Seemed like a good day to post this. Washington is burning but I live by the river.
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Interesting - The friendship that made Google huge. Doubles as a look at the creativity of collaboration.
- Bittersweet - Alex Trebek's final Jeopardy! episodes to air this week
- Because Some Have Forgotten...
- The Treasury's Crypto Reporting Proposal May Be a Fourth Amendment Breach
- 4 Laws of Muscle. I've posted this before but its worth repeating. It could actually be narrowed down to two laws - eat protein and exercise!
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I have to admit I've been having these "Good German" thoughts recently as well. The Voltaire quote that keeps me up at night recently is, "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." Very true - as unfortunately we are re-learning... Isn't it about time for society to change the word to "womenstrate?" Or would that offend the "men can have periods too" crowd?... How is this not a regular winter festival... Beats at the Heart of Chaos would be a good name for a band or a retro Beatnik coffee bar... Heh Heh... Perspective - if you had a minute of silence for each person killed in the Holocaust you would have to be silent for eleven and a half years... Once you hear his music - you never go back... Haven't played fantasy football or baseball in over a year but if I do again then Schtup with People will probably be my team name... The death toll from the "cure" may be worse than the disease. Not mentioned in the article - the word "suicides."...
Tuesday, January 05, 2021
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Why a second opinion is always valuable: if you know a lot of nurses and doctors and see the mistakes they make in their personal lives - you may rightly question their judgement. Why assume the same folks are perfect all the time in their medical diagnosis?... Wait - Cirque du Soleil is owned by the Chinese now? Not 100% ownership but enough to cross them off my list of things I'd pay to see... Heh Heh... If the Chinese do start seizing Western assets and companies as some have predicted - I wonder what would happen if they tried to seize the Tesla Gigafactory? Would Elon Musk have the ability to disable all the Tesla cars in China remotely from Texas? How great would that be?... Colleges have "shed" 10% of their employees (about 550,000) since the start of the pandemic. "Shed" seems an interesting choice of words. Normally a word associated with "unwanted" or "unnecessary" as in I "shed" 10 pounds on this new diet. Would be interesting to know the makeup of those who lost their jobs. How many were custodial or facilities, administration or professors?...
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Matt Taibbi looks back at 2020
- The Bill is Coming Due for China's "Capitalist" Experiment. China only recognizes enemies or underlings. There are no friends. The West must realize this.
- On a probably related note - Chinese billionaires and CEO's keep disappearing in "state sanctioned kidnappings"
- And on an absolutely related note - Alibaba founder Jack Ma, China's richest man, is missing
- Big rock fan but the best album on this list is probably Carole King's Tapestry (HT Steve Landry)
Quotes for Today
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"It does good also to take walks out of doors, that our spirits may be raised and refreshed by the open air and fresh breeze." - Seneca
"You're spending time to save money when you should be spending money to save time." - Naval Ravikant
"The cliche goes like this; live each day as if it were your last. The best way to take this advice is to do exactly the opposite: live each day as if you would live forever." - Peter Thiel
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13
"Set the stage for something to happen. Something incredible. Something unexpected." - Rick Rubin
"Reading a book isn't a race - the better the book, the slower it should be absorbed." - Naval Ravikant
"The biggest generator of long term results is learning to do things when you don't feel like doing them." - Shane Parrish
Monday, January 04, 2021
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Hydroxychloroquine - a tale of how medicine and science were polluted by politics. Medical malpractice is already the third leading cause of death in the US - this pollution just makes it worse. (Long read but really take the time to soak in the story told and the implications.)
- 13 writing tips from Bird by Bird author Anne Lamott
- Interesting backstory to a photo I think most of us have seen by now.
- Did the Coronavirus escape from a lab? Short answer YES! "80 million people have been infected, and, surprisingly, no public investigation has taken place." That's because the Chinese know this came from the lab in Wuhan.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Saddened to hear of the passing of basketball great Paul Westphal a man who you never heard a bad thing about. And someone who many described as a better person than basketball player - and Westphal is in the Hall of Fame as a player... I laughed way too much at this lady... Someone at NOAA with a sense of humor should name the next major hurricane "Siri" just to mess with people with Apple products... My take-away from the college football semi-finals is that Northwestern must have a much better defense than Clemson... Lawrence Mass teacher "proud" to have taken Homer's Odyssey out of the curriculum. First I'm willing to bet that Lawrence has some of the lowest test scores in the state (and with this jackass teaching it's no wonder). Second let's go all the way with this and say since most past accomplishments were by dead white males then everything must be created from scratch to insure that they are free of any past racism. I suggest that we start with the wheel. Let's get rid of anything that has a wheel. The lever - that's next. Better yet let's just make every student in Lawrence get home schooled or attend a charter school instead...
