January, 2014 archive
Still Hope for the Old Girl 0
Some good news.
(snip)
Donors from around the world contributed at least $205,000, and another $116,000 was raised by scrapping obsolete pieces of the ship that would have had to be cleared eventually by a developer, said Susan Gibbs, the conservancy’s executive director.
The influx of cash should cover the ship’s upkeep bills for the next six months or so. By that time, Gibbs said, there’s hope that a redevelopment deal will finally be close at hand.
You can see some pictures I took of her here.
Paradise Lost 0
Privilege means never having to admit or even to realize that you are privileged.
Roberts’s Rules 0
Dick Polman doesn’t have much patience with Chief Justice Roberts complaints that funding for the judicial system has been cut to the bone. Not much at all.
A snippet.
No kidding, Sherlock.
Read the rest.
QOTD 0
John Kenneth Galbraith:
The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Because the aisles at Lowes are teaming with brigands (especially the lighting department) . . . .
Via Juanita Jean.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be sure to make a deposit of courtesy in the snow bank.
Bob Molinaro Has a Wonder 0
What’s the ratio between college basketball games on TV today and those worth watching?
Hmmmm. Games worth watching divided by games on TV today.
I can’t remember.
What happens when you divide into zero?
(Follow the link for his answer.)
Sexploitation 0
I have never been to a strip club.
Or to a “gentlemen’s club,” which, as near as I can tell, is a strip club with higher-priced drinks and better-dressed bouncers.
(There was the one bachelor’s party many years ago that almost got out of hand, but I was very young and just a spectator . . . .)
But I do think that this a good decision.
If you are going to exploit the girls, at least pay them fairly.
“Against Their Own Interests” 0
Lefties are fond of saying that this group or that group “voted against their own interests.” Invariably, they refer to economic interests.
I am sympathetic to those statements, because, as far as I can see, all politics is political economy. Qui bono ultimately lies behind all policy, but qui bono does not lie behind all votes. That’s why misdirection plays work so well in politics.
Heather Denkmire explores this quite nicely at the Bangor Daily News, a small paper with big writers.
The Regent’s Plan To Turn Tidewater Back into Tollwater Is Clearly a Failure . . . 0
. . . for we all know that a lamer website means a failed policy. It’s ACA rules.
VDOT website crashes after Hampton Roads drivers rush to get E-ZPass
Aside:
The policy is a failure for many other reasons, not the least because it exemplifies the Commonwealth’s selling out to the highest bidder its responsibility for providing for the transportation needs of its citizens.
A crashed website, though, is nothing more than a crashed website.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Kansas gets creative in the art of disenfranchisement.
Why are Republicans so frightened of the electorate?
(Yeah, I know. The question answers itself.)
A Theory of Devolution 0
Dick Polman struggles to understand the Republican rejection of evolution and science in general. A nugget:
(snip)
This ever-ardent embrace of theocracy helps to explain why so many Republican politicians increasingly thump the Bible.
The ignorant in power is an ugly and dangerous thing.
I Get Mail 0
Here’s an excerpt from an email that appeared in my inbox.
Here’s a glimpse of where spam comes from.
America 175 Million Email Address $599 US
Europe 156 Million Email Address $599 US
Asia 168 Million Email Address $599 US
China(PRC) 80 Million Email Address $499 US
HongKong 3.25 Million Email Address $300 US
TaiWan 2.25 Million Email Address $300 US
Japan 27 Million Email Address $300 US
Australia 6 Million Email Address $250 US
Canda 10 Million Email Address $350 US
Russia 38 Million Email Address $399 US
England 3.2 Million Email Address $300 US
German 20 Million Email Address $300 US
France 38 Million Email Address $399 US
India 12 Million Email Address $350 US
CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICAN AREA 40 Million Email Address $399 US
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA 45 million Email Address $399 US
SOUTH EAST AREA 32 million Email Address $399 US
These people are scum.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
He shot the floor, but he did not shoot the deputy.
Police say that when he reached into his pocket to get money for his meal, one of his fingers got caught in the trigger guard of the .45-caliber pistol.
In other news of the polite . . . .
A Picture Is Worth 3
Trickle on economics:
Yes, We Have No Bananas 0
I had a delightful breakfast with Shaun Mullen in Newark, Delaware, several years ago, when I was on my way to attend First Daughter’s party to celebrate her graduation from Temple University with a Master’s degree.
Shaun has long been a favorite read of mine. I admire his insights and his writing. Elsewhere in these electrons, I have reviewed his book, which I commend to your attention.
He has been absent from the blogosphere due to bad luck and broken bones, but he returns to look back on the year. A nugget:
Follow the link. You will not regret it. You will also learn why this post has the title it has.
And pray that he does not forsake his mouse and keyboard, as he is inclined to do, tired of the battle and frustrated that stupid is in the catbird seat.
His voice is needed.
Tell him so.
Facebook Frolics 0
Details at the link.
When users compose messages that include links to a third-party website, Facebook scans the content of the message, follows the link and searches for information to profile the message-sender’s Web activity, violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and California privacy and unfair competition laws, according to the suit.
Three words.
Terms. of. Service.
I find the Zuckerborg to be as skeevy as the Republican preoccupation with the sex lives of others, but, once you agree to the TOS, you have given away your privacy. You’ve given them permission to watch you run naked through the innerwebs.
(In case you wonder, that’s why you seldom see me on Facebook–if I didn’t use it to pimp this blog, I’d have deleted all my data and left there long ago. That’s also why my FB page is mostly blog posts and photographs and why I visit there only in a “private” tab that, when I close it, deletes all the Facebook tracking cookies.)