Monday Afternoon Links – Back to Work with DST Edition (Except in Arizona)

Happy Time Change Monday. It may have sucked for you, but my kids slept past 6:00am for about the first time since DST ended. I hope your day has been “productive” for whatever that means to you and your employer.

  • Don’t forget that any logos for the logo contest are due tomorrow. Send them to submit@glibertarians.com. We’ve got some good ones, but yours could be the great one.
  • The way this whole Russia thing has been handled leaves me confused as to which is the Stupid Party. Let’s just go with the party that mistakes fundraising for votes.
  • Following on Sloopy’s excellent news about Trump’s plan to slash the Federal employment rolls, a primer on how Scott Pruitt could gut the EPA’s climate change regulations. RC Dean, please send a copy of your Iron Laws to Federal Regulatory agencies, they seem to be experiencing them painfully.
  • Hints that Trump’s FDA approval policy may actually do something positive — Pharma Execs hate it. He may be a populist, but right now the popular wind Trump thinks he’s riding seems to be blowing against government regulation. He might end up the best accidental libertarian since Jimmy Carter. Or the worst since Wilson. Hard to tell.
  • I really like this guy’s Banana Equivalent Dose for measuring panicky radioactivity reporting. For example, a single banana is 50,000 times more radioactive than the seawater “radiation” plume from Fukishima. This is an excellent place to start discussions with “just because we can measure it doesn’t mean its bad for us.”
  • Jeff Bridges brings back The Dude for John Goodman’s Walk of Fame Star Unveiling.
  • I was totally going to steal an image from this article, and then realized it was awesome. And that the image wasn’t licensed under Creative Commons. We try to be good web citizens even if we don’t necessarily believe in the concept of IP.
  • Lastly, you’ve got just a few days to get in the Glibertarians Basketball Thingy (Password: Podesta)
GIS for sad statist and you get…

Comments

338 responses to “Monday Afternoon Links – Back to Work with DST Edition (Except in Arizona)”

  1. Juvenile Bluster

    The way this whole Russia thing has been handled leaves me confused as to which is the Stupid Party.

    They pass it back and forth. Right now I think it’s both of them.

    1. Vhyrus

      I’m still going with the premise that the party that fielded a massively unpopular and corrupt candidate and then immediately attempted to invalidate her loss by claiming foreign subterfuge is the stupider party, although the Reps are trying their damnedest to pull that trophy out of their arms as we speak.

      1. Lachowsky

        If the re pubs repeal the ACA and then replace it with something equally stupid, then I think they deserve to get the trophy.

        1. Hyperion

          Anything they replace it with will be equally stupid, because it’s government. And it massively expand in scope over time and then we’ll never get rid of it. REPEAL! FUCK REPLACE!

          1. Lachowsky

            Repeat after me congresscritters.

            Repeal, deregulate
            Repeal, deregulate
            Repeal, deregulate

            That is all that is required. ALL

    2. PieInTheSKy

      I think stupid and stupider and they occasionally switch. Not stupid? as rare as snow in the Sahara (there was some recently though… snow that is not lack of stupidity)

    3. Bobarian LMD

      Being evil doesn’t prevent you from being stupid, and vice-versa.

      1. Brett L

        Evil will always triumph because Good is too stupid!

        1. Brawndo

          Was that supposed to be a Spaceballs reference? If so, you fucked it up.

          1. So he’s on the side of Good?

    4. Contrarian P

      One’s Harry, the other is Lloyd. Sometimes they switch.

      Honestly I’m trying to think of an issue, any issue, where either the Republican or Democratic party has put forth anything resembling an intelligent policy proposal.

      OT: Why must every speech by some hack include a bunch of people standing randomly behind the podium? Is this supposed to be some symbolic means of showing whatever idiot screed being espoused already has massive support? “See, everyone loves this proposal! Just look at all these people standing here!” I started noticing it when they’d trot out random assholes in white coats for every speech about medical care.

      1. Honestly I’m trying to think of an issue, any issue, where either the Republican or Democratic party has put forth anything resembling an intelligent policy proposal.

        Look no further than the budget that guts most of the regulatory apparatus.

        1. Contrarian P

          Which one is that? I don’t really count Trump as the Republican party. I mean, a few candidates here and there have put forth proposals that have made all kinds of sense, but the parties as a whole haven’t that I can recall.

      2. The Last American Hero

        See also Massie’s one line repeal of the Dpt of Ed.

    5. Suthenboy

      Just cover all the bases and refer to them as the lying party. Use that term and everyone will know who you are referring to.

    6. R: It’s mine!
      D: Oh, no it’s not!
      R: Oh, Yes it is!
      D: Oh, no it’s not!
      R: Oh, Yes it is!
      D: Oh, yes it is!
      R: Oh, no it’s not!
      D: Oh, yes it is!
      *Jelly Belly Pet Rat explodes*

      ***Don’t click the link. I give you fair warning. Just ask Suthenboy***

    7. Bronson. Missouri

      I have the misfortune of being exposed to the TV “news” more often than I’d like and they talk about this Russia stuff constantly. It’s remarkable. They never talk about what “actually happened”. They do talk a lot about innuendo and weasel words and how “a lot of people are talking about this Russia connection” and how “questions linger over the Russian interference in the election” or how the administration has “mixed messages regarding questions about the Russia issue”.

      No facts. No actual things that happened. Just talking about talking about talking. “And this Russia issue continue to be in the news and the administration can not seem to shake it”, says “the news”.

      1. grrizzly

        I don’t watch any cable TV news but I’ve been subscribing to the CNN Breaking News email for long time. That’s how CNN announced that Huntsman is going to be appointed the next ambassador to Russia. Emphasis mine.

        Former Utah governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump’s offer to serve as the next ambassador to Russia, several senior administration officials say.

        If confirmed, Huntsman would helm the diplomatic mission to a country that has seen its relationship with the United States sink to new lows in recent years. Huntsman would also take on the post amid ongoing questions about connections between Russians known to US intelligence and Trump campaign advisers — and just months after Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

        Huntsman has served as US ambassador to Singapore and China.

        1. Contrarian P

          He also takes on the post amid a sale at Macy’s, which has just as much to do with the story.

        2. AceDroman

          “just months after Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.”

          They print this as though it is a fact.

  2. Happy Time Change Monday

    Show me on the doll where DST touched you.

    1. bacon-magic

      ^Here.

      1. bacon-magic

        <And here.

        1. And over there>

          1. and here V

            *sobs*

          2. trshmnstr

            DST touched us here ^

            Y’all are so confused that it’s got you pointing every which way.

          1. DOOMco

            “I’m also gonna need a patent for the Kitten Mittons.”

    2. I guess you guys all like being touched by DST….

      1. RBS

        Somebody dial up a DST slideshow for Ted here.

    3. grrizzly

      Boston should adopt the Atlantic Standard Time and avoid any summer time. We will be in the same time zone as NYC for almost 8 months and in the winter there will still be light at 5 pm.

  3. AceDroman

    A link to an ebaums world, wow. Haven’t been on that site since I was about 14 and used the Arnold soundboard to prank call my friends’ parents.

  4. bacon-magic

    Happy Time Change Monday

    First of bacon.

    1. Playa Manhattan

      Now you just look silly.

      1. grrizzly

        bacon’s comment was the only when I loaded this page for the first time.

        1. Same here. Weeeeeeird.

          1. DOOMco

            *gets tin foil*

          2. bacon-magic

            Thank Riven.

        2. Playa Manhattan

          Weird. I don’t remember that.

          1. bacon-magic

            I hope you invest heavily in pork belly and it turns rancid.

        3. bacon-magic

          Thanks grrizzly.

