• America

    Comparisons not being made

    While 2018 seems to be the year that Godwin’s law became synonymous with “normal political discourse” – the more apt comparison seems to be to East Germany, or Brezhnev’s Russia, i.e. expensive, low-functioning, wanting desperately to have a purpose but not finding one worth working for and substituting that with hollow displays of virtue.  That and identification papers being a big deal.

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  • Tools,  TV

    Canadian profanity is the best

    I discovered an interesting tool breakdown/tool machining channel, called “Arduino vs Everything (or Evil, I’m not sure)” and it is a wonderful education on tools, and good filler noise for when I’m doing bookkeeping and what not (if nothing else).  The creator is a skilled Canadian vulgarian (i.e. someone who uses profanity with grace and style).  I discovered that profanity, when combined with an accent and regional phrasings (with which I’m not familiar) transforms into either all profanity, or all regional phrases, depending on tone.

    The channel is worth trying.

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  • Adages

    Quotes to ponder

    I came across the phrase “Tyranny of the articulate”  somewhere recently – something to consider as one ranks the online component of modern life.

    And as I must quote Kevin Williamson at every opportunity –

    As the Scots say: “The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells, and his son begs.” A nation that is not building is on its way to begging.

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  • Parenthood

    Marleigh on Trump

    While listening to the radio on the way to school:

    Marleigh: Daddy – how much longer is Trump going to be president?

    Me: About two and a half year at least

    Marleigh:  Two and a half years!?  We’ll all be dead by then, the trees will die first, and they make our air, then we’ll die, then the werewolves will die, and then the regular wolves will come and eat everything else.

    Me: Everything will be fine – have a good time in school.

    I guess today’s bedtime conversation will be about

    • resilient systems,
    • Adam Smith’s line about “There’s a lot of ruin in a nation”
    • Checks and balances
    • Keeping people occupied with projects (and out of the way)

    The existence of werewolves will be a separate day though, don’t want to mix the topics.

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