Oh look, there goes Judith Sloan having an attack of the vapours because an Australian journalist correctly pointed out that about the only agitation about repeal of s18C Racial Discrimination Act comes from white privileged (usually male) people aligned with the IPA.
Once again, I wonder why she doesn't realise that her continual hyperbole (often in the bitchiest tone possible, especially when it comes to other economists) about, well, everything (she's also upset that swimmers were still in Rio after their competition had finished - yes really) means everyone outside of her tiny circle of fans from Catallaxy and the Australian (and that may be exactly the same, tiny group) ignore her?
Update: by the way, I don't doubt that the QUT s.18C case is pretty ridiculous, but seems to me there is every chance that the judgement might confirm that. I wouldn't get into any frenzy about it until the outcome is known.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Kubo (further in the long series - movies reviews no one is waiting for)
Yes, I did get to see Kubo and the Two Strings yesterday.
Some quick comments:
* While I knew that there would be a heavy emphasis on magic, I didn't realise it would be quite as mythological as it is.
* I wasn't sure while watching the movie, but on checking afterwards, the matter of how it presents the Japanese tradition of welcoming the spirits of dead ancestors (and releasing them again) is entirely accurate - see these entries on the Bon Festival and Toro Nagashi at Wikipedia. (I should explain - while I knew that there were countries that did the river lantern bit, I wasn't sure that it was done in Japan, and in this specific context.)
* I get the feeling that the theme of loss of memory might come from some particular story in Japanese folklore too, but I haven't found it yet. And I could be wrong. As for another explanation, as someone at a Reddit thread said, it seems quite possible that one of the writers may have personal experience with a parent with Alzheimer's.
* There are some story gaps which I would have liked to see filled. For example, the underwater experience - it seems there should be more revealed about Kubo by the experience, but it doesn't happen.
* But overall: yes, the movie looks and sounds great, and is often touching. But I really want to see it again in better viewing conditions (there were a bunch of 12 year old boys completely uninterested in what was going on in the movie some distance in front of us, and they were distracting.) I hate to say it, but I doubt it will be a break through financial success for Laika - the themes are too melancholic for children below about mid-Primary school level, I think; some teenagers (who really should see it) will think they are too cool to do so; and while Laika has lots of adult fans, I'm not sure there are enough to help it make a lot more than $100 million per movie.
* So - even if you think there is a chance you might like it - do so at a cinema now. I'd like to see this art form by a studio with real beauty, heart and soul survive.
Message to Tim: you would like it, I am pretty sure.
Update: here's the top guy at Laika, saying that their next movies will be quite different. He suggests that Kubo is like the end of a cycle. I would say that I could see his point if it weren't for Box Trolls, as Coraline, Paranorman and Kubo all do show a great interest in supernatural, after-life issues.
Some quick comments:
* While I knew that there would be a heavy emphasis on magic, I didn't realise it would be quite as mythological as it is.
* I wasn't sure while watching the movie, but on checking afterwards, the matter of how it presents the Japanese tradition of welcoming the spirits of dead ancestors (and releasing them again) is entirely accurate - see these entries on the Bon Festival and Toro Nagashi at Wikipedia. (I should explain - while I knew that there were countries that did the river lantern bit, I wasn't sure that it was done in Japan, and in this specific context.)
* I get the feeling that the theme of loss of memory might come from some particular story in Japanese folklore too, but I haven't found it yet. And I could be wrong. As for another explanation, as someone at a Reddit thread said, it seems quite possible that one of the writers may have personal experience with a parent with Alzheimer's.
* There are some story gaps which I would have liked to see filled. For example, the underwater experience - it seems there should be more revealed about Kubo by the experience, but it doesn't happen.
* But overall: yes, the movie looks and sounds great, and is often touching. But I really want to see it again in better viewing conditions (there were a bunch of 12 year old boys completely uninterested in what was going on in the movie some distance in front of us, and they were distracting.) I hate to say it, but I doubt it will be a break through financial success for Laika - the themes are too melancholic for children below about mid-Primary school level, I think; some teenagers (who really should see it) will think they are too cool to do so; and while Laika has lots of adult fans, I'm not sure there are enough to help it make a lot more than $100 million per movie.
* So - even if you think there is a chance you might like it - do so at a cinema now. I'd like to see this art form by a studio with real beauty, heart and soul survive.
