In post-industrialized economies, money never stays local. It eventually finds its way out downstream from retail purchases. The local small grocer may buy their produce from the farm down the road, but the farm probably doesn’t buy their machinery locally. If they do buy local machines, the manufacturer buys parts and materials that come from … Shmall Shbusiness Shaturday
An appropriate videographic compliment to the holiday festivities. My favorite part is when the song kicks in when Jack Black’s character starts fighting, at the 0:58 mark. When you wake up at halftime from your recovering slumber, pluck at your $5000 iPhone 2000X until you can listen to Travis’ recent interview with Ron Jarzombek of … Thanksgiving Chitinous Crevasse
“This place is a tomb.” -Captain Miller, Event Horizon
Horrible photo, but this post is more for posterity than aesthetics.
Probably the worst thing about Trump’s presidency is the perpetual onslaught of hand-wringing and fainting from writers. That series of essays, obviously, comes from elitist New York authors that that no one reads or has heard of but other elitist New Yorkers. Soon, look out for more accessible media like sci-fi films or endless stacks … Aftermath, Part 2
I have to admit, it doesn’t look bad at all; they’ve mirrored some iconic scenes from the original. My only qualm is how it seems director Rupert Sanders is treating Motoko’s identity crises, and it’s important because that was the theme of the original film. How can we know ourselves? What separates us from, and … Official Ghost in the Shell Trailer
As always, Ed has good analysis here and here. From the first link: A critical element in Trump’s election victory was how the mainstream media was totally blindsided by the Internet. Have you noticed how the old media still acts as if the Internet was some kind of extension of the print-based world they dominated? … Aftermath
The general order of events: The red herring for this post: a fictitious Cthulhu “presidency” isn’t that much different than a God “presidency,” at least to Americans. There’s a strong tendency for some folks to equate the supernatural with malicious forces; if you’ve already accepted this equivalency as truth then the terror of Cthulhu isn’t … Cthulhu for President, 2016 and Forever
Interesting video. Robots “learn,” but within a very narrow set of parameters. Those robots featured are created for a very specific task, one that requires the accurate repetition and endurance that humans can’t consistently delivery. So they don’t learn so much as practice their programming until a specific standard of precision has been met. Learning, … Robo-Logic
Excellent, no-dialogue film about a retro/steampunk blue light, a not-so-friendly ghost, and a fateful WWII-era dance.
Can you spot me? Look for the stud-in-the-making, sporting the impressive—most impressive—Darth Vader shirt this side of the universe.
The Dull Men’s Club – I hope to be one someday. I may be well on my way. Spain Is without a National Government — And Spaniards Are Digging It Photo: The Primal Kitchen’s Coconut Cashew Bars – I got a free box. They’re good! tricot – “KABUKU TOUR 2016 FINAL at AKASAKA BLITZ” Trailer … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 18
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook … Be An Insect
Oopsies at Yahoo: In the [discrimination] suit, as reported by The Mercury News, Ard alleges Mayer encouraged the use of an employee performance rating system to “accommodate management’s subjective biases and personal opinions, to the detriment of Yahoo’s male employees.” Ard also accuses Kathy Savitt, Yahoo’s former chief marketing officer, and Megan Liberman, the current … Hiring and Firing
There’s four hours left to download Pale Blue Scratch for free, over at Amazon. Hooyeah… Unless I get a lot more downloads today, it peaked on the Amazon charts at #593 for mystery, and #29 for steampunk. Being a no-name, I’ll take it. Giveaway over! It will return soon, though.
