants in Calais."
"The company, which makes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, announced on Thursday that it is giving employees a one-time bonus of $1,250, with $750 of that in cash and $500 in the form of a 401(k) contribution. In a borderline on-the-nose move, Hostess is also giving employees one free multibox of snacks per week in addition to the small bonus… While the numbers may appear promising, corporations are actually spending less than one percent of their tax windfall on bonuses for employees… Additionally, those one-time bonuses do little to actually help workers in an economy where wages have remained stagnant for years, despite a four percent unemployment rate." I'd also want to see how long it takes for employees to be vested in their 401(k) programs (and participation rates). You may also remember Hostess for union breaking about 3 years ago. (Grokked from Michele)
"Despite Israeli and U.S. criticism, Poland’s Senate approved a highly controversial law on Thursday which bans any Holocaust accusations against Poles as well as descriptions of Nazi death camps as Polish." It's like if the French passed a law restricting the use of Vichy. But then nations always like to diminish the role of collaborators.
"Republicans are gathered at the storied Greenbrier Resort — home to a Cold War-era bunker once meant to house Congress in the event of a nuclear attack — to plot the party's legislative agenda for 2018 and strategize for what could be a bruising midterm election."
"Senate Republicans last December panned Speaker Paul Ryan’s pitch to overhaul entitlements. But the Wisconsin Republican is back at it again, repackaging his proposals in hopes of gaining traction on welfare reform… During a GOP retreat here in Appalachia, Ryan urged congressional Republicans to tackle 'workforce development.' He messaged the somewhat amorphous phrase as a matter of 'helping people'— not a budget-cutting excursive." Same shit, new wrapper. (Grokked form Michele)
So here we'll make a little note. Many manufacturers have job openings that they're having trouble filling. One major reason is lack of training (there are very few "unskilled" jobs anymore, most require knowledge of automated manufacturing processes and programming). Another major reason is a large part of the workforce out there can't pass a drug test (if they even are able to pass the credit score check).
"The state of Florida routinely violates the constitutional rights of its citizens by permanently revoking the 'fundamental right' to vote for anyone convicted of a felony, a federal judge ruled Thursday… U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said the Florida 'scheme' unfairly relies on the personal support of the governor for citizens to regain the right to vote. In a strongly-worded ruling, he called the state's defense of voter disenfranchisement 'nonsensical,' a withering criticism of Gov. Rick Scott, the lead defendant in the case." Of course it will be appealed.
"Two sources directly involved in the process say the GOP-authored House Intelligence Committee memo will not be released Thursday. The plan now is for the White House to return the memo – with redactions approved in consultation with the FBI – to the Intelligence Committee Friday." Do over. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
Was wondering why Hope Hicks was trending in my feed. "According to a New York Times report, Mark Corallo, a former spokesperson for Trump’s legal team set to be interviewed in the Russia investigation, plans to tell Mueller that, during a conference call with Hicks and President Trump last July, Hicks said that Trump Jr.’s emails 'will never get out.' This statement, Corallo now confirms to the Times, led him to worry that Hicks 'could be contemplating obstructing justice.' (Translation: destroying or otherwise covering up Trump Jr.’s emails.) Either that or, as Corallo reportedly told colleagues, Hicks 'was being naive'—believing the emails couldn’t be leaked to the public because, per the Times, she thought 'only a few people had access to them.' In fact, whether Hicks realized it or not, Trump Jr.’s emails were headed for delivery to Congress, which had requested them as part of its own Russia investigation." Chickens coming home to roost.
"Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has gathered enough steam that some lawyers representing key Donald Trump associates are considering the possibility of a historic first: an indictment against a sitting president." I'm not sure I buy it. But if it happened, that would leave us in a Constitutional Crisis that I don't think many people have gamed out. What if the sitting president was not only indicted, but found guilty in a criminal court of actions committed while in the White House? At best, Mueller will deliver a report to Rosenstein recommending impeachment and laying out the full case and pursue other cases against other officials and campaign workers. It's quite likely one or more of the president's family will be charged. At least that's my bet.
Tweet of my heart: @Blk_Dolphin CNN & Fox News has done to our parents what they thought violent video games & Marilyn Manson would do to us. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
Friday, February 2, 2018
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Linkee-poo yeah yeah, whatever
"The thing about futuristic militaries is that they’re often used as a plot device, rather than an end in themselves. Which makes a lot of sense: they create built-in obstacles, hierarchies, even plot structures, that writers can take advantage of that to tell their stories… Where many of these futuristic science fiction stories go wrong, however, is in their representation of the military."
"The BooBuddy Ghost Hunter Interactive Bear is an adorable teddy bear that senses changes in the environment such as EMF, movement, temperature and vibration and responds to those changes with a cute, non-threatening voice and strategically placed lights. BooBuddy is also able to respond to questions as well." The movie practically writes itself. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
In case you may be wondering why some people blame the pharmaceutical industry for the opioid epidemic, here's one reason. "Between 2006 and 2016, a total of 20.8 million prescription painkillers were sent to two pharmacies in Williamson, in Mingo County, West Virginia, a town with a population of only 2,900 people… A U.S. government panel is now questioning how drug wholesalers could have sent millions of prescription pills to two pharmacies in West Virginia without flagging any suspicion, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported." That's 965 doses per person, per year for a decade.
"Whole Foods has a new inventory-management system aimed at making stores more efficient and cutting down on food waste. And employees say the retailer's method of ensuring compliance is crushing morale." Micro-management kills businesses. Well, time to hire consultants. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"A New York man who struck it big with a scratch-off lottery ticket died just weeks after he claimed the prize." One of the things he wanted to do with the money was go to the doctor, which he did. And was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. America, your healthcare system sucks sweaty balls. (Grokked from Laura J Nixon)
Both sides are the same! "Labor Department leadership scrubbed an unfavorable internal analysis from a new tip pooling proposal, shielding the public from estimates that showed employees could lose out on billions of dollars in gratuities, four current and former DOL sources tell Bloomberg Law." Nope, not even close. One side works with reality and tries to help people, the other side tries to claw as much money toward themselves as they can. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"The new president’s then–chief strategist, Steve Bannon, had called in February for the 'deconstruction of the administrative state.' It was not hard to guess that, for a White House that swept to power on a wave of racially tinged rural resentment and anti-welfare sentiment, high on the demolition list might be a department with 'urban' in its name. The administration’s preliminary budget outline had already signaled deep cuts for HUD. And Donald Trump had chosen to lead the department someone with zero experience in government or social policy — the nominee whose unsuitability most mirrored Trump’s lack of preparation to run the country." (Grokked from Joy Reid)
When you beg for the spotlight, sometimes the spotlight delivers. "House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) on Tuesday declined to say whether he worked with the White House on the anti-FBI memo written by members of his staff, the Daily Beast reports." You know, like that episode where he bypassed his committee and went to the White House to give them an important intelligence brief… that he learned about from the White House. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein visited the White House in December seeking President Donald Trump's help. The top Justice Department official in the Russia investigation wanted Trump's support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes… Trump wanted to know where the special counsel's Russia investigation was heading. And he wanted to know whether Rosenstein was 'on my team.'… As a further sign of the President's focus on Rosenstein's testimony, one of the sources said Trump also had suggested questions to members of Congress that they could ask Rosenstein." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Emails obtained by CNN show the FBI agent at the center of a Capitol Hill storm played a key role in a controversial FBI decision that upended Hillary Clinton's campaign just days before the 2016 election: the letter to Congress by then-FBI Director James Comey announcing the bureau was investigating newly discovered Clinton emails… The new revelation about FBI agent Peter Strzok comes as Republicans accuse him of being sympathetic to Clinton while seeking to undermine Donald Trump during the heat of the 2016 campaign season." While you might say that destroys a good conspiracy theory, the conservatives don't care. Once you stop being useful to them, under the bus you go. (Grokked from Joshua Parker)
"All this has built steadily toward a crisis for American democracy—a Saturday Night Massacre in slow motion. Press reports suggest the president may be contemplating using the memo to dismiss Rosenstein. That matters: If the president were to use his powers to insert someone lacking independence, that person could throttle the special counsel." Unfortunately there is the problem of a lie going halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on. And then those in the right will continue to hammer down the zombie arguments, draining time and attention away from where it should be. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
Tweet of my heart: Stonekettle Retweeted Tomi Lahren "Veterans before refugees. Veterans before illegals. America First! #SOTU" to which @Stonekettle added," Stonekettle added, "Nothing is stopping you sons of bitches from taking care of veterans NOW. Nothing. Not one goddamned thing… But, if you actually made good on your promise to veterans, you wouldn't have veterans to use as a cudgel to guilt America into accepting your agenda, would you?" What he said.
"The BooBuddy Ghost Hunter Interactive Bear is an adorable teddy bear that senses changes in the environment such as EMF, movement, temperature and vibration and responds to those changes with a cute, non-threatening voice and strategically placed lights. BooBuddy is also able to respond to questions as well." The movie practically writes itself. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
In case you may be wondering why some people blame the pharmaceutical industry for the opioid epidemic, here's one reason. "Between 2006 and 2016, a total of 20.8 million prescription painkillers were sent to two pharmacies in Williamson, in Mingo County, West Virginia, a town with a population of only 2,900 people… A U.S. government panel is now questioning how drug wholesalers could have sent millions of prescription pills to two pharmacies in West Virginia without flagging any suspicion, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported." That's 965 doses per person, per year for a decade.