Message to Tim: you would like it, I am pretty sure.
Update: here's the top guy at Laika, saying that their next movies will be quite different. He suggests that Kubo is like the end of a cycle. I would say that I could see his point if it weren't for Box Trolls, as Coraline, Paranorman and Kubo all do show a great interest in supernatural, after-life issues.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
An app for the day
I have a bad habit of forgetting to turn my android phone ringer back on after turning it off for things like the cinema, or a concert. A day later, I might look at the phone and realise that I have missed a call or two for that reason.
Yesterday, it occurred to me that it would be handy if you could set the ringer off for a certain period, to have it turn itself back on later without my further involvement.
And, indeed, there are many phone ring schedulers out there, which you can use for turning it off for evenings, or overnight, etc.
But the simplest one for the specific purpose I wanted seems to be Shush! Ringer Restorer. Works very simply (just turn your ringer volume to zero and it pops up automatically, letting you assign the restoration in 1/4 hour increments.)
What a neat app (assuming it works, haven't fully tried it yet) for my problem.
Yesterday, it occurred to me that it would be handy if you could set the ringer off for a certain period, to have it turn itself back on later without my further involvement.
And, indeed, there are many phone ring schedulers out there, which you can use for turning it off for evenings, or overnight, etc.
But the simplest one for the specific purpose I wanted seems to be Shush! Ringer Restorer. Works very simply (just turn your ringer volume to zero and it pops up automatically, letting you assign the restoration in 1/4 hour increments.)
What a neat app (assuming it works, haven't fully tried it yet) for my problem.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Trump and racial sensitivity
Charles Blow at the NYT writes with some amusing clarity on the matter of Why Blacks Loathe Trump. An extract:
He erupted like a rash onto the public consciousness on the front page of The New York Times in 1973 because he and his father were being sued for anti-black bias at their rental property.
This is the same man who took out full-page ads blaring the headline “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” in New York City newspapers calling for the execution of the Central Park Five, a group of teenagers made up of four African-American boys and one Hispanic boy, who were accused and convicted of raping a white female jogger in the park. A judge later overturned the convictions in the flimsy cases and in 2014 the Five settled a wrongful conviction suit with the city for $41 million.
This is the same man who is quoted in the 1991 book “Trumped!: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump — His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall,” as saying:
“I’ve got black accountants at Trump Castle and at Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”
Coalition: "Yes, we were a terrible, inhumane Opposition. So sorry"
Gee, this outburst of blame shifting and quasi-apologies from Liberals for how they acted whilst in Opposition under the then soon-to-be most inept PM in Australian history are coming thick and fast.
First, it was Tony himself musing that perhaps he should have let Labor try deflecting wannabe refugees to Malaysia instead of driving them to desperation in the dead end societies of Nauru and Manus Island. Half- baked, not-really-an-apology-but-thanks-for-the-thought, no doubt not accepted by the people living in tents in the tropics for the last few years, Tony.
Yesterday, Morrison was happy to point out that he was only following orders from Abbott in that matter. Strange how he nonetheless tied his rising star to a level of secrecy and dubious tactics including high seas bribery against refugees that were every bit as questionable as Abbott's self serving painting of Malaysia as the hell hole of Asia.
And today, Christopher Pyne says "well it wasn't me being the unreasonable one":
First, it was Tony himself musing that perhaps he should have let Labor try deflecting wannabe refugees to Malaysia instead of driving them to desperation in the dead end societies of Nauru and Manus Island. Half- baked, not-really-an-apology-but-thanks-for-the-thought, no doubt not accepted by the people living in tents in the tropics for the last few years, Tony.
Yesterday, Morrison was happy to point out that he was only following orders from Abbott in that matter. Strange how he nonetheless tied his rising star to a level of secrecy and dubious tactics including high seas bribery against refugees that were every bit as questionable as Abbott's self serving painting of Malaysia as the hell hole of Asia.
And today, Christopher Pyne says "well it wasn't me being the unreasonable one":
I wonder how the Right wing Murdoch cheer squad for the then Opposition are feeling now that the politicians they supported at the time are now changing their tune.Leader of the House Christopher Pyne has blamed Tony Abbott’s former chief whip, Warren Entsch, for a series of bad calls that resulted in Labor MPs initially being refused leave during Julia Gillard’s hung parliament.Mr Pyne, again touting his credentials as a “fixer”, insisted he overruled Mr Entsch’s hardball tactic of refusing parliamentary pairs for Labor’s Craig Thomson to attend the birth of his child and Michelle Rowland, who wished to care for a sick child.