I listened to Molyneux’s analysis of Zootopia (video here and audio here)—which sounds like a terrible movie, by the way—when he mentioned the white feather phenomenon from World War I. A tough time for pacifist or “other principled” guys, for sure. Being rejected by women romantically is traumatic enough, so much so that most men … Rise of the Dude Raiders
Pale Blue Scratch is available on Amazon for free…right now. Go get it! Edit: This applies to the ebook version only. Whew. Giveaway is over, but it will happen again soon…
In honor of me level-capping Lara Croft in Rise of the Tomb Raider, here’s a video of me doing a headshot chain in expedition mode. Sometimes the Xbox One native recorder will capture things like this autonomously. While I didn’t have auto-aiming enabled, you’ll notice big head mode is, so it didn’t seem recording-level noteworthy … Melon Shooter
Graham, aka: Azure Ides-Grey, bought Pale Blue Scratch and sent in some glorious photos. Since he sent in two photos, I get to plug his two blogs: the hesitant telos and The Christian Philosophy Cafetorium. Send in a photo of you with a copy of the book (paperback or ebook version), and I’ll post it … Graham Got Scratched!
Mind-Altering Quantum Experiment Shows Time Has Never Existed As We Think It Does – “You totally can’t trust anything about the universe, except the results of my experiment. Trust me! Science.” Study warns that science as we know it is evolving into something shoddy and unreliable – Bring back natural philosophy and engineering-as-research! How to … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 17
Despite the high quality of Xenoblade Chronicles, there’s no denying that Shulk, the main protagonist, is the biggest Marty Stu (of the Purity Stu variety) in recent memory. Aside from his barely-perceptible romance with Fiora, there’s no reason for him to pursue the hero’s quest other than pure altruism, and altruism is a lousy motivator … The Marty Stu Chronicles: Shulk
“I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it’s safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries…May I have the salt, please?” – Kira Alexandrovna Argounova, We the Living (Ayn Rand)
If you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, you can now buy a real, genuine, dead tree version of Pale Blue Scratch at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in scenic, famous golf-coursey, Oakmont, PA. * Unnecessary side bar: is there a name for this linguistic phenomenon, where two causally unrelated things are grammatically linked together? The fact … Pale Blue Scratch Now Available in Oakmont, PA
This stuff can be hard to write this kind of subtlety. There’s few who can pull it off well. Bradbury was one of them, as is Jill Domschot. Scott Adams went overboard in a fine way, in this regard; you could tell he was trying to drive the jokes home with an elephant gun. Forster … E.M. Forster’s Humor
Buy here.
Moore, especially from his insider’s view, sees the writing on the wall. And the writing is getting bigger: “I think I have done enough for comics. I’ve done all that I can. I think if I were to continue to work in comics, inevitably the ideas would suffer, inevitably you’d start to see me retread … Alan Moore Bails Out of Comics
Saw this on Reddit and found it too good not to post it in its entirety, because I can. Enjoy responsibly. Second-to-minutes: major insanity within minutes at the emergence of Great Cthulhu all along the pacific region. Massive earth quakes in some regions. Madpeople world wide scream, some die, others attack their staff muttering strange … Cthulhu in Real Life
Feminism As Mental Illness – Jill throws down a gauntlet. And another one Reviewing Darkness 03 – Ed throws down a gauntlet, too: “So no one should be surprised if we suggest that the major flaw with Western Christian religion in all its forms is the insistence on subjecting faith to human reason.” The Christian … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 16
I’ve added a few more online outlets where you can buy Pale Blue Scratch. I’m working on getting it on Smashwords now, too. Please enjoy responsibly.