      2. bacon-magic

        *drops gloves*

        1. bacon-magic

          *picks up Staff of Petrified Bacon™ and Book of Sweet Knowledge™*
          “I summon thee O spirits of the nether, I summon thee O fairies of the edit, I summon thee O daemon of all that’s thicc…SMITE mine foes!!!”

          DM: Several minor dieties are interrupted from naps, showers and torturing infidels. They are about to enact various revenges including replacing bacon-magic’s pants with a gelatinous cube, but become quickly distracted by the sweet scent of applewood smoke he gives. They begin to salivate and their eyes express a hunger only the immortal can know. RUN!

          1. Bobarian LMD

            Careful! Too much summoning will just get you STEVE SMITH.

            Then you’ll be sorry.

          2. bacon-magic

            I hope you all choke on it. *runs from chat sobbing

          3. bacon-magic

            It’s not fair! I’m bacon, dammit. You have forced me to enlist the aid of KEK and his 4chan pwnr squad. This site will tremble with the sound of sizzling bacon!
            *gets out magic frying pan*

          4. jesse.in.mb

            *taps bacon on shoulder*

            Excuse me, I hate to be rude, but Rachel Leigh Cook wore the “angry while wielding a frying pan” look better.

          5. bacon-magic

            Would let her fry my bacon.

          6. jesse.in.mb

            Would let her fry my bacon.

            There’s a euphemism for injecting a speedball directly into one’s dick I haven’t heard in ages.

          7. bacon-magic

            Wh…at? Lol. No needles please, I’m squeamish.

          8. bacon-magic

            angry while wielding a frying pan

            I don’t wield the pan, I fly it. Flying frying pan™ puts the f-35 to shame.

          9. *Imagines Bacon flying on his frying pan while “A Whole New World” plays in the background*

            … I’ll be in my bunk.

          10. bacon-magic

            I have a puppy too…

          11. I’m not going to imagine a frying puppy and you can’t make me.

          12. jesse.in.mb

            I’m sure he just means *flying* akita

          13. bacon-magic

            No!!! My puppy flies with me, he is my familiar. He accepts bacon as payment for the unconditional love and loyalty only a dog can give.(as long as I have bacon).

          14. Hahhaha! Ok! That’s adorable! And kudos to you for adopting him.

    2. bacon-magic

      Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You guys like f**king with me. Boo.

      1. Tundra

        You know what to do now, bacon. Make me proud.

        1. bacon-magic

          Hold mah beer.

  5. F. Stupidity Jr.

    Hints that Trump’s FDA approval policy may actually do something positive — Pharma Execs hate it.

    Big Pharma HATES This! Donald Trump’s ONE weird trick to fix the FDA – #4 will shock you!

    1. Gojira

      And it turns out #4 entails massive consumption of semen combined with traditional Chinese medicine.

      “Huh, turns out putting powdered tiger penis and endangered rhino horn under my tongue really does cure AIDS.”

        1. Cool story, bro.

        2. Gojira

          I strongly disagree with your reply, sir!

        3. westernsloper

          Exactly!

        4. F. Stupidity Jr.

          We…we have squirrels here, too!? My reply to Gojira – WIPED out!

          1. Gojira

            I cleaned it up for you.

          2. Tundra

            Now I wish you hadn’t.

          3. Gojira

            The replies are kind of funny now if you read them as being in response to the article, as opposed to being in response to the blank space when his comment didn’t initially show up.

          4. westernsloper

            Oh great. Thanks for making me look like a child rapist.

          5. Yeah, that’s what gave it away.

          6. And now there is a reply there, so it makes my reply seem silly.

    2. Brett L

      Isn’t it weird how cannabis oil kills all cancer cells according to FB, but people who have been doing edibles for their whole life still get cancer and die?

      1. doing edibles

        doing edibles

        Eating. The word is eating.

        1. Zero Sum Game

          American Pie.

        2. Zero Sum Game

          NSFW (though more of a “how can I explain this to my boss” than anything) The image for today’s links has inspired me to disturb you all with something from my collection.

          1. The curiosity is killing me! … *Sneaks off to mobile device*

          2. Zero Sum Game

            Huh, there is definitely some weird bug in monocle that caused this. I wonder why it doesn’t always happen.

          3. *sets a bunch of trash on fire: aka trshmnstr signal*

            Also, that link delivers.

          4. trshmnstr

            Are you talking about the random reply issue? It’s really elusive. I think it has to do with how dynamic comment loading interacts with the floating comment box code.

            Thankfully, it’s easy enough (if not mildly inconvenient) to check your “reply to” to make sure it matches the comment you want to reply to. Just click the “reply to” button and it’ll navigate you to the comment.

          5. Suthenboy

            I cant figure out what that is supposed to mean. Its like a random assortment of unconnected fetish images.

          6. Zero Sum Game

            My only guess is that it came from someone whose first impulse was “bronies annoy me; how can I really fuck with them?” Either that or 4chan, and fucking with everyone is the motivation.

          7. Grumbletarian

            Welp, just cancel the logo contest now.

      2. PieInTheSKy

        You’re just a shill for big cancer

      3. Vhyrus

        My favorite is the guy sucking down a plume of bong smoke large enough to asphyxiate a whole colony of gerbils turning to the dude puffing on a cigarette and saying with a straight face “You know that stuff’ll kill you, man.. *COUGH COUGH*” Yeah, like the burning ash you fill YOUR lungs with is made from unicorn spooge and fairy dust.

        1. Somalian Road Corporation

          Use a vaporizer. Inhaling burning plant matter of any variety is not kind on your kinds.

          1. You *could* argue that cigarettes contain more than just plant matter… and so the resulting smoke is more harmful… but if you’re toking the reefer thinking you’re not doing any damage, then you’re probably toking too much.

            That said, I find vaping wholly unsatisfying.

          2. Gojira

            That said, I find vaping wholly unsatisfying.

            I thought I was the only one, the way people in forums go on about it.

          3. It’s a nice option when discretion is your middle name; otherwise, I take a strong pass. No puff puff prior, even.

          4. Somalian Road Corporation

            Perhaps it’s because I had tuberculosis when I was a kid and I might be more prone to bronchitis, but I like not coughing shit up. I’ll certainly not refuse more traditional methods if they’re available, I just wouldn’t primarily use them.

            Finding it wholly unsatisfying to vape is definitely not my experience.

          5. Gojira

            I tend towards having a chronic bronchitis, as well, but I really just don’t get anything out of vaping. Like, it takes twice as much and feels half as strong.

            The coughing is worth it, given the tradeoff. Maybe I should just take up heroin.

          6. DOOMco

            It does a lot less for me, there’s no ‘kick’ like a bowl. Roommate swears it lasts longer, though.

          7. Exactly. It takes a lot more on a vaporizer for me to say, “Ok. That’s enough.” I think a large part of that is because there’s no “kick” like you’d get from a water pipe or something.

          8. DOOMco

            I think the vape is also very mental. it feels background, which makes it hard to tell how much I’ve had. It’s nice for a hike though.

          9. Old Man With Candy

            Interesting. I’ve never tried it, but a friend of mine who does it regularly says that he takes one hit from the vape and… BLOOOOEY.

          10. DOOMco

            It’s very efficient. I paid my vape off in a month on the savings.
            It does work, it’s just not the same feeling. It kinda depends on how I want my day to go.

            Now a vape pen that handles hash? that is a bomb. too much for me.

          11. Gilmore

            You *could* argue that cigarettes contain more than just plant matter… and so the resulting smoke is more harmful…

            Its actually true.

            Also, the size of the particulate matter w/ weed is actually larger; you get more “gunk” that you might cough up in the near-term, but you get far less of the deep lung tar from lots of tiny particulate.

            Basically, weed smoke IS less bad; less-bad is not ‘good’ tho.

