March, 2019 archive
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
Earlier this week I linked to a news report about how sea level rise due to climate change is causing the salinization of farmland. Yesterday brought came a another story about salt-water encroachment in a completely different location. A snippet:
But sea-level rise fueled by warmer oceans and sinking land is pushing saltwater ever closer to the trees, with the potential to kill them in the not-so-distant future.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to your neighbors.
“He failed to inspect whether the chamber was empty,” he said. “It appears he was demonstrating how to shoot it.”
The shot went off and sent a bullet sailing through the bedroom and through two walls, including one leading to the garage where the victim was standing, Christensen said.
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Nero Wolfe:
You should know that your only safe secrets are those that you have yourself forgotten.
Stout, Rex, Death of a Doxy (New York: Bantam, 1995), p. 97.
Recommended Reading 0
If Conan Doyle for the Defense were just a narrative of Arthur Conan Doyle’s efforts to free a man who was railroaded for a crime that it was obvious to any unbiased observer he did not commit, I might not be writing this. But it is much more.
The book blends elements of Doyle’s upbringing and life with the cultural and social history of the times–Great Britain during the end of the Victorian Era and the early 20th Century. The author gracefully pirouettes among threads addressing
- the historical facts of the crime and prosecution,
- the societal climate and forces of the day,
- the culture and woeful techniques of police work of the time,
- the traits and talents Conan Doyle brought to the case, including biographical elements.
And, as the author points out in her forward, there are parallels–I would say quite eerie parallels–between that time and ours.
Aside:
We stumbled over this volume at our favorite bookshop.
Code Breaker 0
If there’s not something against this in the Flag Code, there should be.
Republican Family Values, Protect the Children Dept. 0
Thom marvels at failed attempts to raise the female age of consent in Idaho, where it is currently 13 years of age.
I remember when my daughters were 13. Words fail me.
And Now for a Change of Pace 0
Via KCEA.
Aside:
When I was a young ‘un, I had the pleasure of watching the Mills Brothers cohost the old Mike Douglas Show. They were truly something special.
One of the unique features of that show was that cohost(s) cohosted for a week. When Frankie Laine, who wore glasses with heavy black frames, was the cohost, he wore a different pair of glasses each day; one pair featured little windshield wipers (he replaced them quickly after demonstrating the wipers).
Still Rising Again after All These Years, Chartering a Course for Disaster Dept. 0
North Carolina allows a failing seg academy to become a charter school.
Profligate Proliferation 0
Nicholas Kristof looks at the effort on the part of Donald Trump and, in particular, Jared Kushner, to supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear reactors capable of use in creating nuclear weapons. He cuts to the quick (emphasis in the original):
Trump seems to believe that the Saudis have us over a barrel: If we don’t help them with nuclear technology, someone else will. That misunderstands the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The Saudis depend on us for their security, and the blunt truth is that we hold all the cards in this relationship, not them.
Follow the link for the entire article.
“The Weaponization of Ignorance” 0
David distills the weirdest moments from Donald Trump’s bizarre CPAC speech.
Aside:
I suspect that my two or three regular readers did not watch the speech. I certainly didn’t. As you know, “I’ll read about it tomorrow” is my M. O. even for things I’m interested in, but this is truly beyond beyond the fringe.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do. Learn how to use GNU/Linux and its plethora of free and open source software to get stuff done with computers.
It’s not hard; it’s just different.
When: Monthly TWUUG meeting at 7:30 p. m. on the first Thursday of the month (March 7, 2019). Pre-meeting dinner at Chicago Uno, JANAF shopping center, 6:00 p. m. (map)
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room (map). (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Thom reads from Greg Sargent’s new book.