Certainly provides a good hit of nostalgia. My favorites were the non-linear, story-heavy, point-and-click type of logic games, like Myst or Maniac Mansion, though this is a bit before that era. Deja Vu, #76 in the video, is that kind of game. I liked pretty much anything I could afford with a teen/pre-teen’s disposable income, … 100 Amiga Games
It’s not the sex of the president necessarily that I’m wary of, since, if I voted in the first place, I’d vote for a solid libertarian lady much more readily than a normal state-loving dude. That’s possibility is not the in the cards this season, regardless. What I’m more concerned about are the aftereffects of … I Don’t Want a Female President
I don’t pay attention to literary awards, so the Hugos are off my radar unless someone I listen to already sends a signal through. Hence, Jill on the 2016 Short Story winner, “Cat Pictures Please,” about a self-aware search engine that tries to help people with their problems: See, the AI helps people by meddling … Zero Cat Pictures, Please
Interesting conversation between Scott Adams and Stefan, in the early minutes before they get into the politics. I like Adams, but he’s inaccurate in the self-assessment of his childhood religious beliefs, which he describes at around the 1:20 mark. He didn’t necessarily decide to not believe. He didn’t believe in the first place because he … You Don’t Believe in the First Place
Check the trailer below. We know that Darth Vader dies in Return of the Jedi, so he’s out. Vader’s outfit is completely black and he’s voiced by a black actor, so I’m not even sure he counts in the first place. There’s K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, but he’s in dark metallic plating, and Rebel-affiliated … Star Wars: Spot the One Rogue White Dude That Will Be Killed Off
When a prequel is made with ultra-modern filmmaking technology—CGI and the like—the visual effects are “held back” when illustrating the in-universe technology to match its look and feel. This only seems to affect prequels, not sequels or reboots, since prequels necessarily take place in the in-universe’s past. I tried Googling some things, but I’m coming … Someone Give Me a Good Phrase For This
I got an Xbox One recently, and I was reading up a little the Tomb Raider franchise, since I downloaded Rise of the Tomb Raider and was enjoying it so far. Wouldn’t you know? I guess I’m not supposed to enjoy it as much as I am because some folks finds it problematic. Problematic*. Very … Killing Mario Forever
Just a quick personal note. I (again) had some computer issues, but they have cleared up for now. Special thanks to Advanced Communications for fixing my keyboard, and no thanks to Best Buy/Geek Squad for breaking it. Another thank you goes to Seth W for showing me how to properly hitch my bike. I had … Computers and Bikes
There’s some kind of service or shop that does things in all senses of any word: literally, figuratively, and by other usages. A lot of humor, like innuendo, comes from the double meaning of some words. Instead of playing on just two meanings, the idea is to cover all of them. Exponentaially absurd! I’m not … Steal This Idea for a Comedy Sketch
Every editor will tell you the first sentence in a novel is crucial. Most first sentences that are perceived as “good” are really first paragraphs comprised of short, punchy, humorous or incongruous sentences: “The earth ended yesterday. That wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen to me. But there’s no hiding it: I grew wings overnight.” … The Children of Men – First Sentence
A bookstore chain in Great Britain figured out how to please customers, and the big step was letting the individual operators use their space as they saw fit. Waterstones stores stopped selling shelf space to big publishers (emphasis mine): Next came the staff. [managing director James] Daunt shrunk Waterstones’ central office and fired half of … How to Sell Print Books
Another politcal/current events post. Bear with me. While doing my cool down run on the gym treadmill, I saw a CNN headline, roughly paraphrased: “Clinton wants us to take a fresh look at her.” Granted, this was during a panel of five interchangeable talking head-types—three grim, serious guys in suits and two leggy, brightly-colored women—so … Stale Scumbags
Don’t read any further if you dislike techy talk or mild complaining. I have a large Amazon wish list of 550+ books, and it gets pretty darn difficult when I’m in a real-world book (print rules!) store and need to check if the store has a book on the list. There’s no option to “see … The Amazon Wish List Chronicles
Azure Ides-Grey posted an old Underoath video on his blog, and it made nostalgic something similar, but even futher back for me. I jammed this album for an entire year straight my senior year of high school, and most recently, during a workout. I credit the album for getting me interested in philosophy as a … Album: Believer’s Dimensions