Still waiting for Kubo
I have the power of overwhelmingly positive reviews (like this one) behind me in convincing the resident teenagers that they will accompany me to see Kubo and the Two Strings on Sunday. (Actually, they've given up putting up resistance.)
Meantime, here's the video clip of the song that plays over the credits at the end (I think I read). I like it (although comments on Youtube indicate Beatles purists may not.)
Meantime, here's the video clip of the song that plays over the credits at the end (I think I read). I like it (although comments on Youtube indicate Beatles purists may not.)
Yay for libertarians (\sarc)
Peter Thiel wants to destroy Gawker. It will be catastrophic if he does.
And I see today that he effectively has.
I become more and more convinced as the years roll on that libertarianism is the most destructive and dangerous political philosophy since the height of Soviet style communism. Even though I didn't read Gawker with any regularity at all, I think Peter Thiel's campaign against it was petty and ridiculous.
But the main objection to it [libertarianism], of course, is the key role cashed up libertarians in the US have had in obstructionism of effective government policy on climate change in that country (and therefore, indirectly, internationally.) Sure, I can't directly blame them for Indian and Chinese obstructionism in past years (well, I don't think I can), but the US has been prevented from unleashing the proper power of capitalism to building clean energy because of libertarian funded objection to proper policy settings.
And, of course, libertarians have been key figures in the climate change policy wars in Australia. I see from recent media that Leyonhjelm tries to avoid sounding as nutty as Roberts on climate by saying his key objection to pricing carbon is that there is no point in doing it until other nations do. Yet this is disingenuous weasel words - his party's platform is clearly that climate change (as a serious issue to be addressed) has not yet been proved to their satisfaction:
And I see today that he effectively has.
I become more and more convinced as the years roll on that libertarianism is the most destructive and dangerous political philosophy since the height of Soviet style communism. Even though I didn't read Gawker with any regularity at all, I think Peter Thiel's campaign against it was petty and ridiculous.
But the main objection to it [libertarianism], of course, is the key role cashed up libertarians in the US have had in obstructionism of effective government policy on climate change in that country (and therefore, indirectly, internationally.) Sure, I can't directly blame them for Indian and Chinese obstructionism in past years (well, I don't think I can), but the US has been prevented from unleashing the proper power of capitalism to building clean energy because of libertarian funded objection to proper policy settings.
And, of course, libertarians have been key figures in the climate change policy wars in Australia. I see from recent media that Leyonhjelm tries to avoid sounding as nutty as Roberts on climate by saying his key objection to pricing carbon is that there is no point in doing it until other nations do. Yet this is disingenuous weasel words - his party's platform is clearly that climate change (as a serious issue to be addressed) has not yet been proved to their satisfaction:
Should the evidence become compelling that global warming is due toSo don't believe Leyonhjelm's attempts to portray himself as just being Mr Pragmatic on this.
human activity, that such global warming is likely to have significantly
negative consequences for human existence, and that changes in human
activity could realistically reverse those consequences, the LDP would
favour market-based options.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Trying hard to maintain his perfect score of "0" (in the category "black Americans who will vote for me")
Donald Trump defends Milwaukee police shooting - BBC News
One would have thought that he might hold back until after video was released to the public; but this is Donald.
One would have thought that he might hold back until after video was released to the public; but this is Donald.
A common problem
In Canada's aboriginal suicide crisis, lesson on protective power of culture - CSMonitor.com
I feel I shouldn't say it, but I'm still not sure that every nation's (or perhaps, every region's) aboriginal culture has the sort of depth to it that enable it to serve this useful purpose.
I feel I shouldn't say it, but I'm still not sure that every nation's (or perhaps, every region's) aboriginal culture has the sort of depth to it that enable it to serve this useful purpose.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
A strange French habit
For French Teens, Smoking Still Has More Allure Than Stigma : Parallels : NPR
Wow, I didn't know this:
I wonder if the tobacco lobby there will be flying Sinclair Davidson in to tut tut about plain packaging. But it's too late.