"Whole Foods has a new inventory-management system aimed at making stores more efficient and cutting down on food waste. And employees say the retailer's method of ensuring compliance is crushing morale." Micro-management kills businesses. Well, time to hire consultants. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"A New York man who struck it big with a scratch-off lottery ticket died just weeks after he claimed the prize." One of the things he wanted to do with the money was go to the doctor, which he did. And was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. America, your healthcare system sucks sweaty balls. (Grokked from Laura J Nixon)
Both sides are the same! "Labor Department leadership scrubbed an unfavorable internal analysis from a new tip pooling proposal, shielding the public from estimates that showed employees could lose out on billions of dollars in gratuities, four current and former DOL sources tell Bloomberg Law." Nope, not even close. One side works with reality and tries to help people, the other side tries to claw as much money toward themselves as they can. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"The new president’s then–chief strategist, Steve Bannon, had called in February for the 'deconstruction of the administrative state.' It was not hard to guess that, for a White House that swept to power on a wave of racially tinged rural resentment and anti-welfare sentiment, high on the demolition list might be a department with 'urban' in its name. The administration’s preliminary budget outline had already signaled deep cuts for HUD. And Donald Trump had chosen to lead the department someone with zero experience in government or social policy — the nominee whose unsuitability most mirrored Trump’s lack of preparation to run the country." (Grokked from Joy Reid)
When you beg for the spotlight, sometimes the spotlight delivers. "House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) on Tuesday declined to say whether he worked with the White House on the anti-FBI memo written by members of his staff, the Daily Beast reports." You know, like that episode where he bypassed his committee and went to the White House to give them an important intelligence brief… that he learned about from the White House. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein visited the White House in December seeking President Donald Trump's help. The top Justice Department official in the Russia investigation wanted Trump's support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes… Trump wanted to know where the special counsel's Russia investigation was heading. And he wanted to know whether Rosenstein was 'on my team.'… As a further sign of the President's focus on Rosenstein's testimony, one of the sources said Trump also had suggested questions to members of Congress that they could ask Rosenstein." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Emails obtained by CNN show the FBI agent at the center of a Capitol Hill storm played a key role in a controversial FBI decision that upended Hillary Clinton's campaign just days before the 2016 election: the letter to Congress by then-FBI Director James Comey announcing the bureau was investigating newly discovered Clinton emails… The new revelation about FBI agent Peter Strzok comes as Republicans accuse him of being sympathetic to Clinton while seeking to undermine Donald Trump during the heat of the 2016 campaign season." While you might say that destroys a good conspiracy theory, the conservatives don't care. Once you stop being useful to them, under the bus you go. (Grokked from Joshua Parker)
"All this has built steadily toward a crisis for American democracy—a Saturday Night Massacre in slow motion. Press reports suggest the president may be contemplating using the memo to dismiss Rosenstein. That matters: If the president were to use his powers to insert someone lacking independence, that person could throttle the special counsel." Unfortunately there is the problem of a lie going halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on. And then those in the right will continue to hammer down the zombie arguments, draining time and attention away from where it should be. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
Tweet of my heart: Stonekettle Retweeted Tomi Lahren "Veterans before refugees. Veterans before illegals. America First! #SOTU" to which @Stonekettle added," Stonekettle added, "Nothing is stopping you sons of bitches from taking care of veterans NOW. Nothing. Not one goddamned thing… But, if you actually made good on your promise to veterans, you wouldn't have veterans to use as a cudgel to guilt America into accepting your agenda, would you?" What he said.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Linkee-poo on the streets where once was pity, Mister blue sky is living here today, hey hey
"At least a quarter of the carbon humans put into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels is soaked up by the ocean. It acts like a carbon sponge, but adding carbon to seawater makes it more acidic… It's harmful for animals that build shells, like oysters, and spells big trouble for the Pacific shellfish industry, worth more than $100 million."
"Scientists have figured out how to manipulate nearly unseen specks in the air and use them to create 3-D images that are more realistic and clearer than holograms, according to a study in Wednesday's journal Nature . The study's lead author, Daniel Smalley, said the new technology is 'printing something in space, just erasing it very quickly.'" Help me, Obi-Wan, you're our only hope. (Grokked from Dan)
"The instrument, called the MinION, works by pulling DNA through around 500 nanoscopic pores and reading it as it passes through by measuring an electrical signal produced by each nucleotide, or DNA letter. Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a private British company that has spent 12 years and about $200 million developing the invention, foresees its cheap DNA sequencers providing a way to study life in real time." What all the cool kids are talking about. (Grokked from a lot of people)
"Amazon, Warren Buffett and JPMorgan are forming a new company to address the health care costs of their employees, sending shares of health care companies down sharply across the entire sector despite the vague nature of the announcement." (Grokked from Dan)
"Now, Idaho has jumped in, with the insurance department saying Wednesday it will allow insurers to ignore some ACA rules on plans not sold on the marketplace. The department aims to make these state-based plans less costly. Several of the changes are viewed by the health law's supporters as hits to its core consumer protections." So will the Trump administration enforce the law? I think we can see the answer in the recent failure to impose sanctions on Russia.
"After a polyp is found, patients may have to chip in for colonoscopies." And ain't that a kick in the pants.
"Police in Canada say they are undertaking the grim task of searching backyards, flowerbeds and planters for human remains after a Toronto gardener was charged with killing at least five men and dismembering their bodies." So the butler didn't do it after all.
"Businesses pay between $4,000 and $6,000 to join Project Green Light, a program that allows police to monitor businesses’ video surveillance feeds in real time. The cost covers installation of high-definition cameras and lighting. There also is a monthly fee of up to $150 for cloud-based video storage… In exchange, participating companies are given Priority 1 status on police dispatches…" Dear Detroit Police, um, you may want to check with your legal department about prioritizing 911 dispatches. (Grokked from Joshua Parker)
"Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he will pay a fine after being arrested with a loaded handgun in his briefcase as he went through an airport security checkpoint." (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"As the FBI’s investigation into Russian election interference reaches a fever pitch, Facebook rolled out a new News Feed alert Monday night. The bulletin told users who followed pages created by Russian trolls that those pages have been removed. And some of the affected users did not like this." Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"Since the election, President Trump has made 31 specific claims about companies adding or saving American jobs thanks to his intervention. We went back to see what’s become of those announcements." (Grokked from Pat Rothfuss)
"Eight years ago, the Koch brothers' network spent millions to help boost the Tea Party wave… The topic of how to defend the conservative majority was all the buzz over the past few days as some 550 well-heeled donors gathered at the palatial Renaissance Esmeralda near Palm Springs, Calif." Remember when the Tea Party was all "we're grass roots" and got upset at being called astroturf? But also this is a warning to the democrats, the Koch brothers are looking at the long game. You need to as well.
"'As confirmed by U.S. Naval Forces Europe, a Russian [Su-27] engaged in an unsafe interaction with a U.S. EP-3 in international airspace, with the Russia pilot closing to within 5 feet and crossing directly in front of the EP-3's flight path,' State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement Monday."
"As the U.S. sends thousands more troops to Afghanistan and ratchets up airstrikes, a new report from a U.S. military auditor suggests that the war is still at a stalemate, with signs of continued decline in Afghan government control… And the amount of basic information available to the public about the war is getting smaller, making it more difficult for the U.S. taxpayer to understand how U.S.-supported forces are faring in their fight against the Taliban." Danger. Warning, Will Robinson.
"Reaction to President Trump's first State of the Union speech followed the familiar choose-your-own-partisan-narrative script that's dominated political life since the 2016 election." Next year I'm auditioning for the part of curmudgeon. "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz chastised Democrats for not sufficiently cheering on Trump's speech." Shorter Ted Cruz, "I didn't get a 'harrumph' outa that guy."
"One of the most striking facts about immigration to the U.S., unbeknownst even to many immigration advocates, is the superior education of Africans coming to this country. If we consider adults age 25 or older, born in Africa and living in the U.S., 41.7 of them have a bachelor’s degree or more, according to 2009 data. For contrast, the native-born population has a bachelor’s degree or more at the much lower rate of only 28.1 percent in these estimates, and foreign-born adults as a whole have a college degree at the rate of 26.8 percent, both well below the African rate." Those supposed $#!@hole countries are sending us their best. Unlike our other immigrant populations. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Tweet of my heart: @waltshaub "There is a country whose leader is being investigated by an agency that's being investigated secretly by a legislator who was on the leader's transition team, which that agency is investigating for colluding with a nation that's subject to sanctions the leader refuses to enforce." (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)
"Scientists have figured out how to manipulate nearly unseen specks in the air and use them to create 3-D images that are more realistic and clearer than holograms, according to a study in Wednesday's journal Nature . The study's lead author, Daniel Smalley, said the new technology is 'printing something in space, just erasing it very quickly.'" Help me, Obi-Wan, you're our only hope. (Grokked from Dan)
"The instrument, called the MinION, works by pulling DNA through around 500 nanoscopic pores and reading it as it passes through by measuring an electrical signal produced by each nucleotide, or DNA letter. Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a private British company that has spent 12 years and about $200 million developing the invention, foresees its cheap DNA sequencers providing a way to study life in real time." What all the cool kids are talking about. (Grokked from a lot of people)
"Amazon, Warren Buffett and JPMorgan are forming a new company to address the health care costs of their employees, sending shares of health care companies down sharply across the entire sector despite the vague nature of the announcement." (Grokked from Dan)
"Now, Idaho has jumped in, with the insurance department saying Wednesday it will allow insurers to ignore some ACA rules on plans not sold on the marketplace. The department aims to make these state-based plans less costly. Several of the changes are viewed by the health law's supporters as hits to its core consumer protections." So will the Trump administration enforce the law? I think we can see the answer in the recent failure to impose sanctions on Russia.
"After a polyp is found, patients may have to chip in for colonoscopies." And ain't that a kick in the pants.
"Police in Canada say they are undertaking the grim task of searching backyards, flowerbeds and planters for human remains after a Toronto gardener was charged with killing at least five men and dismembering their bodies." So the butler didn't do it after all.
"Businesses pay between $4,000 and $6,000 to join Project Green Light, a program that allows police to monitor businesses’ video surveillance feeds in real time. The cost covers installation of high-definition cameras and lighting. There also is a monthly fee of up to $150 for cloud-based video storage… In exchange, participating companies are given Priority 1 status on police dispatches…" Dear Detroit Police, um, you may want to check with your legal department about prioritizing 911 dispatches. (Grokked from Joshua Parker)
"Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he will pay a fine after being arrested with a loaded handgun in his briefcase as he went through an airport security checkpoint." (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"As the FBI’s investigation into Russian election interference reaches a fever pitch, Facebook rolled out a new News Feed alert Monday night. The bulletin told users who followed pages created by Russian trolls that those pages have been removed. And some of the affected users did not like this." Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"Since the election, President Trump has made 31 specific claims about companies adding or saving American jobs thanks to his intervention. We went back to see what’s become of those announcements." (Grokked from Pat Rothfuss)
"Eight years ago, the Koch brothers' network spent millions to help boost the Tea Party wave… The topic of how to defend the conservative majority was all the buzz over the past few days as some 550 well-heeled donors gathered at the palatial Renaissance Esmeralda near Palm Springs, Calif." Remember when the Tea Party was all "we're grass roots" and got upset at being called astroturf? But also this is a warning to the democrats, the Koch brothers are looking at the long game. You need to as well.