I don’t vote and I have little interest in politics, but Scott Adams’ latest post about the RNC convention held my interest: Persuasion-wise, Trump’s family was the big story of the convention. People seem to love them in the same way the public loved the Kennedys. And notice how Donald Jr. and Eric both have … Politics Is Not Rational
Refer, dear reader, to the post title. The book is still free for Kindle Unlimited users. The link to buy is here. The ebook was $4.99 originally, though I’m not sure why I didn’t make it 99 cents right off the bat. If I wanted to be dishonest I could probably come up with an … Pale Blue Scratch Ebook is Now Only 99 Cents
Interesting analysis. I’m not a big TV guy, so I haven’t seen any of the episodes, but I’d have to watch one of the hundreds of hour-long edgy drama-type of series, this would be at the top of the list. A few things though, that the video mentions: justice can’t be objective because people aren’t … Video: The Philosophy of Daredevil
I’m not greedy; I don’t pretend to own anything that’s not ownable in the first place. That includes non-scarce things like ideas. This is one way of saying someone should take these ideas and run with them. Unlike some of you reading this, I don’t have a time machine, so I don’t have the resources … Steal These Two Ideas For Blogs
If I wanted to contact someone I don’t know personally, there’s a few things I’d rather do than hunt around someone’s blog for their email address. The next thing would be dragging my tongue across lines of broken glass shards, by the meter. I figure I’d get to maybe the third row before I pass … Put Your Dang Email Address On Your Blog
My entry for Ed’s Radix Fidem project has been revised (see original here). I added a concluding paragraph, and Ed had his hand in some editing. The last paragraph was a doozy for me, though you can’t really tell—it’s not Shakespeare nor St. Paul. I mulled it over, off and on, for almost a month. … The Epistemology of Belief, Revised
Taken from the USX Tower on Grant Street. There was a protest against violence or jobs or birds. Something or other. I don’t know—just take your pick of Marxoid causes and it would fit right in. It wasn’t terribly large; what you see in the photo is the whole thing. It was very noisy and … Photo: Pittsburgh Protest, July 2016
I was doing some reading/watching for an upcoming podcast on which I’ll be a guest, and I came upon a video of an analysis of a film. It’s a hard sci-fi/crime film which deals, in part, with artificial intelligence becoming “self-aware.” The video’s author thought the film’s implicit warning are applicable to real-life situations. The … When Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
1 – The hard drive on the family computer, an ASUS, pooped the bed. It’s almost done with repairs, but naturally I haven’t been able to post as often on here since I can only do it via phone. If you’ve ever tried to write a blog post in that manner, you’ll know how hellish … Personal Technology Notes
I was going to write a review of The Aeneid for Goodreads, but it would get rejected eventually since it’s not about the book itself but just a few lines about my copy’s previous owners. Reviews are highly patrolled there, more so than on Amazon, so it’s bringing owls to Athens to post this there. … Book Review: The Aeneid
Authors Respond to Brexit on Twitter – I am shocked—shocked—that rich elitists would sympathize with soulless bureaucracies. Fit for a King singer faces backlash for comments on race – AKA: People are oversensitive sissies. Aristotle’s 2400 Year Old Tomb Found at Stagira – Found next to Plato’s Cave. Anyone? Yes? No? I’ll see myself out… … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 15
Azure Ides-Grey posted a video about the hippopotamus dilemma. I commented: A philosophy professor of mine came up with a similar dilemma. His solution, which I liked, was to demonstrate that 100% of the room’s capacity was taken up with non-hippopotamus objects: in this video’s case, it would be mostly air, with some books, shelves, … There Is No Hippo
Someone at the the excellent resource EffectiveUI wonders if two unrelated things are related to each other: Does being out in tech matter? This is a question I asked myself last week when I was preparing to be on a panel at the Google offices in Boulder, Colorado to speak to LGBTQ youth about careers … STEMwiches
This commercial is a prime target for diversity bed-wetters—the actress is blonde and blue-eyed, even. Why hasn’t this been nailed to the wall?
There were a few extra things I had written for Ed’s Radix Fidem project that I edited out because it seemed to veer a little too much off course. It was regarding the ineffectiveness of the two logics when used outside of their scope. Have you ever seen network systems diagram, or mobile application workflow, … Addendum to Epistemology Post
Under construction. The brown building in the background is the USX Tower.