          12. Right. That’s what I was thinking. And the whole “holding smoke in your lungs to achieve maximum highness” probably isn’t doing anyone any favors, either–vs cigarette smoke that’s inhaled and exhaled maybe a second or two later.

          13. Suthenboy

            Of course it isnt good for us, but we did evolve over the last million or so years crouched in cramped caves and mud huts huffing campfire smoke. We have resistance.

          14. PapayaSF

            That was one reason cavemen rarely made it 40…..

          15. Hyperion

            Probably more because they died of trauma, such as being attacked and maybe eaten by wild beasts.

          16. BigT

            Most likely just a cut that is infected.

        2. I am horrified by the prospect of taking anything into my lungs other than clean air.

          1. Gojira

            What a beta.

          2. PieInTheSKy

            There was a bar trick where one would light a glass of absinthe on fire and would hold a glass above it to try to capture alcohol vapors. You would put the glass on a napkin stick a straw in the napkin and allegedly got alcohol vapors in your lungs which got you drunk faster. Don’t know if it works but I just remember seeing that.

          3. Playa Manhattan

            The risk/reward ratio on that seems slightly off to me.

          4. PieInTheSKy

            Also the bartender held the guys nose csed so he only took air through the straw I would not let a random bartender hold my nose myself …

          5. Suthenboy

            Why not let a random bartender hold your nose? I am sure his fingers have only been in sanitary, acceptable places.

          6. Somalian Road Corporation

            I’ve had hookahs with alcohol bases and partaken of oxygen bar stuff with alcohol hookups. It can get you buzzed, but unless you’re desperate to avoid calories at any cost, it’s pretty gimmicky in my opinion. There are so many new fantastic-tasting beers and liquors being put out that I’d rather be tasting those than inhaling a slightly biting, almost flavorless vapor.

          7. jesse.in.mb

            Why not just snort ice cold vodka out of the bottom of a shot glass like normal people do?

          8. Hyperion

            That’s just all kinds of fucked up. Snorting any type of liquid is not a desirable thing in my opinion.

          9. AceDroman

            Umm is butt chugging still a thing?

          10. Hyperion

            You can get drunk plenty fast enough by just drinking shots as fast as you can. The kind of stuff I would so as a foolish youth. Now I sort of just like to enjoy alcohol. I still probably drink beer too fast. Because if you don’t, it gets warm, and warm beer sucks.

          11. bacon-magic

            Reported as spam.

          12. jesse.in.mb

            Isn’t the air in Kabul more shit particles than air?

          13. Bobarian LMD

            That is why he’s horrified. And why his breath smells like that.

          14. John Titor

            You must be real fun at parties, narrowing your eyes at everyone and refusing even the finest cigars.

            (Also everyone needs to stop talking about smoking, I quit a week or two ago and you people are killing me)

          15. DOOMco

            glad you’re keeping off it, though.
            Future Titor lungs loves you.

          16. John Titor

            Future Titor’s lungs still misses that rich, smooth tobacco.

            With my luck I’ll get unrelated brain cancer and die.

          17. PieInTheSKy

            No one likes a quitter

          18. Suthenboy

            Glad to hear that John. Stand fast brother.

            I got on the wagon a while back myself. I find alcohol much easier than nicotine to give up. I am smoking more and drinking coffee by the bucket but I feel a million times better and have no desire to dive back in.

          19. Suthenboy

            I will work on smokes next.

          20. Hyperion

            There is no clean air. There’s carbon in it. And carbon is a pollutant.

        3. Number.6

          That’s why I only do krokodil

      4. Somalian Road Corporation

        The trick is injecting that hash oil directly into your testicles for the ultimate high.

        1. Brett L

          Uh, no go, perfesser. It violates the no sharp objects touching my testicles rule.

          1. Vhyrus

            Christ you’re a boring lay.

          2. Playa Manhattan

            Do you consider teeth sharp?

  6. Playa Manhattan

    I’m on the fence about the FDA right now. It’s great from a libertarian standpoint….. but I’d sure like to get my two hundred million dollars back.

  7. Gojira

    Never accuse Rep. Steve King of walking shit back.

    1. Vhyrus

      Doubling Down: It’s not just for progtards anymore.

      1. F. Stupidity Jr.

        +1 Marc Summers

    2. Gilmore

      Most Millenial Assault Ever?
      (probably not, but the self-righteousness, entitlement is what gives it the special flavor)

      WASHINGTON (AP) — Police say a passenger on Washington’s subway was punched in the face after sitting down next to a younger man who had refused to scoot over.

      Metro Transit police say the Blue Line passenger had approached a man blocking the aisle and asked him to move over so he could sit down. The man refused, so the passenger slid past him to the window seat

      According to a police report cited in The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/2nlCPB2 ), the suspect said, “You could have said ‘Excuse me’ before sitting.” Then the man punched him and fled.

      1. Gilmore

        !)(*!@)@#*(! threading.

    3. John Titor

      Given the track record of politicians named King, it may have been a good idea to keep the Irish out.

  8. Zero Sum Game

    In Desperate Bid For Relevance, Merriam-Webster Turns Factcheck Hack

    ALTERNATIVE FACT: Merriam-Webster is now run by snarky liberals who don’t mind pissing away generations of credibility if it means getting a few of their own hyper-political potshots in along the way (potshots that are totally useless and almost immediately forgotten by everyone but those they repel, mind you).

    They did it with journalism and education, turning once prestigious institutions into outlets for leftist hackery. Why stop there?

    Merriam-Webster came under the control of leftists long ago. They’ve been steadily modifying the dictionary to adjust terminology to suit academic redefinitions per social justice goals. One of the biggest changes they made was to their policy of how words and definitions get added or changed. Academia decided that definitions were either “descriptivist” (the dictionary should try to catalog how words are used) or “prescriptivist” (the dictionary should set standards for word use), and M-W chose to go full on “descriptivist.” The social justice crowd likes this approach because they feel that “prescriptive” definitions are heteropatriarchal and marginalize women and people of color. I wish I were kidding. The policy now is to more readily accept words that otherwise fit into the urban dictionary as well as fad words. Big surprise, then, that their true colors now show.

    1. Gojira

      See, I find this an interesting debate in that I consider myself a descriptivist (language evolves organically), but the key part left unsaid of “how words are actually used” is, “as understood by the majority of the people who use them”. It sounds like they’re moving to change their procedures from “how it’s used by the masses” to “how it’s used by ivory tower elites”, which sucks.

      1. Zero Sum Game

        In language acquisition, prescriptive resources are far more important. It is an important feature of language that it also have a recognizable orthography, grammatical structure, etc. Every language naturally evolves those too. If you try to learn German, the existence of the Duden is incredibly practical, and it is as prescriptive as they come.

        I consider the whole division to be purely academic and should not be a driver for how dictionaries work. It’s like the academic nature of something like Banach-Tarski. It’s mathematically sound, but that doesn’t mean that it should become the basis of mathematics in practical use. Mathematics is full of such unusual constructions, but most people never encounter them (and never need to).

        1. Gojira

          I don’t think we really disagree about anything. Languages do naturally evolve all those features, but the changes occur over a fair amount of time, and all I’m saying is that dictionaries should document those changes once they become pervasive enough (rather than trying to “lead” changes, the way it looks like they’re trying to do now). I’ve run into more than one prescriptivist over the years who seems to believe that there’s a Platonic ideal meaning for words and phrases, which should be encased in amber for all time.

          I didn’t know that about the mathematics though, that’s very interesting and I’ll need to read up on it further.

          1. And yet look at how a fair number of us here complain about the use of words like “epidemic”.

    2. Vhyrus

      The four steps to a power grab:

      1. Identify a respected institution.
      2. kill it.
      3. gut it.
      4. wear its carcass as a skin suit, while demanding respect.