"'As confirmed by U.S. Naval Forces Europe, a Russian [Su-27] engaged in an unsafe interaction with a U.S. EP-3 in international airspace, with the Russia pilot closing to within 5 feet and crossing directly in front of the EP-3's flight path,' State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement Monday."
"As the U.S. sends thousands more troops to Afghanistan and ratchets up airstrikes, a new report from a U.S. military auditor suggests that the war is still at a stalemate, with signs of continued decline in Afghan government control… And the amount of basic information available to the public about the war is getting smaller, making it more difficult for the U.S. taxpayer to understand how U.S.-supported forces are faring in their fight against the Taliban." Danger. Warning, Will Robinson.
"Reaction to President Trump's first State of the Union speech followed the familiar choose-your-own-partisan-narrative script that's dominated political life since the 2016 election." Next year I'm auditioning for the part of curmudgeon. "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz chastised Democrats for not sufficiently cheering on Trump's speech." Shorter Ted Cruz, "I didn't get a 'harrumph' outa that guy."
"One of the most striking facts about immigration to the U.S., unbeknownst even to many immigration advocates, is the superior education of Africans coming to this country. If we consider adults age 25 or older, born in Africa and living in the U.S., 41.7 of them have a bachelor’s degree or more, according to 2009 data. For contrast, the native-born population has a bachelor’s degree or more at the much lower rate of only 28.1 percent in these estimates, and foreign-born adults as a whole have a college degree at the rate of 26.8 percent, both well below the African rate." Those supposed $#!@hole countries are sending us their best. Unlike our other immigrant populations. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Tweet of my heart: @waltshaub "There is a country whose leader is being investigated by an agency that's being investigated secretly by a legislator who was on the leader's transition team, which that agency is investigating for colluding with a nation that's subject to sanctions the leader refuses to enforce." (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Linkee-poo, go go Godzilla
So apparently we'll get to read David Nunes' spy thriller fan fiction.
"Here's your chance to download and read these Oscar-nominated scripts for free." (Grokked from Gabriel Novo)
"After lengthy discussions between team owner Paul Dolan and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, the Indians are shelving the big-toothed, smiling, red-faced caricature, which has been used in used in various expressions by the team since 1947." Start the wailing and garment rending in 3… 2… 1…
"The reverse merger, whereby VMware would actually buy the larger Dell, would then allow Dell to be traded publicly without going through a formal listing. It would also likely be the biggest deal in tech industry history, giving investors who backed Dell's move to go private in 2013 a way to monetize their deal, while helping Dell pay down some of its approximately $50 billion debt." Well I'm glad it's all about the money.
"The president was silent for a moment and then turned on McCabe, suggesting he ask his wife how it feels to be a loser — an apparent reference to a failed campaign for state office in Virginia that McCabe’s wife made in 2015." There's more of that stable genius for you. Apparently the president felt that since he fired Comey long distance (Comey was in LA) that this would abandon Comey in LA. So when he used a government plane for his return trip to DC, Trump was furious. That's the kind of asshole the president is, he'd intentionally fire people while they are traveling on official business and expect that they would have to stay there. (Grokked from John)
"FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was expected to retire in the coming months, is stepping down, according to multiple reports." Well, there's a head for Nunes' wall.
"Mike Pompeo told the BBC there had been no significant diminishing of Russian attempts at subversion in Europe and the US." Again, the story ends just after the plot resolves. Russia's goals haven't been (fully) meet, the plot has not resolved. (Waves to all my Russian friends) But then Director Pompeo was asked about North Korea. "'Our task is to have provided the intelligence to the president of the United States that will deliver to him a set of options that continue to take down that risk by non-diplomatic means.'" I, uh… seriously?! Considering he's also discussed "unfettering the CIA" I certainly hope he's not insinuating what I think he is. Because those actions have never turned out well for the US. Which is why the CIA has fetters.
"One day before President Trump’s first State of the Union address on 30 January 2018, images appeared on social media of invitations to the event issued by the House of Representatives in which the word 'Union' was misspelled 'Uniom.'" True fact, a lot of type setting applications don't have automatic spellcheck.
"Trump erupted in anger while traveling to Davos after learning that Associate Attorney General Stephen Boyd warned that it would be 'extraordinarily reckless' to release a classified memo written by House Republican staffers. The memo outlines alleged misdeeds at the FBI and Justice Department related to the Russia investigation." (Grokked from Michele)
"But given the political heat being cranked up by Trump, GOP aides on Capitol Hill and in the pro-Trump media, it would not surprise anyone if special counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is next to go… Though such a step would trigger political mayhem and a potential constitutional showdown that could imperil Trump's presidency, such steps, if they happened, could be seen as the logical outcome of a pressure campaign that has raised concerns about Trump's tendency to rage against legal norms constraining his office."
"Those hoping the special counsel will prosecute the president are engaging in fantasy… So, every time you read about the threat to fire Mueller, remember this—the critical actor in most future scenarios is not Mueller, but Rosenstein." Well, yes. Frankly I think many of these reports coming out about Trump's behavior and actions are leaks from the Mueller investigation. THey're in a position to know, and Mueller is a much better politician than most on the hill. He knows how to leak information and not get fingered as the leak. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"Here's your chance to download and read these Oscar-nominated scripts for free." (Grokked from Gabriel Novo)
"After lengthy discussions between team owner Paul Dolan and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, the Indians are shelving the big-toothed, smiling, red-faced caricature, which has been used in used in various expressions by the team since 1947." Start the wailing and garment rending in 3… 2… 1…
"The reverse merger, whereby VMware would actually buy the larger Dell, would then allow Dell to be traded publicly without going through a formal listing. It would also likely be the biggest deal in tech industry history, giving investors who backed Dell's move to go private in 2013 a way to monetize their deal, while helping Dell pay down some of its approximately $50 billion debt." Well I'm glad it's all about the money.
"The president was silent for a moment and then turned on McCabe, suggesting he ask his wife how it feels to be a loser — an apparent reference to a failed campaign for state office in Virginia that McCabe’s wife made in 2015." There's more of that stable genius for you. Apparently the president felt that since he fired Comey long distance (Comey was in LA) that this would abandon Comey in LA. So when he used a government plane for his return trip to DC, Trump was furious. That's the kind of asshole the president is, he'd intentionally fire people while they are traveling on official business and expect that they would have to stay there. (Grokked from John)
"FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was expected to retire in the coming months, is stepping down, according to multiple reports." Well, there's a head for Nunes' wall.
"Mike Pompeo told the BBC there had been no significant diminishing of Russian attempts at subversion in Europe and the US." Again, the story ends just after the plot resolves. Russia's goals haven't been (fully) meet, the plot has not resolved. (Waves to all my Russian friends) But then Director Pompeo was asked about North Korea. "'Our task is to have provided the intelligence to the president of the United States that will deliver to him a set of options that continue to take down that risk by non-diplomatic means.'" I, uh… seriously?! Considering he's also discussed "unfettering the CIA" I certainly hope he's not insinuating what I think he is. Because those actions have never turned out well for the US. Which is why the CIA has fetters.
"One day before President Trump’s first State of the Union address on 30 January 2018, images appeared on social media of invitations to the event issued by the House of Representatives in which the word 'Union' was misspelled 'Uniom.'" True fact, a lot of type setting applications don't have automatic spellcheck.
"Trump erupted in anger while traveling to Davos after learning that Associate Attorney General Stephen Boyd warned that it would be 'extraordinarily reckless' to release a classified memo written by House Republican staffers. The memo outlines alleged misdeeds at the FBI and Justice Department related to the Russia investigation." (Grokked from Michele)
"But given the political heat being cranked up by Trump, GOP aides on Capitol Hill and in the pro-Trump media, it would not surprise anyone if special counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is next to go… Though such a step would trigger political mayhem and a potential constitutional showdown that could imperil Trump's presidency, such steps, if they happened, could be seen as the logical outcome of a pressure campaign that has raised concerns about Trump's tendency to rage against legal norms constraining his office."
"Those hoping the special counsel will prosecute the president are engaging in fantasy… So, every time you read about the threat to fire Mueller, remember this—the critical actor in most future scenarios is not Mueller, but Rosenstein." Well, yes. Frankly I think many of these reports coming out about Trump's behavior and actions are leaks from the Mueller investigation. THey're in a position to know, and Mueller is a much better politician than most on the hill. He knows how to leak information and not get fingered as the leak. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
Monday, January 29, 2018
Linkee-poo hitched a ride with a vending machine repair man
Hallo to all my new friends in the Netherlands.
Tobias Buckell talk about his writing tools. Note, since he wrote this Scrivener has moved to version 3.
"A 2.2 micron animation of the stellar orbits in the central 0.5 arcsec. Images taken from the years 1995 through 2016 are used to track specific stars orbiting the proposed black hole at the center of the Galaxy. These orbits, and a simple application of Kepler's Laws, provide the best evidence yet for a supermassive black hole, which has a mass of 4 million times the mass of the Sun." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Not my Dr Pepper? Okay, if they promise to bring real sugar Dr Pepper back to supermarkets, I'll support it (Yes I know about Dublin's Dr Pepper, but shipping is a killer and frankly I don't drink that much pop anymore).
"Officials in Cape Town on Monday tried to allay international concerns about the water crisis in the South African city, saying tourists and investors are welcome despite fears that most taps could be turned off in April because of drought."
"The U.S. tax bill signed into law in December will have a limited effect on the U.S. economy, as companies are unlikely to spend their tax savings on growth initiatives while the tax cut for the wealthy will not trickle down… That’s according to Moody’s Investors Service in a FAQ on the credit impact of the tax bill published Thursday, which warns of a number of negative consequences for federal debt, local governments, utilities and homeowners." Wow, you're saying water actually is wet. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"This year’s flu season is now more intense than any since the 2009 swine flu pandemic and still getting worse, federal health officials said Friday." It's bigly.