I made a contribution to Ed’s Radix Fidem project, and he published it as a guest post. You can read it all here, but a sample is below. There was a lot of back and forth and deleting while I was writing it. It’s a slippery topic. Honestly, with English as my first language—hence, the … The Epistemology of Belief
After hearing so much about the Asian squat lately online, by happenstance, I tried it. I was partially able to hold it, but it was right after a workout, so I’m using that as an excuse. I’m able to do pistol squats well, so I thought the Squat would be easy to do. I guess … The Asian Squat
Below are some screens from a post on the jQuery blog, that I received in my RSS reader. Looks like they were hacked, but the post has been taken down. Interesting. EDIT: Google search results for “jquery hacked” lists the hacked blog post as the fifth search result (yours truly comes in as the ninth … Was the jQuery Blog Hacked?
I finally got around to reading Jill Domschot’s The Jaybird’s Nest and other stories (disclaimer: Jill is an Internet acquaintance of mine and has been my editor in the past). The seems ordinary but the stories are not: they are mostly absurdist sci-fi and fantasy, and there’s plenty of humor, mostly subtle or satirical, in … Book Review: The Jaybird’s Nest and other stories
Ed points out tribalism within the church: When you get mainstream any Christian leader to read this same passage and he starts talking about how we need to end sectarianism. But what he really mean is that everyone should dissolve their clubs and join his. “Well, isn’t it obvious? Our way is the right one!” … There Will Always Be Divisions
I caught bits and pieces of Bloodsport the other night. I don’t know much about martial arts movies but it seems to be the quintessential 80’s Western “kung fu” movie—its ubiquity is inescapable, and we have very, very basic cable. Browsing the reviews of the movie on imdb.com revealed this wonderful gem. I want to … A Wonderful Movie Review
Gillian Anderson is cool with being a James Bond incarnation, because the Internet brought it up: Anderson is on Tumblr under the name Chewie’s Girlfriend (a reference to Chewbacca from Star Wars). She recently answered a series of questions on the platform, one of which was “What’s the best rumour you’ve ever heard about yourself?” … Everything Has to Really Be Something Else
The Fall of Venezuela. Prepare Yourself Accordingly. – Surprise! A socialist nation turns into a sick, broke, starving, boiling-hot dystopia. What Are the Dreams of Blind People Like? FDA Claims the Power to Define Words What the Hell? – “The language you speak is the language you think, and the language can seriously hold you … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 14
“Say, I really like Thing X,” said the private, who was Jewish or from a southern state. “That’s dumb. You’re dumb,” said the other private, who was the opposite ethnicity of the first private. “You’re such a racial epithet.” Later, after tossing around more ethnic slurs, they searched for food or booze, fooled around with … Every 20th Century War Novel
The Goodreads giveaway for Pale Blue Scratch is now a go. Look to the right, or down below if you’re on mobile, so read about it and enter, or just click here to enter. Go for it! Giveaway is over, and the winners have been selected. Thanks for checking it out.
I posted the full movie a few years ago, but YouTube had taken it down, most likely because it was an upload from a random user without the copywright. However, the Paramount Vault channel recently uploaded it in full, so it looks like it’s here to say. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqq0nVu29g8
The Running Man is on Netflix. I re-watched it. It’s the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that missed the mark commercially, but it was the perfect blend of all of the more popular Reagan-era dystopian movies: Robocop, Tron, They Live, with a little bit of Total Recall foreshadowing. It wasn’t a bad movie, aside from Arnold’s lame … How to Make “The Running Man” a Better Movie
The 2015 Nebula Awards were announced today. Glaring inequality abounds* inside the sci-fi and fantasy world, and it’s not okay: Earlier tonight, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America handed out the Nebula Award in Chicago, and this year women have swept one of science fiction’s biggest awards. This year’s Nebula Award Banquet toastmaster … The SFWA Has a Gender Problem
I was getting a pinch flat fixed over the weekend, and I saw this beauty. I don’t know if this a “commuter bike” proper, but I’d think a cup holder of this kind is a prerequisite.