Wow, I didn't know this:
"They know we smoke at parties; they think it's a social thing," saysIn Australia, incidentally, around 5-6% of teenagers smoke. France's rate is about 8 times higher!
Louise Ferlet, age 16. "But if they knew that on our way to school we
light a cigarette, they'd get mad. I mean, my dad caught me smoking in
my room multiple times. He doesn't react because he went through the
same thing and he knows I'm going to quit one day. And I know I'm going
to quit. Just not today," she says with a laugh.
About 40 percent of French 17-year-olds smoke, according to French government
figures. That's one of the highest rates in Europe. Less than 10 percent of American teens smoke, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a bid to reverse the high rate of smoking, particularly among the
young, France has just introduced some of the world's toughest
anti-tobacco measures, including plain cigarette packs and a ban on
menthol cigarettes.
I wonder if the tobacco lobby there will be flying Sinclair Davidson in to tut tut about plain packaging. But it's too late.
Yes, this is all a bit of a worry
Rise of the critical flops: Suicide Squad takes 360m at box office | Film | The Guardian
The article notes several other films that were big financial successes despite poor reviews. But perhaps I save my biggest indignation for films that get both good reviews and good box office when I consider them immoral trash.
The article notes several other films that were big financial successes despite poor reviews. But perhaps I save my biggest indignation for films that get both good reviews and good box office when I consider them immoral trash.
Waiting for Kubo
I had noticed recently an unusual amount of advertising for the soon to be released Laika feature Kubo and the Two Strings. Given that it is a stop motion animation being released outside of school holidays, I thought that this perhaps indicated a high degree of studio confidence in the film, even though I didn't find the trailers all that impressive.
And, yeah, seems my guess was right: early reviews from America are very, very strong, and I am now keen to see it. [Update: the Rottentomato score is even higher, and the one "rotten" review is from someone unknown at the Guardian, and it reads more as clickbait than a serious review.]
Once again, I will be forced to bribe at least my daughter to see it with me. My son is more easily persuaded to try new movies based on my sales pitch.
Anyway, as I love seeing behind the scenes at Laika, here's a short video showing some of the work on this film:
And, yeah, seems my guess was right: early reviews from America are very, very strong, and I am now keen to see it. [Update: the Rottentomato score is even higher, and the one "rotten" review is from someone unknown at the Guardian, and it reads more as clickbait than a serious review.]
Once again, I will be forced to bribe at least my daughter to see it with me. My son is more easily persuaded to try new movies based on my sales pitch.
Anyway, as I love seeing behind the scenes at Laika, here's a short video showing some of the work on this film:
Trump, Roberts, etc
If you ask me, Brian Cox and the rest of the panel was too soft on Malcolm Roberts last night. While his conspiracy thoughts about NASA got an airing, we didn't hear about Agenda 21 and the European banking families. Still, I can't blame Cox, who is a mere visitor to our shores, for not reading up a bit more on nutty Mal. There are better things to do with your time.
As for Trump - the little bit of his speech I have heard about seemed a bit "meh" - and no explanation as to how "extreme vetting" is supposed to stop the internet radicalisation of Muslim kids who were born in the US. Did he suggest working more closely with Putin? I thought that was the general drift.
As for Trump - the little bit of his speech I have heard about seemed a bit "meh" - and no explanation as to how "extreme vetting" is supposed to stop the internet radicalisation of Muslim kids who were born in the US. Did he suggest working more closely with Putin? I thought that was the general drift.
Monday, August 15, 2016
This'll be interesting...
Trump to lay out plan for combating radical Islamic terrorism - CNNPolitics.com
Although, truth be told, the way Trump is complaining about media bias I think the theory that he will soon "fire himself" (while trying to divert the blame to "the system") is looking more credible than ever.
Although, truth be told, the way Trump is complaining about media bias I think the theory that he will soon "fire himself" (while trying to divert the blame to "the system") is looking more credible than ever.
What a surprise: the blog for angry white males approves of a mock complaint by an angry white male
See here.
Of course, the correct way of seeing Leyonhjelm's complaint is that it's just another example of a Senator with too much time on his hands, playing games.
What's his "nanny State" and wind power enquiries achieved, by the way?
Of course, the correct way of seeing Leyonhjelm's complaint is that it's just another example of a Senator with too much time on his hands, playing games.