The Environmental Protection Agency said in a surprise announcement Friday that it was suspending its effort to withdraw proposed protections for a southwest Alaska watershed to make room for a new mine." I guess the check didn't clear.
"Online fitness tracker Strava has published a 'heatmap' showing the paths its users log as they run or cycle… It appears to show the structure of foreign military bases in countries including Syria and Afghanistan as soldiers move around them." Oops.
"The American Legal Democracy Fund, a group with ties to liberal Super PAC American Bridge and headed by former DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse, filed this complaint in response to reporting by McClatchy earlier this month. The report indicated the FBI is investigating whether a Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the NRA in order to aid President Donald Trump's campaign."? Ooo, a super-liberal PAC. Or something.
"Top national security officials within the Trump administration are reportedly weighing whether to build a nationalized mobile wireless network within the U.S., an effort aimed at protecting the country's wireless systems from China and other outside actors." What could possibly go wrong? (Grokked from Dan)
"Members of President Trump's team have voiced their disapproval of a Grammy Awards sketch featuring a cameo by Hillary Clinton." Aw, I think somebody got their feelings hurt. The word I'm looking for here is "petulance."
"Posing as American activists, Russian government-linked trolls created 129 Facebook events between 2015 and 2017… On multiple occasions, the events prompted real Americans to take to the streets… In one case, the troll group organized and promoted two opposing events on the same day at the same location in Houston, Texas." Russians are doing what they always do, finding a way to get their enemies to weaken themselves by exploiting divides. (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)
Tobias Buckell talk about his writing tools. Note, since he wrote this Scrivener has moved to version 3.
"A 2.2 micron animation of the stellar orbits in the central 0.5 arcsec. Images taken from the years 1995 through 2016 are used to track specific stars orbiting the proposed black hole at the center of the Galaxy. These orbits, and a simple application of Kepler's Laws, provide the best evidence yet for a supermassive black hole, which has a mass of 4 million times the mass of the Sun." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Not my Dr Pepper? Okay, if they promise to bring real sugar Dr Pepper back to supermarkets, I'll support it (Yes I know about Dublin's Dr Pepper, but shipping is a killer and frankly I don't drink that much pop anymore).
"Officials in Cape Town on Monday tried to allay international concerns about the water crisis in the South African city, saying tourists and investors are welcome despite fears that most taps could be turned off in April because of drought."
"The U.S. tax bill signed into law in December will have a limited effect on the U.S. economy, as companies are unlikely to spend their tax savings on growth initiatives while the tax cut for the wealthy will not trickle down… That’s according to Moody’s Investors Service in a FAQ on the credit impact of the tax bill published Thursday, which warns of a number of negative consequences for federal debt, local governments, utilities and homeowners." Wow, you're saying water actually is wet. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"This year’s flu season is now more intense than any since the 2009 swine flu pandemic and still getting worse, federal health officials said Friday." It's bigly.
The Environmental Protection Agency said in a surprise announcement Friday that it was suspending its effort to withdraw proposed protections for a southwest Alaska watershed to make room for a new mine." I guess the check didn't clear.
"Online fitness tracker Strava has published a 'heatmap' showing the paths its users log as they run or cycle… It appears to show the structure of foreign military bases in countries including Syria and Afghanistan as soldiers move around them." Oops.
"The American Legal Democracy Fund, a group with ties to liberal Super PAC American Bridge and headed by former DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse, filed this complaint in response to reporting by McClatchy earlier this month. The report indicated the FBI is investigating whether a Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the NRA in order to aid President Donald Trump's campaign."? Ooo, a super-liberal PAC. Or something.
"Top national security officials within the Trump administration are reportedly weighing whether to build a nationalized mobile wireless network within the U.S., an effort aimed at protecting the country's wireless systems from China and other outside actors." What could possibly go wrong? (Grokked from Dan)
"Members of President Trump's team have voiced their disapproval of a Grammy Awards sketch featuring a cameo by Hillary Clinton." Aw, I think somebody got their feelings hurt. The word I'm looking for here is "petulance."
"Posing as American activists, Russian government-linked trolls created 129 Facebook events between 2015 and 2017… On multiple occasions, the events prompted real Americans to take to the streets… In one case, the troll group organized and promoted two opposing events on the same day at the same location in Houston, Texas." Russians are doing what they always do, finding a way to get their enemies to weaken themselves by exploiting divides. (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Linkee-poo before the Sunday morning talking heads
"According to a recent US Department of Agriculture report, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called food stamps) 'increasingly serves the working poor.' Indeed, among working-age SNAP recipients, 57 percent either work or are seeking employment, and 22 percent are disabled… Even so, USDA chief Sonny Perdue has a message for people who rely on the program: Get a job." Dear Sonny Perdue (and conservatives in general), get a brain and a social conscience. You're woefully ignorant of life. Your (parent's) money has kept you that way. "But the SNAP program already contains work requirements for what it calls Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). According to the USDA website, ABAWDs can only get SNAP benefits for three months of any three-year period, unless they 'work at least 80 hours per month, participate in qualifying education and training activities at least 80 hours per month, or comply with a workfare program.'" It's already a part of the fucking program you moron. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
Why is our response to the opioid problem so disjointed? "A 24-year-old former Trump campaign worker who rose rapidly to a senior post in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will step down by the end of the month because of controversy surrounding his appointment… Taylor Weyeneth, who graduated from college in May 2016, was named a White House liaison to the drug office in March and then promoted to deputy chief of staff in July, at age 23. His only professional experience after college and before becoming a political appointee was working on the Trump presidential campaign… The announcement follows Washington Post stories that detailed Weyeneth's rapid rise at ONDCP… and inconsistencies and inaccuracies on three résumés he submitted to the government." Only the Best People™. (Grokked from Michele)
"A 'spooked' Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, won’t agree to a staff interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Chuck Grassley said." If only the Senate has subpoena powers to compel someone to appear before the committee. Oh, wait… However, here is the real problem, Republicans were lying about the Simpson/Fusion GPS testimony and spinning conspiracy theories which prompted Sen. Feinstein to release the transcript. Notice how all those people went silent and we're not hearing those conspiracy theories anymore. Now triangulate that experience with the Nunes memo. Notice a pattern? (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"You're going to want to think about this." Jim Wright on the Nunes Memo. Jim is "…a retired US Navy intelligence officer." So he knows what he's talking about.
"The HR consulting firm asked 333 employers with at least 1,000 employees what they have done or plan to do as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Only 4 percent of companies said they had 'increased wages for all employees'; an additional 3 percent said they planned to do so in the next year. While an further 13 percent said they’re 'considering taking action this year or next,' a full 80 percent of companies aren’t considering giving raises at all." And then there's this, "The bonus and wage increases provided to employees have, so far, been a fraction of the savings companies are seeing from the tax bill." This is my shocked face.
Why is our response to the opioid problem so disjointed? "A 24-year-old former Trump campaign worker who rose rapidly to a senior post in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will step down by the end of the month because of controversy surrounding his appointment… Taylor Weyeneth, who graduated from college in May 2016, was named a White House liaison to the drug office in March and then promoted to deputy chief of staff in July, at age 23. His only professional experience after college and before becoming a political appointee was working on the Trump presidential campaign… The announcement follows Washington Post stories that detailed Weyeneth's rapid rise at ONDCP… and inconsistencies and inaccuracies on three résumés he submitted to the government." Only the Best People™. (Grokked from Michele)
"A 'spooked' Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, won’t agree to a staff interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Chuck Grassley said." If only the Senate has subpoena powers to compel someone to appear before the committee. Oh, wait… However, here is the real problem, Republicans were lying about the Simpson/Fusion GPS testimony and spinning conspiracy theories which prompted Sen. Feinstein to release the transcript. Notice how all those people went silent and we're not hearing those conspiracy theories anymore. Now triangulate that experience with the Nunes memo. Notice a pattern? (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"You're going to want to think about this." Jim Wright on the Nunes Memo. Jim is "…a retired US Navy intelligence officer." So he knows what he's talking about.
"The HR consulting firm asked 333 employers with at least 1,000 employees what they have done or plan to do as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Only 4 percent of companies said they had 'increased wages for all employees'; an additional 3 percent said they planned to do so in the next year. While an further 13 percent said they’re 'considering taking action this year or next,' a full 80 percent of companies aren’t considering giving raises at all." And then there's this, "The bonus and wage increases provided to employees have, so far, been a fraction of the savings companies are seeing from the tax bill." This is my shocked face.
Friday, January 26, 2018
Linkee-poo blows it out before the weekend
The writer as wizard from Ursula K Le Guin's "Where Do You Het Your Ideas From?", a talk for the Portland Arts & Lectures series.
The Burger King Net Neutrality commercial.
"Archaeologists in Israel have discovered the oldest fossil of a modern human outside Africa. The fossil suggests that humans first migrated out of the continent much earlier than previously believed."
"The Trump administration is preparing to end support for the International Space Station program by 2025, according to a draft budget proposal reviewed by The Verge. Without the ISS, American astronauts could be grounded on Earth for years with no destination in space until NASA develops new vehicles for its deep space travel plans." I've already lived through a times when the US had no real manned space program. I cheered when Shuttle Columbia first lifted off. I cried when Challenger exploded. And I cried when Discovery returned us to space (after begging my employer to watch it live, the whole office stopped to watch).
"SpaceX's new megarocket, the Falcon Heavy, briefly roared to life today (Jan. 24) during a much-anticipated engine test at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida that sets the stage for the booster's maiden flight in upcoming weeks."
"Scientists have found a new way to hunt for alien life on distant exoplanets. Clashing gas signatures could mark a planet as habitable from millions of miles away." Well, it's not really new idea, it's just we're finally the tools we need to make that detection are about to go online.
"In fact, it's your unique mixture of odors that determines how many mosquito bites you get, Riffell says — although scientists don't know exactly which combination is most alluring. Some people's perfume is just irresistible to skeeters." I'm one of those who draw mosquitoes. I say it's my Sweet New Jersey Blood they home in on. Also, I swat at the mosquitoes and it doesn't seem to do much for me. I don't have the patients to teach every damn mosquito every damn day.
"Raines believes the charred remains of the shipwreck he discovered are likely those of the Clotilda, the last American vessel to illegally bring African slaves to the U.S. nearly 160 years ago."