Thought I’d share my (mostly) video game music playlist. It’s good for background music for reading or quiet working, though if you really like some of the songs the experience can be interrupting. Youtube has a 200 video limit for embeded playlists, looks like, so go here to the actual playlist page for all the … A Playlist of Possible Interest
Or possibly the new “triggered,” but not quite yet. It needs to grow. There was a time in the not too distant Internet past, where discussions and arguments devolved quickly when someone invoked the “ad hominem” fallacy accusation. Or the exchange’s devolution had already happened and the accusation was just a signpost. Whether or not … “Gaslighting” is the New “Ad Hominem”
Don’t mind me here. It’s part of my mortgage-paying job to notice and fix the things I’m gassing on about below, so none of this post is necessary. It’s all sidebar observations. Is anything on here that necessary to begin with? It’s not that Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center website is bad, per se, … How Not to Do a Convention Center Website
I came across a lot of alt-physics theories when writing Pale Blue Scratch, since technology played a large role in the plot, and the Tesla/Edison period was a good fit for the time period and history. I recently rediscovered one of the first sites I had explored to get a feel for all of this: … The Electric Universe
You don’t understand, but perhaps you do. This song kills me. Kills me. There’s an all-string version, which seems more popular, by the Kronos Quartet that was in the movie La Grande Bellezza. That one is also good, but there’s something special about it being performed a capella.
Jill asked me in a comment to describe my ideal state. I obliged: You know, I don’t think anyone has asked me that directly. I don’t know what the ideal state is, but it probably isn’t a state. I can’t really decide for other people under what rulership they should be living–deciding for other people … The Ideal State
I received this review of Pale Blue Scratch via email (beware…partial spoilers ahoy): So far enjoying this mysterious, exotic journey and love the relationship between the two main characters. REALLY appreciate the fact that you chose to make the main protagonist a strong, smart, independent woman… the equivalent of an undercover female ninja warrior/secret agent, … A Partial Review of Pale Blue Scratch
Another good one from Cafe Hayek: “No. Just No.” Second and even more importantly here: “national productivity strategies” are, practically speaking, strategies or plans imposed by the state. They are schemes pressed down from on high by politicians and bureaucrats each of whom not only is motivated chiefly by political goals (and, thus, likely to … Planned Economies
I’ve been listening to Deadlock a lot lately, since they had released a double-CD album of re-recorded or unreleased, etc., songs—an album that passed my attention on its release date. One of the songs, “Earthlings,” is from a past Japanese market release of Bizarro World. If the Japanese isn’t apparent to you during the verses … When an English-Speaking German Band Does a Song in Japanese
“A Protocol for Dying”: Time for my last article. I could probably write more, yet there are times for everything and after this, my attention will be focused on the most comfortable position for my bed, the schedule for pain killers, and the people around me. …. And so I’m proud of my real work, … A Computer Programmer Prepares For Death
Donald Boudreaux elaborates on a reader’s letter regarding minimum wage: Although the economic outcome of minimum wages would be unchanged if the enforcement were imposed directly on workers rather than on employers, the true nature of minimum wages would be made clearer if enforcement were imposed directly on workers. The reason is that the minimum … The Shell Game
I typed away at my first hackathon ever a few weeks ago: PNC’s APIFest. My team and I stayed up all night, eating any kind of computer geek food they threw at us and plugging away. Our idea was very UI-heavy, so I had plenty of work to do. I got maybe 20 total minutes … My First Hackathon
Another public service announcement type of post. 1. Press the Windows + E keys to launch File Explorer: 2. Click inside the locator bar, type or copy/paste the following path, then press enter: Control Panel\System and Security\System 3. The System info section inside the Control Panel will be shown: Of course, this is only the … The Quickest Way to Access Basic Computer Information in Windows 10
Ed talks about where here is in relation to the supernatural domain: With rare exception, all of the Christians I’ve ever met ascribe to some version “Heaven” as somewhere different from here and now. But it seems most of the time a mere idea. It’s not part of their calculus of life. They act as … Natural and Supernatural Co-Location
I mean, multiculturalism does exist, and has always existed. The earth has many cultures. This is self-evident. Yet, multiculturalism doesn’t exist in the way some may think it does. A story from my Facebook days. Friend Y posted about their job at X. One night, a Muslim man and his wife came in. The man … Multiculturalism Doesn’t Exist
This is Mia Kim’s thumb and new copy of Pale Blue Scratch. Send in a photo of you with a copy of the book (paperback or ebook version), and I’ll post it here and link back to your site/blog/Twitter/Facebook/Geocities page.