What's his "nanny State" and wind power enquiries achieved, by the way?
Monday stuff
* Well, that's weird. Trumpkin tragic Steve Kates from the clown rodeo at Catallaxy yesterday noted an article about the unclear size of the proton-muon combination, and how important this may turn out to be for physics, just after I had read the same day an updated article on arXiv suggesting that the discrepancy can be explained by extra dimensions, and suggesting further experiments that might help confirm it. I assume that this type of experiment does not require high energy and particle acceleration, so it would be ironic if a "table top" experiment turned out to be key to proving the existence new physics when the LHC has not.
* So Tony Abbott now thinks he probably shouldn't have played games with human lives by allowing the Gillard government to legislate for trying the "Malaysia solution"? This poses a bit of a quandary - should he be at least grudgingly admired for coming around to this view, or should we feel greater vindication about his appalling hypocrisy and willingness to advance his career at any cost? I'm leaning strongly to the latter - Abbott is like a bad advertisement for the type of Catholic who takes full advantage of its "get out of jail free" system - you can sin pretty much as much as you like provided you have enough time on your death bed to regret it and receive absolution. Nope, sorry Tony - it was clearly a mere political game you were playing at the time, and you don't deserve sympathy.
* The Olympics - I have my own guilty confession to make - I'm sort of finding Rio's reputation as the most dangerous and bumbling Olympics ever held to be refreshing. I mean, every Games there is panic about facilities not being ready on time, tickets not being sold, and whether visitors will face dangers from terrorism or whatever. But this time, it's all coming true (well, thankfully, with visitors only being robbed and avoiding bullets, but not being killed - I wouldn't be making this comment if that had happened.) It makes a change from the Games all going smoothly after all. Perhaps it will work as incentive to give the games back to poor old Greece permanently, which would seem to be about the only way that country might make a long term economic recovery.
And I would have thought most Australians would be happy enough with the performance of the swim team - I can't stand commentary about "choking" from armchair critics.
So, yeah, I am sort of perversely enjoying these games - and Rio still looks like a very pretty city.
* So Tony Abbott now thinks he probably shouldn't have played games with human lives by allowing the Gillard government to legislate for trying the "Malaysia solution"? This poses a bit of a quandary - should he be at least grudgingly admired for coming around to this view, or should we feel greater vindication about his appalling hypocrisy and willingness to advance his career at any cost? I'm leaning strongly to the latter - Abbott is like a bad advertisement for the type of Catholic who takes full advantage of its "get out of jail free" system - you can sin pretty much as much as you like provided you have enough time on your death bed to regret it and receive absolution. Nope, sorry Tony - it was clearly a mere political game you were playing at the time, and you don't deserve sympathy.
* The Olympics - I have my own guilty confession to make - I'm sort of finding Rio's reputation as the most dangerous and bumbling Olympics ever held to be refreshing. I mean, every Games there is panic about facilities not being ready on time, tickets not being sold, and whether visitors will face dangers from terrorism or whatever. But this time, it's all coming true (well, thankfully, with visitors only being robbed and avoiding bullets, but not being killed - I wouldn't be making this comment if that had happened.) It makes a change from the Games all going smoothly after all. Perhaps it will work as incentive to give the games back to poor old Greece permanently, which would seem to be about the only way that country might make a long term economic recovery.
And I would have thought most Australians would be happy enough with the performance of the swim team - I can't stand commentary about "choking" from armchair critics.
So, yeah, I am sort of perversely enjoying these games - and Rio still looks like a very pretty city.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Password problems
I am getting overwhelmed with passwords, and in particular, with the interaction between Yahoo, Google and YouTube. I think there's less problem if you're not trying to keep a level of net anonymity, but if you are....
The end of the line for super colliders?
Physicists need to make the case for high-energy experiments : Nature News & Comment
Bee paints a pessimistic picture, too.
And here's an article (a pretty clear one, too, given the topic) about it at The Atlantic.
Bee paints a pessimistic picture, too.
And here's an article (a pretty clear one, too, given the topic) about it at The Atlantic.
Message to monty (everyone else can ignore)
Can you please tell CL to stop his "I support Trump...but not really" act? He does the same with Gateway Pundit - calls Hoft a dimwit who is only right 1 out of 20 times, yet still continually and gullibly re-posts every Clinton conspiracy theory that Hoft posts, and only occasionally covers his endorsement with "well, if this is true..." His self created land of obfuscation is bothering me...