"Citing negative effects on tourism in the state, Maine Gov. Paul R. LePage has issued a moratorium on the issuance of new wind project permits." Now they're just throwing shit at the wall to see what'll stick. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
The coming robot apocalypse. "Asked if a robot could do his job, Beatty (a "picker" for a warehouse job) responds with a long pause. 'That's a tough one,' he says eventually, 'but I don't think a robot could do this.'" Right now robots are still pretty expensive (especially the ones with dexterity). And I think we'll see a lot of issues with the robotization of the workforce, jobs really aren't as easy as most managers and engineers believe (and given their current business model doesn't include learning from the people who their work impacts), the first major rollouts will be failures. There will also be a Neo-Art Nouveau movement (which was a response to increased industrialization of the "crafts"). But just like Nouveau didn't stop industrialization, it'll be hard to stop the eventual robotization.
"Earlier this month, the BBC's China editor, Carrie Gracie, a 30-year veteran of the network, abruptly resigned her job in the Beijing bureau, accusing the network of promulgating a gender pay gap… On Friday, the network announced that four of the BBC's leading male hosts have agreed to pay cuts." This is like the upset over the reshoots for All the Money in the World. And I think it's okay (not much more than that) that the top male talent agreed to pay cuts (and the actors said they would donate their pay for the reshoots). But I have a much better idea. Why not fucking pay the women the same as the men. So, again, corporations take the opportunity to cut pay for some instead of increasing pay to match the higher salaries. Much of the problems in the world would be solved if they just paid everybody the same high salaries (instead of the lowest salaries).
"A federal regulator has launched an investigation into a Baltimore hospital after a passerby shot a video earlier this month of a confused patient wearing just a hospital gown discharged at a bus stop on a cold night." Someone's got some 'splainin to do. We sometimes have some patients leave AMA (against medical advice). In some cases, we send the sheriffs after them to bring them back. But this is just boggling that the hospital let this happen (and that the security guards didn't question what they were being asked to do).
"US President Donald Trump said Friday he would apologize for retweeting a series of posts by a UK far-right group, saying he didn't know who they were at the time." Note he didn't apologize at the time. Our president seems to have a problem remembering who the racists are, even when he knows who they are. David Duke anyone? Our president, for not being racists, seems to retweet a lot of racists. I'm sure just like the porn that kinda stuff "just appears" in his twitter timeline. And for not being racists, there sure are a lot of racists around him and who support him.
"As journalists, we're constantly trying to balance the different uses of the term (racist) in a way that will make sense to all of our listeners and readers. But in the era of proposed border walls and Muslim bans and 'shithole countries' and 'hell in the inner cities,' it's getting harder and harder, as one of our listeners put it, not to 'call a racist spade a racist spade.'"
The Planet Money podcast on Douglas Bruce. "In 1992, Douglas Bruce proposed a measure called the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights… TABOR was effectively a tax-limitation measure that said, whenever a government wanted more money… it had to put the question on the ballot. Increased taxes for roads? The voters would get to decide. Better schools? Put it on the ballot. But put the price there first." Yeah, only he's not a patriot, he's an anarchist. His goal, as is Grover Norquist's, is to destroy democratic government. These are people who want to tear it all down and they don't care who they hurt along the way. The only difference between them and the people in hoods breaking windows is they don't have the courage to go out into the streets.
"But it turns out that Walker and his cronies were just getting started on a project that in recent weeks has seen embattled Wisconsin Republicans upend new commissions that were supposed to promote fair elections and responsible governance, while the governor has refused to call elections to fill legislative vacancies in districts that might be won by Democrats." For people who say they love this country, conservatives have a big problem with democracy. Here we witness the unabashed dismantling of our democratic institutions. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"With a combination of gerrymandering, voter-ID laws and dark money, Republicans have tipped the political scales in their favor. Will it be enough to keep Democrats from claiming victory in 2018?" (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD spied on the Russian group believed to be behind the hack of the Democratic Party ahead of U.S. elections, local media reported on Thursday… Agents with the AIVD gained access to the group’s headquarters and between 2014 and 2017 passed along information to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, the report said." Let's see who is scrambling for the exits now this is out.
"President Trump ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to fire Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller last summer — but McGahn refused and threatened to quit himself if the president went ahead, according to an explosive report in The New York Times." The Saturday Night Massacre that we were waiting for.
"During the final three months of 2017, a closely followed measure of the whole economy, called the gross domestic product, a rose at a 2.6 percent annualized rate. That's reasonably good, but less than the 3.2-percent pace in the third quarter. Most economists had been predicting about 3 percent growth." The famous Trump Bump may be over. Although, "For all of 2017, the economy grew 2.3 percent — up from 1.5 percent in 2016, the report said."
The Burger King Net Neutrality commercial.
"Archaeologists in Israel have discovered the oldest fossil of a modern human outside Africa. The fossil suggests that humans first migrated out of the continent much earlier than previously believed."
"The Trump administration is preparing to end support for the International Space Station program by 2025, according to a draft budget proposal reviewed by The Verge. Without the ISS, American astronauts could be grounded on Earth for years with no destination in space until NASA develops new vehicles for its deep space travel plans." I've already lived through a times when the US had no real manned space program. I cheered when Shuttle Columbia first lifted off. I cried when Challenger exploded. And I cried when Discovery returned us to space (after begging my employer to watch it live, the whole office stopped to watch).
"SpaceX's new megarocket, the Falcon Heavy, briefly roared to life today (Jan. 24) during a much-anticipated engine test at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida that sets the stage for the booster's maiden flight in upcoming weeks."
"Scientists have found a new way to hunt for alien life on distant exoplanets. Clashing gas signatures could mark a planet as habitable from millions of miles away." Well, it's not really new idea, it's just we're finally the tools we need to make that detection are about to go online.
"In fact, it's your unique mixture of odors that determines how many mosquito bites you get, Riffell says — although scientists don't know exactly which combination is most alluring. Some people's perfume is just irresistible to skeeters." I'm one of those who draw mosquitoes. I say it's my Sweet New Jersey Blood they home in on. Also, I swat at the mosquitoes and it doesn't seem to do much for me. I don't have the patients to teach every damn mosquito every damn day.
"Raines believes the charred remains of the shipwreck he discovered are likely those of the Clotilda, the last American vessel to illegally bring African slaves to the U.S. nearly 160 years ago."
"Citing negative effects on tourism in the state, Maine Gov. Paul R. LePage has issued a moratorium on the issuance of new wind project permits." Now they're just throwing shit at the wall to see what'll stick. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
The coming robot apocalypse. "Asked if a robot could do his job, Beatty (a "picker" for a warehouse job) responds with a long pause. 'That's a tough one,' he says eventually, 'but I don't think a robot could do this.'" Right now robots are still pretty expensive (especially the ones with dexterity). And I think we'll see a lot of issues with the robotization of the workforce, jobs really aren't as easy as most managers and engineers believe (and given their current business model doesn't include learning from the people who their work impacts), the first major rollouts will be failures. There will also be a Neo-Art Nouveau movement (which was a response to increased industrialization of the "crafts"). But just like Nouveau didn't stop industrialization, it'll be hard to stop the eventual robotization.
"Earlier this month, the BBC's China editor, Carrie Gracie, a 30-year veteran of the network, abruptly resigned her job in the Beijing bureau, accusing the network of promulgating a gender pay gap… On Friday, the network announced that four of the BBC's leading male hosts have agreed to pay cuts." This is like the upset over the reshoots for All the Money in the World. And I think it's okay (not much more than that) that the top male talent agreed to pay cuts (and the actors said they would donate their pay for the reshoots). But I have a much better idea. Why not fucking pay the women the same as the men. So, again, corporations take the opportunity to cut pay for some instead of increasing pay to match the higher salaries. Much of the problems in the world would be solved if they just paid everybody the same high salaries (instead of the lowest salaries).
"A federal regulator has launched an investigation into a Baltimore hospital after a passerby shot a video earlier this month of a confused patient wearing just a hospital gown discharged at a bus stop on a cold night." Someone's got some 'splainin to do. We sometimes have some patients leave AMA (against medical advice). In some cases, we send the sheriffs after them to bring them back. But this is just boggling that the hospital let this happen (and that the security guards didn't question what they were being asked to do).
"US President Donald Trump said Friday he would apologize for retweeting a series of posts by a UK far-right group, saying he didn't know who they were at the time." Note he didn't apologize at the time. Our president seems to have a problem remembering who the racists are, even when he knows who they are. David Duke anyone? Our president, for not being racists, seems to retweet a lot of racists. I'm sure just like the porn that kinda stuff "just appears" in his twitter timeline. And for not being racists, there sure are a lot of racists around him and who support him.
"As journalists, we're constantly trying to balance the different uses of the term (racist) in a way that will make sense to all of our listeners and readers. But in the era of proposed border walls and Muslim bans and 'shithole countries' and 'hell in the inner cities,' it's getting harder and harder, as one of our listeners put it, not to 'call a racist spade a racist spade.'"
The Planet Money podcast on Douglas Bruce. "In 1992, Douglas Bruce proposed a measure called the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights… TABOR was effectively a tax-limitation measure that said, whenever a government wanted more money… it had to put the question on the ballot. Increased taxes for roads? The voters would get to decide. Better schools? Put it on the ballot. But put the price there first." Yeah, only he's not a patriot, he's an anarchist. His goal, as is Grover Norquist's, is to destroy democratic government. These are people who want to tear it all down and they don't care who they hurt along the way. The only difference between them and the people in hoods breaking windows is they don't have the courage to go out into the streets.
"But it turns out that Walker and his cronies were just getting started on a project that in recent weeks has seen embattled Wisconsin Republicans upend new commissions that were supposed to promote fair elections and responsible governance, while the governor has refused to call elections to fill legislative vacancies in districts that might be won by Democrats." For people who say they love this country, conservatives have a big problem with democracy. Here we witness the unabashed dismantling of our democratic institutions. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"With a combination of gerrymandering, voter-ID laws and dark money, Republicans have tipped the political scales in their favor. Will it be enough to keep Democrats from claiming victory in 2018?" (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD spied on the Russian group believed to be behind the hack of the Democratic Party ahead of U.S. elections, local media reported on Thursday… Agents with the AIVD gained access to the group’s headquarters and between 2014 and 2017 passed along information to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, the report said." Let's see who is scrambling for the exits now this is out.