      1. Drake

        He’s a national treasure.

        1. Somalian Road Corporation

          I laughed when that blithering idiot Sam Wang harassed him about daring to post about something nonpolitical (which is why he hasn’t been as active recently), and then had the gall to complain about too many trolls on Twitter. Wang let outright idiocy like this really go to his head (seriously, read that article and laugh yourself) and he probably wasn’t in the best position beforehand in that regard anyways.

          Of course, this also goes back to what seems to be a recently-discovered fundamental law of the universe: nothing good comes from Twitter.

          1. leonadasiv

            I love how people stopped paying attention to Nate Silver because the numbers weren’t as favorable to Clinton as they wanted them to be.

    3. Number.6

      Hmm, who else lived in a modern society, socializing with people whose job it was to redefine words?

      1. Pan Zagloba

        Winston Smith?

        1. Number.6

          Aw, fuck, you really ruin these things. Can’t you just play around with ideas for a bit, instead of playing “Spot the not”?

          1. Tundra

            *shrugs*

            Hitler?

          2. Pan Zagloba

            I ruin everything, this is true 🙁

        2. Number.6

          Lemme help …

      2. Number.6

        J.R.R Tolkein

    4. Suthenboy

      “They did it with journalism and education, turning once prestigious institutions into outlets for leftist hackery. Why stop there?”

      They dont understand what credibility is. It cant be bought or pretended into existence. They engage in magical thinking when they expect their assertions to be like magic spells that alter reality. The majority of americans are too grounded in reality to be sucked in by that bullshit, thus the left party’s precipitous decline.

      1. Zero Sum Game

        Honestly, might argue that they know exactly what it is and are seeking intentionally to destroy it.

        Credibility is a cornerstone of capitalism. If you don’t know who to trust, making informed decisions becomes much harder. What better way to blame failures on capitalism than to erode the underpinnings? Erode education and then claim that it really doesn’t help people get ahead in a meritocracy → Marxism. Erode science to use it as a platform to attack the economic system → Marxism. Take over the traditional functions of consumer reporting agencies, now everyone is beholden to the FDA, USDA, etc. → Marxism. Probably the last one to go will be an independent media. They’re not ready to give up their grip on that until they can be assured of perpetual one-party rule. Then it will be absorbed by the state too.

  9. Tundra

    Here in Minnesota, we wrapped up the state high school hockey tournament. It was the best one in many years. Most importantly, the All Hockey Hair Team is out!

    1. PieInTheSKy

      what about the curling all hair team?

    2. Rufus the Monocled

      Love it.

      The guy is hilarious.

  10. I still feel like crap – a long nap did help though – so I stayed home from work and watched Judgment at Nuremberg

    Morally complex story – and one that Hollywood wouldn’t ever approach these days. The use of real concentration camp footage was surprising, especially given the 1961 release. Also Judy Garland looked el-chunko.

    1. What did you think of William Shatner’s performance?

      1. First in the Nation — Tennessee Files Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program

        Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, noted, “Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts has observed, ‘The States are separate and independent sovereigns. Sometimes they have to act like it.’ We intend to follow that advice in our lawsuit on behalf of the State of Tennessee and its citizens. We are asking the Court to stop the bleeding out of millions of Tennessee taxpayer dollars each year to fund a federal program from which the State officially withdrew in 2007.”

        Thompson added, “Although there are compelling policy reasons to dismantle the existing refugee resettlement program in favor of resettling refugees in Middle East safe- zones as President Trump has suggested, this lawsuit focuses solely on the unconstitutional way the federal program is currently operating in the State of Tennessee.”

        1. damn I suck at threading

          1. Gilmore

            its not you. there’s something w/ wordpress where it remembers if you clicked reply on a prior comment. You have to refresh the page if you later try and reply/post a new comment instead of continuing the first one.

          2. Gilmore

            If you notice below…. it just happened to me again, and in that case i’d actually refreshed. It basically seems to remember wherever you click “reply”… and that reply maintains precedence even if you try and post a different comment elsewhere.

            It doesn’t seem to affect others so much, but it happens to me like 3 times a day. Because i’m retarded or something.

          3. I tried reading that article in Shatner’s voice.

          4. Contrarian P

            Read everything in full Shatner. It’s all better that way.

    1. Brett L

      Oh yeah! I remember why I quit drinking now.

      1. Suthenboy

        ^Winner

    2. Drake

      I usually remember the last time I drank a lot.

      1. BigT

        How can you forget yesterday?

    3. Pope Jimbo

      I know when I drink too much, it seems like Mrs. Holiness remembers everything I did. She spends hours recounting all my transgressions in a blow by blow fashion when I sober up.

      So yeah, I think there is something about alcohol that helps (her) memory.

      1. Hyperion

        Yeah, I sort of recognize that pattern.

        Mrs Hyperion: *hand on hips* ‘Mr. Hyperion, last night…’ Just thinking about that gives me a headache.

  11. Raise the Yamato!

    The Izumo helicopter carrier, commissioned only two years ago, will make stops in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the Malabar joint naval exercise with Indian and U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean in July.

    It will return to Japan in August, the sources said.

    “The aim is to test the capability of the Izumo by sending it out on an extended mission,” said one of the sources who have knowledge of the plan. “It will train with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea,” he added, asking not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media.

    1. We’re off to Outer Space…

      1. From Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (the reboot of the original 70s series)

      2. Juvenile Bluster

        There’s a game/manga/anime series called Kancolle, where all of Japan’s WW2 battleships are in human form. No, really.

        Yamato-san in action

        1. John Titor

          Man, you weren’t kidding when you said you watched the dumbest shit.

          1. Juvenile Bluster

            You have no idea…

          2. Gustave Lytton

            On the other hand, the USS Iowa never looked so good.

  12. Somalian Road Corporation

    Glorious Arizona. It’s already mid-90s and there’s too much excess daylight to bother saving it in the Valley, though. Sigh, I miss the cooler weather farther north.

    So it seems like the Russia/Trump is a Putin puppet stuff is the hill that a lot of folks have chosen to die on, to the point where I’ve seen a number of people over the weekend claiming that nobody ever said that Trump was going to start WW3 with Russia, and that anyone who believes that is an idiot. Which is amusing, because I personally remember NBC Nightly News leading off in mid-late September with a “ZOMG Trump is going to start WW3!” scarepiece, and I know that wasn’t a singular phenomenon. Also, the chocolate ration was increased from 30 grams to 25. (Note the date on that comic, too.)

    I really don’t understand how stuff like that can persist in a world where there are literally billions of networked portable smartphones and other devices that can instantly refute such nonsense, but, as others have noted, the institutional memory for these crazed claims doesn’t seem to exist at all, as people effortlessly flip from one contradictory narrative to the next.

    1. Vhyrus

      I am pretty sure if you google ‘finger + button’ you will get a metric asston of links dated as late as this year claiming that exact thing.

      1. Vhyrus

        Just tried it, 5 links from the top. I’ll give you three guesses who published it.

        https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/opinion/the-finger-on-the-nuclear-button.html?_r=0

        1. leonadasiv

          Without clicking the link, my guess is the New York Times. Am i right?

    2. Suthenboy

      The dems are living in absurdia where proof of Obama spying on Trump (more or less a matter of record) is demanded but Trump being in cahoots with Putin is taken for granted and where Trump will start WWIII because he said we dont need to be mucking around in places militarily that are none of our business while their own candidate was mouthing off about shooting down Russian military planes.

      They lost the election because ;most people can see through their bullshit while they themselves believe it. We are living in truly bizarre times.

