February, 2020 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to your friends.
Investigators are now saying the shooting was accidental. The 22-year-old man accused of pulling the trigger is a registered CPL holder who was showing off a new handgun, according to authorities.
He didn’t realize the gun was loaded until it went off, killing his friend, police said.
One more time, “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron.
Decoding De Code 0
Frank Harris III, writing at the Hartford Courant, translates Trump (and, by extension, Trumpery).
The Rule of Lawless 0
Jim Jones, former Idaho Attorney-General and State Supreme Court Justice, is not happy with how his state’s U. S. Senators comported themselves in the impeachment trial.
A Saucerful of Secrets* 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Guy P. Harrison explores the continued fascination with unidentified flying objects and the desire of many to turn them into alien space craft. A nugget:
My own theory is that any civilization smart enough to circumvent the laws of physics and achieve interstellar flight is also smart enough to avoid our kind like the plague we are.
____________________
*With apologies to Pink Floyd.
Obsession 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., reacts to Franklin Graham’s criticism of the Super Bowl halftime show. A snippet (emphasis added):
Beg pardon, but is it not a moral concern when you rip babies from parents’ arms? When the planet burns? When hate crimes spike? When government steals ballots — and thus, voices — from vulnerable voters?
You’d think these would be moral issues, yet somehow, the right never frames them as such. Congress robs the poor to give to the rich, people are sick because being healthy costs too much, a black man in Mississippi is doing 12 years for possession of a cellphone … and there is nary a flicker of indignation from the likes of Graham. But let a barely sheathed buttock flicker across his screen, and he’s apoplectic?
Read the rest. It’s worth the three minutes.
Full Disclosure:
I did not watch the Super Bowl.
All I’ve seen of the halftime show is a few pictures in the media.
It looks to me a lot like what happens in Las Vegas every day of the year.
PETA PITA 0
Sometimes I can sort of maybe understand where PETA is coming from a perhaps a tiny little bit, then they come out with something like this.
Super Bowl Boor
0
Self-important culture warrior throws penalty flag for “backfield in motion.”
Down at the Farm 0
Upgraded my server.
Normal nonsense resumes tomorrow after I have had a chance to check the backend thoroughly.
Afterthought:
The last time my website experienced significant downtime, my friend Shaun Mullen said via email something like “I’ve been blogging for umpty-ump years and never had problems like the ones you seem to have.”
I replied, “Yeah, but you’re on blogspot. They manage your backend. I have my own server. I have to manage my own backend.”
I got into this game because I wanted to play with computers and host a website; the whole blogging thing just sort of happened.
Every time I consider packing the whole thing up to spend my time solving chess puzzles and reading books from Project Gutenberg, something new comes along to reignite my disgust.
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 (February 6, 2020). 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.