"President Trump ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to fire Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller last summer — but McGahn refused and threatened to quit himself if the president went ahead, according to an explosive report in The New York Times." The Saturday Night Massacre that we were waiting for.
"During the final three months of 2017, a closely followed measure of the whole economy, called the gross domestic product, a rose at a 2.6 percent annualized rate. That's reasonably good, but less than the 3.2-percent pace in the third quarter. Most economists had been predicting about 3 percent growth." The famous Trump Bump may be over. Although, "For all of 2017, the economy grew 2.3 percent — up from 1.5 percent in 2016, the report said."
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Linkee-poo doesn't have a lyric
"Scientists in Shanghai say they've produced two cloned macaque monkeys by taking the DNA from the nuclei of fetal monkey cells and putting the genes into monkey eggs that had their own DNA removed." No way this could go wrong.
"In northern Alaska, the temperature at some permafrost sites has risen by more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1980s, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported in November. And in recent years, many spots have reached record temperatures." We're boned.
"'We found that you're six times more likely to have a heart attack during the week after being diagnosed with influenza, compared to the year before or after the infection,' says study author Dr. Jeff Kwong, an epidemiologist and family physician with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario in Canada." Inflammation is very bad for you.
"Ancient ice has preserved thousands of artifacts left in Norway’s highest mountain passes by hunters and travelers over the last 6,000 years. But even as rising temperatures are revealing these artifacts for the first time, the vanishing ice is putting them at risk." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Experts say, when it comes to diet advice, it's misleading to say that the blueprint is our genes." I think it would be much more relevant to test your intestinal system's biome. Although there is some relevance to your ancestry and traditional foods which isn't really discussed in the article. But if the DNA test gets you to start thinking about your diet on a more conscious level, that's good.
"Alex Azar, former president of the U.S. arm of Eli Lilly & Co., was confirmed Wednesday as the secretary of health and human services." We're fucked. "The prices of Lilly's insulin drugs Humalog and Humulin, for instance, have both risen about 225 percent since 2011, according to data from the investment research firm Bernstein."
"Travel to the U.S. has been on the decline ever since President Donald Trump took office, and new data shows the slump translates to a cost of $4.6 billion in lost spending and 40,000 jobs." Ah, making America Great one bankruptcy after another. Did we mention the dollar is also down, which means we should be seeing an uptick in tourism from abroad? (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"On Wednesday, Missouri’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer declared ultrasounds are not required to obtain an abortion in Missouri, according to a press release from the Satanic Temple… The issue arose during oral arguments in the Satanic Temple’s lawsuit, which argues the State interference with the ability for its anonymous member to terminate her pregnancy violates her rights under Missouri’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act because that interference has no medical or other compelling purpose." Maybe the first crack at dispelling all this silliness of religious freedom and anti-abortion legislation. (Grokked from Cherie Priest)
"Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele ripped evangelicals for standing by President Trump amid reports Trump had a sexual encounter with an adult film star while he was married… 'Just shut the hell up and don't ever preach to me about anything ever again,' Steele said during an MSNBC appearance on Tuesday." Munches popcorn faster. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Republican lawmakers are pushing for the House Intelligence Committee to release a memo written by the panel's chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, that outlines purported surveillance during the transition period against President-elect Donald Trump by former President Barack Obama's administration… And Russia-linked Twitter bots have jumped on the bandwagon… The frequency with which the accounts have been promoting the hashtag has spiked by 233,000% over the past 48 hours, according to the site. The accounts' references to the 'memo,' meanwhile, have increased by 68,000%." My money is on them never being able to release the memo, because then we'd have a full discussion about it including the fact that Nunes is not a trustworthy source of information. It's politically more advantageous to have the speculation which can't be fully rebuked without releasing the memo. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
"For decades, leading figures in the GOP went out of their way to sound a compassionate note when it came to immigration policy. In recent years that rhetoric fell out of line with where the Republican base was, giving Trump the opportunity of a lifetime in 2016." Going from dog-whistling to shouting is more like it.
Davos and the Oxfam report. "'That's a huge increase. Divided between 3.7 billion people, average net wealth for the bottom 50 percent is no longer $110 per person, as we thought last year, but rather $427 per person. That's a really big difference,' (journalist Felix Salmon) wrote in Cause and Effect… 'Let's pause for a minute, then,' he concludes, 'to celebrate the fact that the poorer half of the planet turns out to be not nearly as poor as we thought it was.'" I'm sure all those poor people agree. Or would if they weren't dying in poverty. But, granted, in some parts of the word having $400/year is substantially better than $100/year. But then, not all of that is cash.
"The 'secret society' referenced in a text message between Trump-bashing FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page allegedly involved multiple 'high-ranking FBI officials,' a top GOP lawmaker said Wednesday." Dumbledore's Army. Remember during the election the rumors of a Pro-Trump cell in the New York FBI office?
"In northern Alaska, the temperature at some permafrost sites has risen by more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1980s, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported in November. And in recent years, many spots have reached record temperatures." We're boned.
"'We found that you're six times more likely to have a heart attack during the week after being diagnosed with influenza, compared to the year before or after the infection,' says study author Dr. Jeff Kwong, an epidemiologist and family physician with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario in Canada." Inflammation is very bad for you.
"Ancient ice has preserved thousands of artifacts left in Norway’s highest mountain passes by hunters and travelers over the last 6,000 years. But even as rising temperatures are revealing these artifacts for the first time, the vanishing ice is putting them at risk." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Experts say, when it comes to diet advice, it's misleading to say that the blueprint is our genes." I think it would be much more relevant to test your intestinal system's biome. Although there is some relevance to your ancestry and traditional foods which isn't really discussed in the article. But if the DNA test gets you to start thinking about your diet on a more conscious level, that's good.
"Alex Azar, former president of the U.S. arm of Eli Lilly & Co., was confirmed Wednesday as the secretary of health and human services." We're fucked. "The prices of Lilly's insulin drugs Humalog and Humulin, for instance, have both risen about 225 percent since 2011, according to data from the investment research firm Bernstein."
"Travel to the U.S. has been on the decline ever since President Donald Trump took office, and new data shows the slump translates to a cost of $4.6 billion in lost spending and 40,000 jobs." Ah, making America Great one bankruptcy after another. Did we mention the dollar is also down, which means we should be seeing an uptick in tourism from abroad? (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"On Wednesday, Missouri’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer declared ultrasounds are not required to obtain an abortion in Missouri, according to a press release from the Satanic Temple… The issue arose during oral arguments in the Satanic Temple’s lawsuit, which argues the State interference with the ability for its anonymous member to terminate her pregnancy violates her rights under Missouri’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act because that interference has no medical or other compelling purpose." Maybe the first crack at dispelling all this silliness of religious freedom and anti-abortion legislation. (Grokked from Cherie Priest)
"Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele ripped evangelicals for standing by President Trump amid reports Trump had a sexual encounter with an adult film star while he was married… 'Just shut the hell up and don't ever preach to me about anything ever again,' Steele said during an MSNBC appearance on Tuesday." Munches popcorn faster. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Republican lawmakers are pushing for the House Intelligence Committee to release a memo written by the panel's chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, that outlines purported surveillance during the transition period against President-elect Donald Trump by former President Barack Obama's administration… And Russia-linked Twitter bots have jumped on the bandwagon… The frequency with which the accounts have been promoting the hashtag has spiked by 233,000% over the past 48 hours, according to the site. The accounts' references to the 'memo,' meanwhile, have increased by 68,000%." My money is on them never being able to release the memo, because then we'd have a full discussion about it including the fact that Nunes is not a trustworthy source of information. It's politically more advantageous to have the speculation which can't be fully rebuked without releasing the memo. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
"For decades, leading figures in the GOP went out of their way to sound a compassionate note when it came to immigration policy. In recent years that rhetoric fell out of line with where the Republican base was, giving Trump the opportunity of a lifetime in 2016." Going from dog-whistling to shouting is more like it.
Davos and the Oxfam report. "'That's a huge increase. Divided between 3.7 billion people, average net wealth for the bottom 50 percent is no longer $110 per person, as we thought last year, but rather $427 per person. That's a really big difference,' (journalist Felix Salmon) wrote in Cause and Effect… 'Let's pause for a minute, then,' he concludes, 'to celebrate the fact that the poorer half of the planet turns out to be not nearly as poor as we thought it was.'" I'm sure all those poor people agree. Or would if they weren't dying in poverty. But, granted, in some parts of the word having $400/year is substantially better than $100/year. But then, not all of that is cash.
"The 'secret society' referenced in a text message between Trump-bashing FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page allegedly involved multiple 'high-ranking FBI officials,' a top GOP lawmaker said Wednesday." Dumbledore's Army. Remember during the election the rumors of a Pro-Trump cell in the New York FBI office?
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Linkee-poo needs more cowbell
I say ye, Ursula K Le Guin.
"But the name of our beautiful reward is not profit. It's name is freedom." Thank you, Professor Le Guin.
If you've been following me for a while you know that I hold the belief that what you think is "vision" and reality is in fact a holographic projection built in your head. Your vision isn't an "upside down corrected" live feed of your eyes. And here's an interesting example of this. "A video from YouTube channel The Slow Mo Guys (originally reported on by Motherboard) vividly illustrates how CRT, LCD, and OLED displays work by either zooming in very close or by recording in insane frame rates at ultra slow motion." And you may think that this is a part of scan/sampling resolution issues, and there's some truth to that. This is called Persistence of Memory. Basically you're eyes are trying to process images being displayed faster than your brain can make sense of the information it's receiving. This is why most pets never watched TV, until we had LCD screens. Our pets' brains work faster than ours (at least their visual centers do). (this is not demonstrated in the video) But, without using glasses to get stereoscopic vision from your screen, you still have the perception of depth to videos (and photos). But the screen is (virtually) a 2D surface where you're not getting distance perception from the stereoscopic effect of your eyes being a few inches apart seeing objects with different parallax. So where does the impression of depth come from? It's all in your head (this is why Forced Perspective tricks work). (Grokked from John)
"Research teams spent a decade trying to reach the moon and win the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize. But organizers are declaring an end to this leg of the space race, saying none of the teams are able to launch a lunar rover project by the March 31, 2018, deadline."