  13. SEAL team that took out Osama bin Laden joins drills in Korea

    The U.S. Navy’s Special Warfare Development Group, better known as the SEAL Team 6, will arrive in South Korea soon for joint military drills and take part in an exercise simulating the removal of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Ministry of National Defense Monday.

    The counterterrorism unit is best known for its removal of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May 2011, known as Operation Neptune Spear. It will be the team’s first time participating in the annual Foal Eagle and Key Resolve exercises, which will run through late April.

    1. Drake

      The fact that we are reading about means it’s for propaganda purposes.

      1. Tundra

        With the new CIC, I’m a little disappointed they aren’t marketing Seal Team 6 action figures.

        1. Drake

          Demo Dick could probably sell you some.

  14. Gilmore

    Most Millenial Assault Ever?
    (probably not, but the self-righteousness, entitlement is what gives it the special flavor)

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Police say a passenger on Washington’s subway was punched in the face after sitting down next to a younger man who had refused to scoot over.

    Metro Transit police say the Blue Line passenger had approached a man blocking the aisle and asked him to move over so he could sit down. The man refused, so the passenger slid past him to the window seat

    According to a police report cited in The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/2nlCPB2 ), the suspect said, “You could have said ‘Excuse me’ before sitting.” Then the man punched him and fled.

    1. PieInTheSKy

      deja vu

      1. Gilmore

        I suspect that much will be made of these sorts of piddling-examples of Illegal Voting in order that the people who insist “illegal voting never happens” have a few convenient examples to throw out and say, “OH THIS MUST BE WHAT YOU MEAN”…. rather than acknowledge things like the widespread ballot-count-errors in places like Detroit

        1. Gilmore

          @!*()@$)@*($@(#*()@$*# threading.

          Shit, even refreshing doesn’t seem to fix it.

          If you ever hit reply, but then don’t bother to post comment, the comment box basically stays fixed to “replying to that comment” even if you later refresh and try replying to something else.

  15. DWB

    Hello!

    Of all issues, IP is hardest for me to choose a side:

    Charleston photographer sued over image taken at private plantation
    http://www.postandcourier.com/business/charleston-photographer-sued-over-image-taken-at-private-plantation/article_87b85f30-0808-11e7-87f2-13c7697067d2.html

    1. Raston Bot

      really hate IP.

      he already settled for $30K for selling the photo. the new suit now says he can’t post the photo online at his site.

      fucking IP. i really really hate that shit.

      “oh, but do you like vaccines? because without IP we wouldn’t have vaccines.”

      bullshit.

    2. Suthenboy

      Unless they notified him ahead of time that he could not photograph there without giving them a cut or photograph at all I dont see how they have a case. They are just butthurt, thats all.

      As a guy who used to do a lot of b&w photography and darkroom work that is a pretty damned good photo. They could have just asked him for a couple of copies. They could sell some themselves and keep one for display.

    3. OneOut

      kinda OT.

      As a child I visited a La. plantation with my parents.

      There was a mile or longer road leadimg to the big house lined on both sides with mature oak trees. When the owners daughter was getting married he ordered numerous boxes of a certain spider that built big webs. After the spiders had spun their webs throught the oak limbs covering the road he had gold dust sprinkled from the tree tops to be caught in the webs and sparkle on the wedding procession.

      I would have loved to ride down that road in an open carriage in the mid morning sunlight.

      1. BigT

        Break out the ludes!

    4. Supposedly the “plantation’s easement forbids any commercial use of the land.”

      So it seems the photog physically went onto the property and took pictures which he used commercially.

      This sounds more like real-property rights than like IP.

  16. BakedPenguin

    Hints that Trump’s FDA approval policy may actually do something positive…

    Why does the “D” exist anyway? Doesn’t the EU have a drug testing agency? Simple solution: automatic approval of any drug approved in the EU.

    The proggies should love this since they’re always telling us to be more like Europe.

    1. Playa Manhattan

      The EMA doesn’t allow off label use. They have a different standard for approval.

      1. Number.6

        Presumably, their standards are somewhat similar to the US. This is a labeling issue, until people discover that the risks associated with Drug A’s use in Sweden is roughly comparable with the risks to a Minnesotan.

        Then the treatment provider, recipient, and payer all have a little conversation and determine whether the anticipated benefits outweigh the risks, given that waiting for the FDA to get its shit together will extend time-to-market enough that the patient will be dead by then.

        After a while, the American public will discover that they, just like Austrians, are human too, and the desire to support a ridiculous parallel organization like the FDA is in nobody’s (except a bunch of federal employees) benefit, and an axe will be taken to another alphabet agency.

      2. BakedPenguin

        Easy enough to get around that. I didn’t mean to adopt their regulatory structure, just “oh this drug is safe according to Euro standards. Approved.”

    2. Somalian Road Corporation

      Yeah, but just like with TPP, if Trump does it, even if it’s something they were screaming in desire for, it’s now bad.

  17. Gilmore

    Save Us From the Saviors

    ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — Police in Southern California fatally shot a man who they say pulled a knife after he was forced from his locked vehicle by blasts from a fire hose.

    The man locked himself in the minivan late Sunday with a gas can and lighter, and the hose was employed after he lit a cigarette and poured what appeared to be gasoline onto a rag, Orange police Lt. Fred Lopez said.

    Police broke the front passenger-side window and blasted the man with water.

    “We felt this guy was going to light himself on fire or blow the car up,” Lopez said

    Clearly just ‘continuing to prevent him from self-harm’ was not an option.

    And lest you wonder how the first scenario came into being the first place?

    The man was pulled over for a broken tail light and the incident played out near a 24-hour laundry and other businesses in a surrounding strip mall.

    “I had never seen anything like that,” said Fabian Huerta, who watched with surprise as police started spraying water into the van. “I thought he was going to surrender.”

    “De-escalate?? What does that mean?”

    1. Vhyrus

      It’s a good thing Kevorkian is dead. He’d be pretty pissed about the cops stealing all his business.

    2. Playa Manhattan

      That poor minivan.

      1. Vhyrus

        It had it coming. It made a furtive movement.

    3. Juvenile Bluster

      Look, why would you want cops to de-escalate? Violence is the only way they get sexual release, you know.

      1. Vhyrus

        That’s why they have WIVES! DUH! Keep that shit at home.

        1. BigT

          They should be beating the shit out of their wives?

          1. Hyperion

            You just have to come to the realization that only whitey can commit a hate crime. You ain’t WOKE!

  18. Orangutans are dressed up and made to box each other to entertain visitors at a Thai zoo leading to animal rights activists demanding it is shut down

    I seem to remember some 70s children show that had chimps dressed up… ah, found it: Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp

    1. RBS

      ‘They’re so smart and can tell when they’re being laughed at – it upset me so much I had to come home and shower just to wash it all off.’ said Samantha Fuller, a teacher from America working abroad in Thailand told the New York Post

      1. Number.6

        Just wait until she realizes that we, in turn, are laughing at her. Assuming she’s that smart.

        Ugh. I’ll be in *my* shower

    1. Zero Sum Game

      Another kind of discrimination which should be happening, but won’t be soon.

      Discrimination based on competency is the best discrimination when it comes to employment.

      1. Jimbo

        Thats relly true. Its a tragedy how bad they spelling and grammer.

    2. Suthenboy

      When I hear that gays won’t be getting protection what I think is that they aren’t being given special status that no one else gets. If some aren’t made more equal than others then obviously it is discrimination.

      1. jesse.in.mb

        That’s not how those laws work…at all. For instance a heterosexual can sue because homosexuals are treated more favorably in her work environment. The suits are less common for what I’d imagine are obvious reasons, but do happen and when they do are taken seriously by the courts because the laws protect against discrimination over sexual orientation, not protect gays from straights.