Lots of music-based and tech stuff this time, and two Onion links. Am I getting jolly as I get older? 4 Sets of Identical Twins Pull Off NYC Subway Prank – Awkwardly pulled off, but great idea. Star Wars Main Theme – Single by Galactic Empire – Even the plates on the amps are translated! … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 13
TED Talks are the pinnacle of bourgeois cheesepuff and self-back-pattery—a ‘roided up NPR with visuals. As a prole, I’m supposed to be floored by the priesthood coming out from behind the Veil of the Holy of Holies to radiate their revelations to me. Their videos are mildly interesting at best, but this one I couldn’t … Teach Your Kids Not to be Dicks
From page 415 of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (10th Anniversary edition, Author’s Preferred Text).
I knew Aaron was deep in economic knowledge, so I’m glad he posted some definitive armchair analysis of the funny business of large-scale, central planning of economies (emphasis his): And about 20 years ago, I did precisely that. Arguably one of my best charts I ever compiled proved me correct – government spending as a … Stabbing People’s Money
Going to backtrack a statement I made in an old Star Wars: The Force Awakens post. Rey Skywalker is definitely not a Mary Sue: 7. She cobbled together a computer from crashed ships and found a data chip with a functioning flight simulator program. She used the program in her spare time, like when she … Rey Skywalker Is Not A Mary Sue
Happy Easter! Please enjoy my favorite Easter song. If it’s not your first choice in music (understandable), at least read the lyrics, posted below the video. Crucifixion upon the cross Dying for sins, fulfilling prophecy Beaten for His faith Praying for enemies upon sacrifice Forsaken in the eyes of God Sins of man, to Him … Happy Easter, 2016
Explanation of “Resting Bitch Face” (RBF) here. It’s simply subconcious mirroring of fashion model stoicism. If that’s what a woman exposes herself to enough, it could be at least a partial explanation, even if there’s no desire to model (heh) the model’s success, beauty, attention, etc. The mirroring may also be a modern hijack of … Theory on the “Resting Bitch Face” Phenomenon
Interesting idea from Meinl Coffee, if you can write and like coffee (the two usually go hand in hand): On March 21st, World Poetry Day, we let our imagination wonder. We dream of a place where money is replaced by emotions. A better world. For one day, we’re changing the currency in coffeehouses around the … Buying Coffee Without Money
From Neil Gaiman’s American Gods: A sad cockroach lay on its back in the middle of the tiled floor. Shadow took a towel and cleaned off the inside of the tub with it, then ran the water. Besides being in the same paragraph, there’s nothing syntactically linking the cockroach to the “it” in the second … Bug Cleaning
Pitt Students Completely Melt Down After Visit From Conservative Writer – Behold, the next generation of industry leaders and politicians. There’s lots of stories like these, but this is in my own backyard—I can see the Cathedral of Learning if I look behind me at work. Phobialist doesn’t list “an irrational fear of a different … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 12
I usually like Aaron’s thoughts, especially on economic stuff, but he’s off here. UX (user experience) isn’t testing, though it involves that (and, by the way, application testing is a dedicated position). The biggest task for UX designers is logically organizing information, the user action path, and general interface, particularly on large-scale applications and websites. … You Keep Saying “User Experience” But I Don’t Think You Know What It Means