Why so many contract workers? "'Traditional workers are covered by the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, sex and other factors. Independent contractors are not covered by the Civil Rights Act,' (Alan Krueger, an economist at Princeton) says." That could be why the contractor work force is mostly male (and I would also bet it's mostly white).
"Sunday shows barely mentioned the 2018 Women’s March… The longest mention was a meager 20 seconds on NBC's Meet The Press. Other shows were worse." So much for the "liberal media."
"'We kind of gave him—"All right, you get a mulligan. You get a do-over here,"' Perkins told me in an interview for the latest episode of POLITICO’s Off Message podcast… Weigh a paid-off porn star against being the first president to address the March for Life, and a lot of evangelical leaders insist they can still walk away happy." As long as he appoints pro-life judges and allows evangelicals to be biggots, Trump could fuck Stormy Daniels on the Truman Balcony in broad daylight on the Fourth of July and these apostates would still lick his shoes. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Mark 8:36. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Authorities arrested a Michigan man last week after he allegedly called CNN several times, threatening to kill employees at the network's Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters, according to a federal affidavit." Let's see, "Fake new", check, racist statements, check, anti-muslim, check. Gee, I wonder where he was radicalized?
"North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature has repeatedly passed controversial laws in recent years only to have them thrown out in court. Now the legislature is striking back with an effort to radically transform the makeup of the state’s courts." Conservatives realize they can't win with a fair system, so while they can they're attempting to make it unfair. (Grokked from Lizz Winstead)
"A 15-year-old student opened fire Tuesday at a high school in rural Kentucky, killing two people and wounding a dozen more, authorities said." This is an early report, the stats and event descriptions may change. And again with the thoughts and prayers from elected officials.
Payday lenders charge fees and rates that make loan sharks blush. "Mick Mulvaney’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) quietly closed an investigation into a payday lender headquartered in Mulvaney’s home state Monday. The company previously donated to the former congressman’s political campaigns." I'm sure it's all above board. I mean, payday lenders only make about 400% APR while lending to the working classes. Nothing to see here, citizen, move along.
"But the name of our beautiful reward is not profit. It's name is freedom." Thank you, Professor Le Guin.
If you've been following me for a while you know that I hold the belief that what you think is "vision" and reality is in fact a holographic projection built in your head. Your vision isn't an "upside down corrected" live feed of your eyes. And here's an interesting example of this. "A video from YouTube channel The Slow Mo Guys (originally reported on by Motherboard) vividly illustrates how CRT, LCD, and OLED displays work by either zooming in very close or by recording in insane frame rates at ultra slow motion." And you may think that this is a part of scan/sampling resolution issues, and there's some truth to that. This is called Persistence of Memory. Basically you're eyes are trying to process images being displayed faster than your brain can make sense of the information it's receiving. This is why most pets never watched TV, until we had LCD screens. Our pets' brains work faster than ours (at least their visual centers do). (this is not demonstrated in the video) But, without using glasses to get stereoscopic vision from your screen, you still have the perception of depth to videos (and photos). But the screen is (virtually) a 2D surface where you're not getting distance perception from the stereoscopic effect of your eyes being a few inches apart seeing objects with different parallax. So where does the impression of depth come from? It's all in your head (this is why Forced Perspective tricks work). (Grokked from John)
"Research teams spent a decade trying to reach the moon and win the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize. But organizers are declaring an end to this leg of the space race, saying none of the teams are able to launch a lunar rover project by the March 31, 2018, deadline."
Why so many contract workers? "'Traditional workers are covered by the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, sex and other factors. Independent contractors are not covered by the Civil Rights Act,' (Alan Krueger, an economist at Princeton) says." That could be why the contractor work force is mostly male (and I would also bet it's mostly white).
"Sunday shows barely mentioned the 2018 Women’s March… The longest mention was a meager 20 seconds on NBC's Meet The Press. Other shows were worse." So much for the "liberal media."
"'We kind of gave him—"All right, you get a mulligan. You get a do-over here,"' Perkins told me in an interview for the latest episode of POLITICO’s Off Message podcast… Weigh a paid-off porn star against being the first president to address the March for Life, and a lot of evangelical leaders insist they can still walk away happy." As long as he appoints pro-life judges and allows evangelicals to be biggots, Trump could fuck Stormy Daniels on the Truman Balcony in broad daylight on the Fourth of July and these apostates would still lick his shoes. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Mark 8:36. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Authorities arrested a Michigan man last week after he allegedly called CNN several times, threatening to kill employees at the network's Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters, according to a federal affidavit." Let's see, "Fake new", check, racist statements, check, anti-muslim, check. Gee, I wonder where he was radicalized?
"North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature has repeatedly passed controversial laws in recent years only to have them thrown out in court. Now the legislature is striking back with an effort to radically transform the makeup of the state’s courts." Conservatives realize they can't win with a fair system, so while they can they're attempting to make it unfair. (Grokked from Lizz Winstead)
"A 15-year-old student opened fire Tuesday at a high school in rural Kentucky, killing two people and wounding a dozen more, authorities said." This is an early report, the stats and event descriptions may change. And again with the thoughts and prayers from elected officials.
Payday lenders charge fees and rates that make loan sharks blush. "Mick Mulvaney’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) quietly closed an investigation into a payday lender headquartered in Mulvaney’s home state Monday. The company previously donated to the former congressman’s political campaigns." I'm sure it's all above board. I mean, payday lenders only make about 400% APR while lending to the working classes. Nothing to see here, citizen, move along.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Linkee-poo ramshackles it's way into the week
Still very busy.
Now that many people are getting their DNA tested to check their "origins", unlike the commercials a lot of people are scratching their heads when their results differ from their siblings and parents. This is normal. Welcome to the function of sexual reproduction and how that contributes greatly to diversity.
"Currently, 1 in 5 workers is a contract worker, the poll shows. Within a decade, many labor economists believe freelancers will outnumber full timers." The continued rise of the gig (exploitation of workers) economy. My guess is this will be the same as the "open office plan." Something that looks to be an immediate benefit, but has long term negative consequences.
"Being on your own in the workforce often means you don't have the safety net of benefits and other forms of support that traditional workers do. And the toll isn't just financial, but physical and emotional too."
"Police are searching for a man seen running from a mall in central Florida where two explosive devices detonated Sunday evening." Why aren't you hearing about it more? "Authorities continue to search for a person of interest who witnesses described as a heavy-built, white, middle-aged man wearing a gray shirt and a gray hat." Funny how that "white" part keeps on showing up in stories where they're not sure it terrorism and not the lead story on the news.
"Oregon is in a battle royal over how to pay for expanded Medicaid."
"The first time the United States tried to protect solar industry manufacturing jobs from foreign competition, things did not go exactly as planned." I'm sure it will go much better this time. Not. But the Republicans never learn from history. Mostly because the rich will continue to be rich even as the working classes lose their jobs.
"Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissues, on Tuesday announced it will be slashing about 13 percent of its workforce globally, or at least 5,000 jobs, in a bid to cut costs as sales wane."
Where do the bad police officers go? "In suburbs just outside the city of Chicago, some police officers are paid fast-food wages; they work part-time patrolling high crime areas, just so they can use their badge to get better paying security jobs." And because they pay so poorly, they can't keep the good ones and can't train new ones. This isn't an insurmountable problem, though. I helped increase officer pay in my village and I worked with the chief to get rid of the bad apples. But it takes the initiative and hard work of the elected officials and the buy in of the community. And it takes money.
"'I would say broadly speaking, it appears that the Russian operation was designed to infiltrate conservative organizations. And they targeted various conservative organizations, religious and otherwise, and they seem to have made a very concerted effort to get in with the NRA.'" That is 1) more dangerous and 2) explains a lot.
Now that many people are getting their DNA tested to check their "origins", unlike the commercials a lot of people are scratching their heads when their results differ from their siblings and parents. This is normal. Welcome to the function of sexual reproduction and how that contributes greatly to diversity.
"Currently, 1 in 5 workers is a contract worker, the poll shows. Within a decade, many labor economists believe freelancers will outnumber full timers." The continued rise of the gig (exploitation of workers) economy. My guess is this will be the same as the "open office plan." Something that looks to be an immediate benefit, but has long term negative consequences.
"Being on your own in the workforce often means you don't have the safety net of benefits and other forms of support that traditional workers do. And the toll isn't just financial, but physical and emotional too."
"Police are searching for a man seen running from a mall in central Florida where two explosive devices detonated Sunday evening." Why aren't you hearing about it more? "Authorities continue to search for a person of interest who witnesses described as a heavy-built, white, middle-aged man wearing a gray shirt and a gray hat." Funny how that "white" part keeps on showing up in stories where they're not sure it terrorism and not the lead story on the news.
"Oregon is in a battle royal over how to pay for expanded Medicaid."
"The first time the United States tried to protect solar industry manufacturing jobs from foreign competition, things did not go exactly as planned." I'm sure it will go much better this time. Not. But the Republicans never learn from history. Mostly because the rich will continue to be rich even as the working classes lose their jobs.
"Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissues, on Tuesday announced it will be slashing about 13 percent of its workforce globally, or at least 5,000 jobs, in a bid to cut costs as sales wane."
Where do the bad police officers go? "In suburbs just outside the city of Chicago, some police officers are paid fast-food wages; they work part-time patrolling high crime areas, just so they can use their badge to get better paying security jobs." And because they pay so poorly, they can't keep the good ones and can't train new ones. This isn't an insurmountable problem, though. I helped increase officer pay in my village and I worked with the chief to get rid of the bad apples. But it takes the initiative and hard work of the elected officials and the buy in of the community. And it takes money.
"'I would say broadly speaking, it appears that the Russian operation was designed to infiltrate conservative organizations. And they targeted various conservative organizations, religious and otherwise, and they seem to have made a very concerted effort to get in with the NRA.'" That is 1) more dangerous and 2) explains a lot.
Friday, January 19, 2018
Linkee-poo clears out for the weekend.
I'm going to be offline for most of the weekend, so don't expect updates until Monday. I'll be enjoying the wilds of Detroit in the middle of January. Actually it'll be pretty fun. I'll be at Confusion. I only have 1 panel this weekend, Saturday at 6. Come and see us, come and hang in the bar.