        Standard disclaimer employees and employers should be able to work this shit out (or not) on their own, but the presentation that these are “special rights” is Rush Limbaugh masturbatory bullshit.

        1. BigT

          Um…..’hate crimes’ come to mind. They are the epitome of unequal treatment before the law.

          1. jesse.in.mb

            Bah, I hate corpse fucking a thread, but again that’s not how the laws work and it’s just a Limbaugh fever dream that they do. If you get assaulted and there’s a racial motivation because you’re white, that’s still a hate crime. White, straight, male are subsets of race, sexual orientation and gender.

      2. Hyperion

        When I hear that gays won’t be getting protection

        At least no one will be getting pregnant.

  19. Hints that Trump’s FDA approval policy may actually do something positive — Pharma Execs hate it.

    You just don’t get it, do you?

    (This is like the third time I’ve posted that but… whatever, it’s an awesome show)

  20. Rufus the Monocled

    Hi Frank!

  21. Brett L

    Thank goodness Sloopy’s mom didn’t have a bottle in her hand.

    Investigators say Steven Schiltz was killed by police during soccer practice at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex around 7:30 p.m. Thursday as dozens of children and parents watched in horror.

    The 29-year-old man, armed with a baseball bat and a broken bottle, was charging towards a crowd, when two officers shot and killed him under the bleachers, according to witnesses.

    1. I misread it at first and thought the guy was named Steven Schlitz.

  22. Gilmore

    In related news, the Pope also did not release a memo saying, “Masturbation Totally Cool As Long as You Pray Afterward”

    1. Hyperion

      Fake commie pope news!

    2. Haybob

      What if you pray during?

      1. Gilmore

        I’m in luck then, since i do that already.

        1. Haybob

          Mom I said don’t come in my room when I’m praying!!!

      2. Reminds me of Faith +1

        1. RBS

          You want to get down on your knees and start pleasing Jesus?

  23. Juvenile Bluster

    Glib parents: Any experience with your kids taking a test called CogAT?

    1. Playa Manhattan

      Hadn’t heard of it until now.

      What’s the point/purpose of doing it?

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Haven’t a clue, but got an e-mail that my kid’s school will be giving the test. Hence the curiosity.

        1. Playa Manhattan

          Ah. My oldest is in the 3rd grade, and they haven’t done any testing yet.

          I assumed you were doing it on your own.

          1. Juvenile Bluster

            Mine’s in 2nd grade, and she’s getting this test.

    2. RBS

      Mine’s not old enough yet. Google tells me it’s for getting into the Gifted and Talented program? I’m surprised those even exist anymore.

      1. Zero Sum Game

        Soon to be replaced with the Sheltered and Triggered program.

        1. Haybob

          I have a toddler at home, I’m terrified what the schools will look like when she is older.

      2. Pan Zagloba

        Upper middle class parents will riot (well, outsource rioting to day laborers) if their precious flowers ever need to mix with the commoners. Advanced programs are good and safe.

        also see, French Immersion up here in Canada.

  24. Hyperion

    Fuck back to work. SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY!

  25. Can somebody that’s still posting over there please plug the basketball thing at HyR? Some of those people always participated when I did it there. I’d like to give them the chance to fraternize with us again.

    1. Certified Public Asshat

      Isn’t it just Fist talking to himself and Sparky shitting on the new site?

      1. Gilmore

        (checks)

        And John and Mary yelling at one another.

    2. Raven Nation

      Just posted something in the PM Links but it may be too late. I’ll try and remember for tomorrow.

      BTW: I wasn’t prompted for a password. I have a Yahoo account and was already logged in so that may be the reason but I thought I should let you know.

  26. Gilmore

    I was reminded of the famous exchange between Charles Barkley and a Chicago(?) Judge, after Charles was arrested for throwing a man out of a bar-room window;

    the Judge said, “Sir, you are a role model and a celebrity and should hold yourself to a higher standard; do you have no regrets?”
    and Charles said, “I regret the bar was not on the third floor”

    the above-linked story is worth reading simply for the inclusion of the phrase, “whisked to France in a sack

    1. Vhyrus

      Charles Barkley deserves a medal. He was pulled over in Phoenix not too long ago. The cop asked him “why were you speeding and running stop signs?” His reply? He was going to get his dick sucked, of course. This particular female was one of the better sexual encounters Mr. Barkley had experienced in recent years, according to court records.

  27. Gilmore

    Trump = Slashes federal employment, guts EPA, FDA,… and now DoT?

    Someone needs to keep track of this stuff and see how far it actually goes.

    1. Suthenboy

      According to rock solid libertarians elsewhere Trump is the worst thing to happen to libertarians since Hitler. Also, he wont endorse a universal income because a UI is the libertarian gold standard.

      1. __Warren__

        I’ve had a UI. You don’t want any part of one!

        1. Pope Jimbo

          You linux freaks and your consoles. Get a life. Some of the rest of us like UI’s!

        2. Gilmore

          I read that as “Urethra Infection”

  28. DWB

    WH Press Corps Sees Conservative Reporters In The Briefing Room As ‘Existential Threat’

    “Until recently, the more established White House correspondents have regarded floaters as a harmless distraction—the equivalent of letting a batboy sit in the dugout,” Andrew Marantz writes in The New Yorker, referring to reporters from outlets more or less ignored by prior administrations. “Now they are starting to see the floaters as an existential threat.”

    1. DWB

      UGH … =(

    2. Number.6

      Triggered.

    3. Gilmore

      Press Secretary Sean Spicer has made a point of highlighting conservative and outsider outlets in his briefings, including The New York Post and The Daily Caller, often giving them the first question rather than mainstream outlets such as The Associated Press accustomed to getting priority. The ongoing nature of the shakeup is getting to some of the White House reporters, who perhaps thought things would return to “normal” after Spicer finished making a political point.

      “Historically, the way the briefing room has been organized is, the closer you are, the farther you’ve come,” CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett told The New Yorker. “And the person at the podium has tended to recognize that.”

      re = the bolded bit

      He seems to be making some tautological point about how “”the most important media are the most important because we’re well-recognized! But now he’s not recognizing our importance!” Sort of a chicken-egg thing. What happens when no one *thinks* you’re important anymore? Are you? I don’t think so. Credibility is perception. And you can’t *compel* respect.

      second note =

      I never thought the NY Post was particularly ‘outsider’. Tho they’re certainly more tabloid than broadsheet.

      I liked the closer =

      “It’s also about maintaining a sense of predictability, a sense that eventually the substantive questions will be answered,” the correspondent told The New Yorker. “Throwing that into chaos — ‘Maybe you’ll get a question, if you shout loud enough, who knows?’ — makes everyone desperate and competitive and makes us look like a bunch of braying jackals. Which I don’t think is an accident.”

      1. Vhyrus

        The concept that the MSM needed some sort of external help or catalyst to look like a raging clusterfuck almost made me spit coffee all over my desk.

      2. Contrarian P

        Because clearly the watchdog of our democracy should have a comfy and cozy relationship with those in power.

      3. DWB

        Sounds like they are afraid to lose control of the narrative.

      4. Suthenboy

        I dont see any mention there of the mainstream press’ outrageous mendacity and bias. As I mentioned earlier they dont understand the difference between accreditation and competence or credibility vs. appearance. They really are idiots.

        1. Suthenboy

          Really, what the fuck did they think would happen if they got caught being completely in the tank for one candidate who then lost the election? Do they think Trump owes them a sloppy blow job because they are accustomed to it? There is only so much room in the briefing room. Kick their lying fucking asses out and replace them with organizations that have not been biased shitbag propagandists.

          1. replace them with organizations that have not been biased shitbag propagandists.

            And just who exactly would that be?

          2. Gilmore

            what the fuck did they think would happen if they got caught being completely in the tank for one candidate who then lost the election?