Quotes for Today
Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.
"Hell can't be made attractive, so the devil makes attractive the road that leads there." - Saint Basil the Great
"A rational person can find peace by cultivating indifference to things outside their control." - Naval Ravikant
"To be completely cured of newspapers, spend a year reading the previous week's newspapers." - Nassim Taleb
"Through our eyes, the universe perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witness through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence." - Alan Watts
"We are here on Earth to fart around." - Kurt Vonnegut
"The twentieth century was great and terrible, and the twenty-first century promises to be far greater and more terrible." - Peter Thiel
Sunday, January 03, 2021
Operation Paperclip
Recently read Annie Jacobsen's book Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America. It was a well written book about a difficult subject but a subject that needed telling.
Besides the obvious of Werner von Braun and the German rocket scientists that were integral to the US's space program and landing a man on the moon, the German scientists also contributed to the creation of Agent Orange in Vietnam and the creation of VX gas which was thankfully never used (except as a plot device to the 1996 movie The Rock). The Nazi scientists also laid the foundations for DARPA - so should they be given credit for all the benefits that stemmed from that program?
Central question of the book to me was what is worse - the Nazi's saying they were "only following orders?" Or the Americans looking past what a man had actually done because of what their science could do? I understand it was a different time and the threat from the Soviets was very real. Very real. So I'm biased about our actions because I have the luxury of not having to live through those threats of when nuclear war with the USSR was a real fear.
One "what if" from the book that really troubled me. Germany had huge stockpiles of Sarin gas but never used it (they invented Sarin gas!). They invented this chemical super-weapon but never used it. Why? They were willing to kill millions of Jews and others - why wasn't Hitler willing to use Sarin on the Eastern Front? How different would world history be if they did?
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
It's a week past Christmas - can we all agree that there's no excuse for still playing Christmas music under any circumstances (unless the 24/7 music is being used to torture a confession out of someone)... Business idea - start a religion that is centered on finding the Christian messages in movies - any movie. That gives you the excuse to open a movie theater and charge "donations" to "parishioners." You could even sell sacramental popcorn, soda and snacks. The minister could deliver a brief sermon before the screening... Gordie Howe patriot!... Cam Newton seems to be a nice enough guy but I hope today is his last game in a Patriots uniform. I also hope New England never adds another vegan to its roster... Flaming Muffins would be a great name for a lesbian punk band... Who knew? Pro-Football-Reference lists one of Gardner Minshew's nicknames as the "Jockstrap King." What the heck is the story behind that?...
Saturday, January 02, 2021
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- Interesting insights into Xi Jinping and the workings of Communist China. The article states that "propaganda is the 'lifeblood' of the party state" which to me just seems evil. The author also seems a fan of Xi Jinping because (in my words) "he gets the trains to run on time." It is important to understand the arguments of the other side - but the arguments presented here are filled with obvious holes and inconsistencies.
- Heh Heh
- 9 Facts about Charles Bronson
- Heh Heh
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Started my 2021 yesterday with 3 large cups of coffee and a pound of bacon. How's your new year going?... Funny how they seem to say the same thing every year whether we're in a "pandemic" or not. It's as if they can't be trusted (or socialized medicine is inefficient)... Only 37 defensemen league-wide, including line-mate Charlie McAvoy, totaled more 5-on-5 ice time than Zdeno Chara. Even fewer played more penalty kill minutes. Heavy workload for a guy the Bruins are trying to paint as a reserve player at best... In 1993 when Japan was threatening America's economic dominance Hollywood came out with the film Rising Sun. Today nobody in Hollywood has the courage to come out with a similar film regarding Communist China... Zdeno Chara's heir-apparent with the Bruins, Matt Grzelcyk, is literally a foot shorter and 75-pounds lighter than Chara. No way he's the same "big brother" protective presence as Chara. Boston's top line is going to pay a physical price for Chara not being in the lineup... Still say that Hoof Hearted is the greatest name for a racehorse ever... The Bible was wrong - 2020 is the number of the Beast...
Friday, January 01, 2021
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- 8 rules to do everything better
- Peter Thiel's Religion. (Long read which I've actually posted before but I find Peter Thiel a fascinating character worth revisiting.)