"Less than two months after President Donald Trump tapped his budget director to run the independent federal agency tasked with protecting U.S. consumers from harmful and predatory financial practices, the agency has moved to undo a rule intended to prevent payday lenders from preying on low-income Americans. The reversal — which follows recent congressional proposals with the same objective — is a major win for the $40 billion payday lending industry, which has recently started delivering big money to Trump and to congressional critics of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)." We're getting screwed. (grokked form Michele)
So how's the tax cuts working out for increasing pay for rank-and-file employees? "So far, however, those pay increases have been few and far between. With a few exceptions, companies that have announced specific plans are offering one-time bonuses in place of permanent wage increases." Okay, to be fair there's a lot of companies that just didn't respond or say anything. But then most of those few companies that are increasing pay are only offering one time $1000 bonuses. (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) released the following letter from Lt. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas, the former Deputy Commander of US Forces Korea, outlining the operational challenges of a war with North Korea." The forces in theater are cannon fodder. They're basically there to slow N Korean advance until we can get more troops on the way. That was the thinking in the 1960s. N Korea has advanced in technology and military staffing. Most likely they won't survive until reinforcements arrive. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Less than two months after President Donald Trump tapped his budget director to run the independent federal agency tasked with protecting U.S. consumers from harmful and predatory financial practices, the agency has moved to undo a rule intended to prevent payday lenders from preying on low-income Americans. The reversal — which follows recent congressional proposals with the same objective — is a major win for the $40 billion payday lending industry, which has recently started delivering big money to Trump and to congressional critics of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)." We're getting screwed. (grokked form Michele)
So how's the tax cuts working out for increasing pay for rank-and-file employees? "So far, however, those pay increases have been few and far between. With a few exceptions, companies that have announced specific plans are offering one-time bonuses in place of permanent wage increases." Okay, to be fair there's a lot of companies that just didn't respond or say anything. But then most of those few companies that are increasing pay are only offering one time $1000 bonuses. (Grokked from Christopher Moore)
"Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) released the following letter from Lt. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas, the former Deputy Commander of US Forces Korea, outlining the operational challenges of a war with North Korea." The forces in theater are cannon fodder. They're basically there to slow N Korean advance until we can get more troops on the way. That was the thinking in the 1960s. N Korea has advanced in technology and military staffing. Most likely they won't survive until reinforcements arrive. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Linkee-poo time is not on my side
"I’ve been working on getting better at building good habits and cultivating greater discipline." Kameron Hurley on the next steps for going from Good to Great.
"If there’s one thing The Da Vinci Code’s Dan Brown and The Library of Babel’s Jorge Luis Borges have in common it is a love for obscure religious and occult books and artifacts. But why do I compare Borges—one of the most highly-regarded, but difficult, of Latin American poets and writers—to a famous American writer of entertaining paperback thrillers? One reason only… Borges would be deeply moved by Brown’s recent act of philanthropy, a donation of €300,000 to Amsterdam’s Ritman Library, also known as the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica House of Living Books… The generous gift will enable the Ritman to digitize thousands of 'pre-1900 texts on alchemy, astrology, magic, and theosophy…'" Shit, I'm never going to get any more writing done. (Grokked from Warren Ellis)
"The planet's global surface temperature last year was second warmest since 1880, NASA says. NOAA calls it the third warmest year on record, due to slight variation in the ways that they analyze temperatures." We're boned.
Another problem of climate change. "Scientists knew that bacteria called Pasteurella multocida type B caused the mass death. Now, new research suggests that the bacteria was already present in the animals; it was triggered and became harmful because of a period of unusual weather."
"First observed among captive mule deer in Fort Collins in 1967, CWD has since infected wild herds in 24 states and Canada. It has also been found in South Korea and Norway. In that time, there's been no report of human illness due to CWD exposure, but a recent Canadian study has renewed concerns that the disease could make the jump." Ohio just had a reported case from a male deer that was used for breeding on a captive deer farm and then released into a hunting preserve.
"A Canadian woman has been convicted of killing her friend after police discovered the murder weapon used in a picture of the pair on social media."
"Steve Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during a House Intelligence Committee interview of the former Trump chief strategist." Bannon refused to answer any questions, but did not claim executive privilege. Now, if Bannon answers Mueller's questions he could be held in contempt of Congress (IANAL but as I understand it the refusal to answer questions is not an on-again/off-again situation, which is why if you are investigated by the police request a lawyer first and as your answer to every question).
Oh look, it's another group of conservatives upset that have to play with everyone else, so they're going to take their little red ball and go home to their own state of New California. Well, they're also upset that they're no longer in the majority or in control of the government. (Grokked from John)
"Health care workers who want to refuse to treat patients because of religious or moral beliefs will have a new defender in the Trump Administration." Fuckers. This is just plain bigotry and discrimination bullshit.
Turns out earmarks weren't all that bad. "Like many lawmakers, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., supports reviving earmarks, but he mused at a House Rules Committee hearing Wednesday that the debate is futile if House Speaker Paul Ryan does not." I helped secure one of the last earmarks for my village. We had been working hard to get a stop light at the intersection where our school lets out. Across the highway is our industrial center. While we haven't had a fatality yet, it's bound to happen. We worked through all the regular channels for our state, but always ran into roadblocks on the final approval. So we went to our congressional representative and got an earmark. If it's a Federal law, the State can't block it. Unfortunately that was the last budget to have earmarks and it was delayed. And delayed. Delayed again. And then the Congress decided they wouldn't allow any earmarks and they stripped the appropriations bill of all the earmarks, including ours. So we still don't have a stop light at a dangerous intersection.
And we finally have the Fake News Awards. Release the eye rolling!
"A former Department of Energy photographer has filed a federal whistleblower suit alleging he lost his job after leaking photos of a private meeting between Energy Secretary Rick Perry and a major Trump donor who heads one of the country's largest mining companies… The photographs show Perry and Murray embracing and Murray handing Perry a four-page confidential 'action plan' for reviving the country's struggling coal industry. The Associated Press and The New York Times obtained copies of the plan earlier this month and reported that it mirrors policy later pushed by the Trump administration." They're selling us out.
"Wide gender, racial and political gaps leave American voters divided on whether President Donald Trump is 'mentally stable,' as 45 percent say he is stable and 47 percent say he is not stable, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today."
"Haitians will no longer be eligible for U.S. visas given to low-skilled workers, the Trump administration said."
"If there’s one thing The Da Vinci Code’s Dan Brown and The Library of Babel’s Jorge Luis Borges have in common it is a love for obscure religious and occult books and artifacts. But why do I compare Borges—one of the most highly-regarded, but difficult, of Latin American poets and writers—to a famous American writer of entertaining paperback thrillers? One reason only… Borges would be deeply moved by Brown’s recent act of philanthropy, a donation of €300,000 to Amsterdam’s Ritman Library, also known as the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica House of Living Books… The generous gift will enable the Ritman to digitize thousands of 'pre-1900 texts on alchemy, astrology, magic, and theosophy…'" Shit, I'm never going to get any more writing done. (Grokked from Warren Ellis)
"The planet's global surface temperature last year was second warmest since 1880, NASA says. NOAA calls it the third warmest year on record, due to slight variation in the ways that they analyze temperatures." We're boned.
Another problem of climate change. "Scientists knew that bacteria called Pasteurella multocida type B caused the mass death. Now, new research suggests that the bacteria was already present in the animals; it was triggered and became harmful because of a period of unusual weather."
"First observed among captive mule deer in Fort Collins in 1967, CWD has since infected wild herds in 24 states and Canada. It has also been found in South Korea and Norway. In that time, there's been no report of human illness due to CWD exposure, but a recent Canadian study has renewed concerns that the disease could make the jump." Ohio just had a reported case from a male deer that was used for breeding on a captive deer farm and then released into a hunting preserve.
"A Canadian woman has been convicted of killing her friend after police discovered the murder weapon used in a picture of the pair on social media."
"Steve Bannon’s attorney relayed questions, in real time, to the White House during a House Intelligence Committee interview of the former Trump chief strategist." Bannon refused to answer any questions, but did not claim executive privilege. Now, if Bannon answers Mueller's questions he could be held in contempt of Congress (IANAL but as I understand it the refusal to answer questions is not an on-again/off-again situation, which is why if you are investigated by the police request a lawyer first and as your answer to every question).
Oh look, it's another group of conservatives upset that have to play with everyone else, so they're going to take their little red ball and go home to their own state of New California. Well, they're also upset that they're no longer in the majority or in control of the government. (Grokked from John)
"Health care workers who want to refuse to treat patients because of religious or moral beliefs will have a new defender in the Trump Administration." Fuckers. This is just plain bigotry and discrimination bullshit.
Turns out earmarks weren't all that bad. "Like many lawmakers, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., supports reviving earmarks, but he mused at a House Rules Committee hearing Wednesday that the debate is futile if House Speaker Paul Ryan does not." I helped secure one of the last earmarks for my village. We had been working hard to get a stop light at the intersection where our school lets out. Across the highway is our industrial center. While we haven't had a fatality yet, it's bound to happen. We worked through all the regular channels for our state, but always ran into roadblocks on the final approval. So we went to our congressional representative and got an earmark. If it's a Federal law, the State can't block it. Unfortunately that was the last budget to have earmarks and it was delayed. And delayed. Delayed again. And then the Congress decided they wouldn't allow any earmarks and they stripped the appropriations bill of all the earmarks, including ours. So we still don't have a stop light at a dangerous intersection.
And we finally have the Fake News Awards. Release the eye rolling!
"A former Department of Energy photographer has filed a federal whistleblower suit alleging he lost his job after leaking photos of a private meeting between Energy Secretary Rick Perry and a major Trump donor who heads one of the country's largest mining companies… The photographs show Perry and Murray embracing and Murray handing Perry a four-page confidential 'action plan' for reviving the country's struggling coal industry. The Associated Press and The New York Times obtained copies of the plan earlier this month and reported that it mirrors policy later pushed by the Trump administration." They're selling us out.
"Wide gender, racial and political gaps leave American voters divided on whether President Donald Trump is 'mentally stable,' as 45 percent say he is stable and 47 percent say he is not stable, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today."
"Haitians will no longer be eligible for U.S. visas given to low-skilled workers, the Trump administration said."
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