            That everyone would forget, because they’re stupid.

            no really.

      5. Pope Jimbo

        Look, us Minnesodans can tell you how much the press hates to be called jackals.

        I remember the butt hurt here when Jesse called the press jackals.

        1. __Warren__

          I was a reporter and I was a jackal.

          Someone local dies and I would head out to their residence to get the reaction. Or a car accident, I would be there taking photos before the bodies were taken away.

          Or getting to go along on a drug or prostitution bust so I could get a story even though I was opposed to the war on both those things.

          Eventually I had to quit.

      6. PapayaSF

        My only regret is that Helen Thomas didn’t live long enough to be humiliated this way.

  29. Gilmore

    Every year Mainstream Media outlets love to run these photo montages of “Holi”, India’s Hindu “festival of colors”

    Every time i see these things i sort of wish they had captions which actually provided some more-sobering details about the ‘cute’, exotic-developing-world.

    like =


    • India has the highest rate of child marriage in the world, where one in three girls become child brides””
    • A third of the world’s malnourished children live in India according to UNICEF, where “46 percent of all children below the age of three are too small for their age, 47 percent are underweight and at least 16 percent are wasted.”
    • 37 percent of India’s 1.21 billion people fell below the international poverty line, which is $1.25 a day””
    • Marital Rape remains legal in most of the country

    1. __Warren__

      The Indian place near me has pictures of the various family members enjoying that festival and they make an incredible butter chicken so it all evens out.

    2. Gojira

      I’m not sure I follow. What do any of those facts have to do with Holi? If some foreign paper runs a puff piece about the 4th of July, are they obligated to show pictures of Flint, Michigan, or East St. Louis?

      Please expound, thank you.

      1. Gilmore

        I’m not sure I follow. What do any of those facts have to do with Holi?

        They have nothing to do with Holi.

        My over-arching point is more to do with the way that the media presents a cartoonish and simplified picture of the “rest of the world” mainly because (in my view) it reinforces their own liberal perspective that foreign countries are natural and exotic and closer to nature and inherently better than our own native culture, – which is gross and boorish and deplorable, etc.

        I’m half just “being a miserable bastard”, and half making a legitimate point about how news is mostly ‘bias-reinforcing entertainment’.

        I don’t begrudge Reuters doing their wonderful photo-montages. Its one of the things i think they do well, and i think their photojournalism is great stuff. But i’d say 80% of it is for the purpose of ‘eye candy’ and not actually telling a newsworthy story.

        If some foreign paper runs a puff piece about the 4th of July, are they obligated to show pictures of Flint, Michigan, or East St. Louis?

        Nope. Reuters BTW is UK based. tho i think for all intents and purposes you might as well consider them American. From what i’ve seen from Chinese + Russian news media, they’d probably skip the 4th of July entirely and just highlight American ghettos, because that serves their own narrative-pumping purposes.

      2. Gilmore

        further =

        the reason this particular slideshow provoked this particular comment was that i’ve seen the exact same Holi slideshow every year for at least the last 5 years.

        Before warty comes rushing in to suggest “WHYCOME AINT THERE NO TRACTER PULL PITCHERS”…. i’ll beat him to the point and suggest that in fact, it would be far more “exotic” to many readers of Reuters to actually see, say, how poor people live in the wards of New Orleans, or the panhandle of Florida, or maybe see what the living conditions of the Standing Rock indian tribe actually look like. We might learn something about our neighbors.

        I guess you could say i’m accusing Reuters of old-fashioned “Orientalism“, creating an image of ‘foreignness’ which is convenient and re-assuring and maybe even tourism-inducing, rather than actually trying to do ‘journalism’.

    3. PapayaSF

      Also, high percentage of arranged marriages,

  30. {|}===[|}:;:;:;:;:;:;:>

    this guy’s Banana Equivalent Dose for measuring panicky radioactivity reporting…

    Back in the early days of nuclear medicine there was some debate as to how to define safe levels. As the head of Oak Ridge, Dr. Weinberg had quite a bit of say in the matter. He regretted till the very end that he and the working committee picked an exposure level based on a known hazardous dose less a margin of safety. It made sense at the time, and was expedient for everyone who was familiar and comfortable with working in and around nuclear hazards. But, as he saw how this fixed the risk and mitigation strategy in the minds of bureaucrats lacking similar understanding, he came to realize he should have insisted instead upon an exposure level anchored to a factor of the Earth’s natural background radiation to frame the risk. This, he rightly maintained, would have driven a stake through the heart of the “linear no-safe-level” argument and ensuing regulatory madness.

  31. __Warren__

    I’d like to know what I clicked on that caused YouTube to recommend like six channels of rap music to me. And yesterday I got a lot of “let’s play” bullshit. No, I don’t want to watch you play a video game!

    1. DOOMco

      have you clicked on any of my youtube links? they would explain the rap.

      1. __Warren__

        Not that I can recall recently. Is there a lag time with them? Like things I clicked on weeks ago only get noticed by the algorithm today?

        1. DOOMco

          That I’m not sure about. Mine seems instant, and it’s a little annoying. last night I fell in a hole and watched some sort of military tactics of the pacific in WWII. 3 videos. I go to the home page, and that’s all I have recommended.

    2. Gilmore

      I’d like to know what I clicked on that caused YouTube to recommend like six channels of rap music to me. And yesterday I got a lot of “let’s play” bullshit. No, I don’t want to watch you play a video game!

      For whatever reason, some categories of things are ridiculously over-weighted as “recommends” when you click on something peripheral.

      example = if you ever click on a single The Young Turks video? You will be getting their shit in your feed for the next month.

      the same holds for those “anti-SJW” vids. I guess thats what they consider ‘politics’ on youtube.

      Bizarrely… for me, the thing i keep getting recommended, but which i never actually go looking for, is Psych-Rock. The music-alogorithm on Youtube insists i must be a psych-rock fan (because i listen to 1000s of 60s and 70s ‘black music’?) whether i like it or not. And sometimes i might accidentally click on something, and it will dominate my recommended list for the next few days. Its just a weird quirk they have of how they overweight certain esoteric stuff.

      1. __Warren__

        I just got a shitload of toy review channels and Latin music channels in one go. Latin music? Seriously?

        Maybe this are high veiw-count channels that YouTube makes good money off of so they push them out to all sorts of users hoping a certain percent will be interested enough to click.

    3. __Warren__

      Oh, and Amazon when I look up an ISBN and then add that book to my selling account list you should take that as I’m just interested in selling that book not take it as if I am interested in similar books in that category. Thanks.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    Following on Sloopy’s excellent news about Trump’s plan to slash the Federal employment rolls

    But if we reduce the size of government, that will be a drag on GDP! Cue hand-wringing and concern.

    *That’s GDP as a numerical expression of mumbo jumbo economics, not a meaningful description of productive enterprise and exchange among the inhabitants of the nation.

    1. I explain it to people thus: you know how the govt pays $500 for a $20 hammer? Well, that goes into the GDP. You can’t rely on it.

  33. The Late P Brooks

    I’d like to know what I clicked on that caused YouTube to recommend like six channels of rap music to me. And yesterday I got a lot of “let’s play” bullshit. No, I don’t want to watch you play a video game!

    I think (hope) a lot of that is randomly generated. My Roku youtube channel pukes up a ton of that kind of stuff. I cannot see how watching old Trans Am footage from the ’60s could indicate any interest whatsoever in what some smug limey douchebag thinks about der Trump.

    1. __Warren__

      And now, gospel music! What the fuck?

      Last week there were make-up tutorials and weird anime/manga shit.

      I understand when it recommends sports channels even if their not American sports but this other stuff is so far out of my preferences that I can’t understand how the algorithm makes the selection.