- Lockdown: A deadly, failed experiment. "We must never go down this road again." Amen!
- 100 Tips for a Better Life. Some good advice and tips (HT Tim Ferriss)
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
If it was called the Narcissism of Small Differences instead of Facebook - how many people would use it? Which name is actually a more accurate description of the "service?"... The wife of Moses was Zipporah. It is amazing how lost to history she has become. We really know zip about Zipporah... If you're looking for something to watch - really liked the prison flick Shot Caller with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones). The movie's on Neflix... Polish Lobsters would be a good name for a band... Not really into New Year's resolutions but what I do instead is a form of behavior modification. I had found myself drinking too much so I'm giving up alcohol for the month of January. For February I will be taking the month off from social media (Twitter and Instagram). And in March I'll be giving up coffee. I'll decide on what other behavior modifications I want to do from there...
Quotes for Today
Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.
"The single most important thing that you want to do is avoid stupid errors. Know the edge of your own competency. That's very hard to do because the human mind naturally tried to make you think you're way smarter than you are." - Charlie Munger
"There's nothing wrong with my sense of reality. I have it serviced every fortnight." - Douglas Adams
"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents." - Andrew Carnegie
"We often like to think of World War II as a triumph of freedom over totalitarianism. We conveniently forget that the Soviet Union was also one of the winners." - Paul Graham
"Beware the man of a single book." - Thomas Aquinas
"I believe that the job we all have in life is to acquire knowledge and wisdom and then share it." - Tobi Lutke
"You can't live a successful life without doing some difficult things that go wrong. That's just the nature of the game, and you wouldn't be sufficiently courageous if you tried to avoid every single reverse." - Charlie Munger
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.
- A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning (long but thought-provoking read)
- Richard Feynman: The pleasure of finding things out
- Why alcohol is the secret to humanity's success
- Viasat asks FCC to perform environmental review of Starlink. Though I don't think this will be successful it does pose a viable risk to the future of Starlink.
- Regrets of the dying. Worth reading - especially if you are about to make any resolutions.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
So in 2020 Boston sports fans saw Mookie Betts sign with the Dodgers, Tom Brady with the Buccaneers, and now Zdeno Chara with the Capitals. Fuck you 2020!... Still one of my favorite Venn Diagrams... Morbid thought but am I the only one surprised to learn that Gene Hackman is still alive? He turns 91 in January... If you think about it - the novel Moby Dick is an exhaustive story about an elaborate murder-suicide... Wallaby Pockets would be a good name for a young adult lit hero character. I think the Harry Potter series of books would have been 10% better if the title character was called Wallaby Pockets instead... So according to the NYT Hilaria Baldwin cannot self-identify as Spanish. But what if her preferred pronoun was Senorita? Would that meet their moral guidelines? I find it amusing that if she instead wanted to be known as Henry Baldwin the NYT would instead be crucifying anyone who criticized Henry's choices... Beethoven on a Fender Guitar would be a good name for an a cappella group...
Zdeno Chara
Won't lie - it was a bit of a gut punch to learn that Zdeno Chara signed with the Washington Capitals. Like another 42-year old future Hall of Famer, Tom Brady, I was convinced that Chara would end his career in Boston. But I guess that wasn't meant to be.
Unlike Brady, who wanted to move on from the New England Patriots, the decision not to resign Chara seems to have been the Boston Bruins. Chara signed with the Capitals for just $730,00 with incentives which could bring the contract up to $1.46 million. For a guy who can still be a top 4 defenseman on almost any team - that's cheap money. Capitals fans have to be ecstatic with the signing.
Even at age 43 there's nobody in the NHL who wants to fight the 6'9" Chara. He's still capable of one-punching even the toughest tough guy. But don't get me wrong - Chara was a fun guy who didn't take himself too seriously - especially when kids were involved. And the above video where Chara answered the bell in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals WITH A BROKEN JAW shows how Bruins fans felt about him.
I think the Bruins will struggle to replace Chara's toughness and presence. Some of their skill players will suffer for his absence.
Chara is not just respected in Boston and the NHL but also internationally. In the 2014 Winter Olympics he was chosen to carry the Slovakian flag at the opening ceremonies. Well deserved big honor for a big guy.
He will be missed in Boston. And the Capitals with Chara are now my second favorite team in the NHL. I'll still be rooting for Zdeno for as long as he chooses to play.
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