From Pine View Farm

December, 2018 archive

Spreading the Sepsis 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Mike Wood explores how “social” media propagate misinformation and lies. A snippet:

This ecosystem consists of a variety of people and organisations that cultivate large followings on social media. Through sharing and cross-promotion, they amplify and spread bits of information that fit their particular worldview without fact-checking or basic due diligence. The actors that engage in this kind of practice create a massive, decentralized web of misinformation, one that traditional sources of news are hard-pressed to counteract.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Woman:  If you're so upset that your personal data was given to advertisers, then quit Facebook!  Man:  And give up seeing boring vacation videos, infuriating political comments, and stupid cat videos?

Click for the original image.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Be polite when dining al fresco.

According to the corporate general manager at Double Dogs restaurant off Kingston Pike near Cedar Bluff Road, a customer’s gun had unintentionally discharged while they were sitting outside on the patio.

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Trade War Games 0

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More of the Same 0

Werner Herzog’s Bear is not optimistic.

Methinks he has a point.

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QOTD 0

Abba Eban:

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.

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Recommended Reading 0

Edmund Crispin’s Gervase Fen mysteries.

They are extraordinarily fanciful and so extraordinarily well-written that suspension of disbelief comes easily.

In an interesting contrast, the novels are long and rambling and full of side trips and digressions and peopled with quirky characters, whereas the short stories, with a few exceptions, are short and quite bare-boned.

A warning, though: The author takes no prisoners. The stories are replete with classical and literary allusions, so have a dictionary and encyclopedia, real or electronic, at hand. Not looking them up does not interfere with the story itself, but looking them makes it richer.

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Twits on Twitter 0

Jason330 makes a valid point:

I’ve said from the beginning that the press should not call them “tweets” but “statements.” We’ve given Trump’s statements through twitter a special status.

Follow the link for his reasoning.

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The Cycle of Strife 0

Title:  The Refugee Cycle.  Image:  Nations become destabilized, with the U. S. sometimes at fault--People flee for their lives--Conservative media distorts and scaremongers--Nationalist movement grows--Support increases for authoritarian regimes and war- and climate change denial, creating more refugees--Repeat until Doomsday--Repeat.

Click for the original image.

(Syntax error fixed and that was a new one for me. If you use carets even surrounded by quotation marks in the alt-text for an image, they can still affect the markup.)

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“The Cheatin’ Side of Town the Aisle” 0

Leonard Pitts, Jr.

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All That Was Old Is New Again, Horse and Sparrow Dept. 0

Thom points out the there’s nothing new about trickle-on economics.

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Gut Instincts 0

Carl Hiaasen takes inventory.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Exercise courtesy whilst employing your personal motorized conveyance.

While authorities were questioning Kibler, they discovered she had been involved in a hit-and-run accident just moments before crashing into the barbershop.

The driver of the other car said he was traveling east on Floral Street, approaching Perry Street, when he saw Kibler’s vehicle driving in the wrong direction towards him. He also reported hearing gunshots and seeing gunfire coming from the suspect’s car.

The victim said Kibler suddenly veered into the other lane, striking the front left fender of his car. The victim told investigators the suspect continued driving westbound on Floral Street and then turned north.

According to arrest documents, investigators found gun shell casings at the site of the hit and run that matched casings found in Kibler’s car.

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“The Object of Their Affection . . . .” 0

Image:  Two old cowboys, one holding a rifel  Text:  People are so angry over gun regulations you'd think they were being denied the right to marry the person they love.

Via PoliticalProf.

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QOTD 0

Lech Walesa:

You can’t change the facts with your lies, allegations and counterfeits.

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Down at the Farm 0

Earlier this evening, I got the dreaded “Error connecting to database” error.

I logged into my account at my most excellent hosting provider, navigated to my VPS, went to cpanel, opened phpMyAdmin, and ran a check, repair, and optimize on my MySQL database, and all was well again (at least until the next time}.

Electrons are troublesome things.

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And Now for a Musical Interlude 0

Oh my heavens, what a voice.

Via KCEA.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Uncredible frolics.

Facebook–your choice for stupid and vile the whole world over.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Treat your neighbors with politeness.

Upon arrival, authorities stated they found George Allen Murphy, 45, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities said Murphy was standing on the front porch of his neighbor’s house when a juvenile at the house accidentally fired a shot through the closed front door.

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Jobbed, Reprise 0

As he slowly turns into the Grinch, Donald Trump says,

Via Job’s Anger.

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