      So maybe there is some randomness to them.

      1. Gilmore

        I think maybe they might be able to see what links are popping up on OTHER sites you visit. They are google, and google knows all.

  34. bacon-magic

    *Throws iron tacks everywhere*
    You wanna throw down fairies? We can throw down.

  35. The Late P Brooks

    I had completely lost track of the Yahoo! saga. I’m relieved to see Marissa Meyer won’t be thrown into penury when Verizon shoves her out of a window.

    Marissa Mayer is about to lose her CEO job, but she’s in for a nice consolation prize.

    Mayer is set to receive a $23 million severance package after Yahoo’s (YHOO, Tech30) sale to Verizon (VZ, Tech30) is completed, according to a company filing Monday.

    The severance payout is contingent on Yahoo getting sold and Mayer being terminated without cause.

    The golden parachute package would come on top of the more than $150 million Mayer received in salary and stock awards since joining the company in 2012.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    So much for performance based compensation. But she seems like a nice lady.

    1. __Warren__

      Except for cancelling all the work-from-home assignments.

    2. Gustave Lytton

      If she wasn’t blonde and a woman, she wouldn’t be where she is today. Maybe toiling in some midlevel Google position still.

      1. AlmightyJB

        Surprising Verizon didn’t want to keep her. Their SMT has a thing for blond Barbies.

  37. Gilmore

    Video Shows Michael Brown Selling Weed?

    Shortly after Brown’s death, local police released security-camera video of Brown visiting the same store in the daytime, a few minutes before he was shot. That footage, which now appears to depict the second of two visits to the Ferguson Market and Liquor store by Brown within a span of a few hours, showed Brown pushing a worker before walking out with cigarillos in an apparent robbery.

    The new video, which appears in the documentary “Stranger Fruit,” shows Brown in an earlier, seemingly more amicable exchange.

    It shows him giving store employees what appears to be a small bag, the contents of which the staff pass around and sniff. One employee gives Brown two boxes of cigarillos in a carrier bag.

    Brown takes a few steps away before turning back and handing the bag back to an employee who appears to stash it behind the counter.

    Jason Pollock, the documentary filmmaker, said the video showed Brown exchanging marijuana for cigarillos and undermined the police account that Brown may have robbed the store.

    I’m sure that’s going to make everyone who thought he was a crook totally change their minds.

    1. Vhyrus

      Yeah, cause there’s no way he could sell them weed one day and then turn around and rip them right the fuck off the next day. I have heard the word of teenage drug dealers to be as strong as oak, to be sure.

      1. square circle

        It’s in no way about whether or not Michael Brown was ‘a criminal.’ Whether or not he lifted a pack of cigarillos that evening had, as far as anyone knows, nothing whatsoever to do with his interactions with Darren Wilson. The relevant question was whether he assaulted Wilson as Wilson claimed or whether he was standing in the street with his hands up as others claimed. Evidence pointed to Brown violently trying to seize Wilson’s gun through the window of Wilson’s car. That’s what actually matters – not whether Wilson psychically determined that Brown was a ‘criminal.’

        1. Hyperion

          Well, he might have been a marijuana pusher, so cops had every right to shoot him dead once they suspected that.

        2. Vhyrus

          This is true, but him being a demonstrable thug undermines the ‘dindu nuffin’ narrative that everyone tried to push about Brown. It’s much easier to believe that a drug dealing convenience store robber attacked a cop than the choir boy they tried to paint him as. Character evidence matters.

    2. PapayaSF

      Oh, right, because when drug dealers deal drugs, they often hand the payment back and say they’ll pick it up later. He even had a backpack on, and so why not put the cigarillos there? This story makes no sense.

  38. one true athena

    My new favorite thing among my leftist acquaintances is the “President Trump is playing too much golf! That’s not presidential!” meme

    Fascist President not being fascist enough! Needs moar fascism!

    1. __Warren__

      Thak goodness Obama never put a club to some innocent white balls.

      1. BigT

        Wasn’t that more Michael Jackson that Obama?

    2. Vhyrus

      I hope to god no one says that to me while I am eating or I will very surely die of asphyxiation.

  39. __Warren__

    Is there anyone else here that has fond memories of CRTs and the orange or green that they would display in?

    A long time ago when I was a newspaperman we had CRTs to write on and I loved having to use the command lines (there was a list taped to the wall) and when if I got to typing too fast the letters would all catch up in a rush when I paused. Not that I would go back but I remember those times fondly.

    1. AlmightyJB

      “fond memories of CRTs and the orange or green”

      Yeah, I suppose that brings back some memories of when I first fell in love with computers. I get that nostalgia.

    2. Hyperion

      Are you talking about the green and amber monochrome monitors?

      1. __Warren__

        Maybe it was amber, but in my memories it stands out as orange. Still, whatever, I enjoyed those colors.

        1. AlmightyJB

          I remember orange and green

          1. Hyperion

            The orange was actually called amber monochrome.

          2. Hyperion

            Yep, that would be it.

        2. Hyperion

          You make yourself a DOS prompt that is those colors and pretend you’re on one of them. I actually do make mine that color of green, well a little brighter, on a black background because it’s easy to see.

          1. __Warren__

            Did that. Brought me a few seconds of happiness. Thanks.

          2. Hyperion

            One thing I’ve done that sort of harkens back to the days, is that I have a mechanical keyboard. It’s very clicky. I’m so glad they brought those back. I had one of the old ones that I got from work for years, until they stopped making computer boards that you can plug a bus adapter into.

          3. __Warren__

            I bought an old one from a guy but it didn’t work right.

            When I’m feelin’ it I’ll try a newer model.

            Weirdly, going in the opposite direction when MS brought out their Surface i loved that chiclet type keyboard/pad. Didn’t buy one though.

          4. Hyperion

            The one I have is a Logitech G710+. Really great keyboard.

          5. Gustave Lytton

            I got a Matias Tactile Pro when then first came out. Loved it. Reminded me of the nice mechanical keyboard that came with the IBM PC XT I had years ago. Unfortunately, the missus wasn’t as fond of the clacking sound as I was. When it finally failed, I switched to the Quiet Pro which is almost as mechanical feeling but without the noise.

    1. Hyperion

      So instead of the flying car we all dreamed of, we’re instead just getting cars that … we can’t drive. The future is not always all it was hyped up to be.

      1. AlmightyJB

        Well they at least need to bring back bench seats then.

        1. Hyperion

          What about fins? I want some fins on mine.

          1. AlmightyJB

            I love all of the chrome on the older cars.

          2. Vhyrus

            Yup, nothing like a car so heavy it generates a gravitational field. They don’t build em like they used to.

  40. Left Hand of Radar

    Sorry I’m late. I was at Happy Hour. “F” as in FLAMIN’ GROOVIES:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEpymw_4FU0

    1. Gilmore

      great band

      The album “Teenage Head” is one of the great ones of all time.

    2. SIV

      That vid used to be synced to the demo (or single? I think the demo, I have it on MP3) version of Slow Death. Which is the one you really want to hear and that everyone covers. Must be a rights issue as it was never on youtube and used to get taken down quite regularly on vimeo when that was a separate thing

  41. Hyperion

    When’s this nor’easter gonna get fired up? SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY!

    1. trshmnstr

      *looks outside*

      We’ve already got a dusting on the ground, and it’s going to be snowing for the next 12 hours.

      1. Hyperion

        Just starting to accumulate on my deck now… A dusting…

    2. Lachowsky

      We got sleet at my place last night. It was in the 70’s and even hit the mid 80’s all February long here. March hits and I’m all excited about having a little time off work, the croppie biting, the mud being just right for trail riding, and we get a week and a half of highs in the mid 40’s and sleet.