And - you might also note there that Snopes has looked at the wildly implausible RWDB meme that Clinton needs a doctor actually ready to inject her at any moment by her side. You're dealing with folk not playing with a full deck, you know?
And - you might also note there that Snopes has looked at the wildly implausible RWDB meme that Clinton needs a doctor actually ready to inject her at any moment by her side. You're dealing with folk not playing with a full deck, you know?
"Work with me here, Donald"..."No"
I find this hilarious - the pro-Trump Hewitt trying to help Trump de-doofus himself, and Trump refusing the invitation:
Update: at Hot Air, of all places, they have a serious take on the stupidity of this:
Update: at Hot Air, of all places, they have a serious take on the stupidity of this:
This is a recurring problem for Trump, seen most recently in what he said about “Second Amendment people”: He doesn’t seem capable of imagining how the things he says will be understood beyond his own fan base. Tom Joscelyn noted this morning that “Obama founded ISIS” is also an idea pushed by Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei. He has a different meaning of “founded” than Trump does: He wants Shiites, who loathe ISIS, to believe that the organization was deliberately created and equipped by the U.S. to persecute them. That’s not what Trump means by it, but because he insists on using a word that implies intent in describing Obama’s role, Iran can use the clip of Trump in its English-language propaganda. Trump either doesn’t grasp that or doesn’t care enough to be more precise with his criticism.Update 2: and then comes the argument, from Slate, that Trump knows what he's doing. Personally, I think that's giving Trump too much credit. I think it's more likely that he wings it in front of supporters, because he likes the roar of the crowd and is actually insecure, and then comes the retro-justification:
Hewitt then countered one last time by suggesting that he personally would use “different language” to communicate the same criticism. Trump’s response was remarkable for its awareness. “But they wouldn’t talk about your language,” he told Hewitt, “and they do talk about my language, right?”
That remark is telling, and it illustrates something that should be obvious by now but is often lost in the noise of each new controversy that comes every time Trump says something outlandish and/or obviously untrue. This was not some ad-libbed comment that went awry, a bad joke that did not land, or the candidate going “off message,” as Beltway pundits call it. In fact, he’s completely on message, and this has been the message for years, dating back to Obama’s first term, during which Trump used the birther movement to lay the foundation for his current presidential run. More than anything, Trump has built his campaign on (white) America’s fears of the other, and what better way for him to harness those than by othering the sitting president of the United States, be it by questioning his citizenship, his faith, or his loyalty. It doesn’t matter to Trump whether his wild-eyed accusations are true; it doesn’t matter to him whether they’re offensive. All that matters to him is casting an illusion his supporters want to believe in.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Ridiculous technology
While I take great pleasure in marvelling at what technological capacity there is in cheap mobile phones these days (my current phone was under $100 last Christmas), I would love to have the new Samsung Note 7, which, I see, comes with a pre-order offer of a micro SD card of 256 G capacity (at a price of $1348 at Harvey Norman.)
Carrying around 256G of storage in your smart phone (even more if you count part of the in built 64G)? And on such a tiny card?
This is just ridiculously awesome, and young folk who are growing up with this need to understand how incredible it is. (Hence I spend time doing this with my own kids, and encourage all adults over 40 to do the same.)
I suspect this phone is going to do well for Samsung, given the way some markets (such as India) go for the big "phablet" devices if they can only afford one computing device. Reviews seem positive.
And, back to my under $100 Samsung phone - I have recently tried a new launcher - Smart Launcher - and I like it a lot.
Carrying around 256G of storage in your smart phone (even more if you count part of the in built 64G)? And on such a tiny card?
This is just ridiculously awesome, and young folk who are growing up with this need to understand how incredible it is. (Hence I spend time doing this with my own kids, and encourage all adults over 40 to do the same.)
I suspect this phone is going to do well for Samsung, given the way some markets (such as India) go for the big "phablet" devices if they can only afford one computing device. Reviews seem positive.
And, back to my under $100 Samsung phone - I have recently tried a new launcher - Smart Launcher - and I like it a lot.
Trump's still running?
The Trump campaign has been a disaster for the Trump brand - The Washington Post
Some spectacularly bad PR for Trump yesterday/today, hey? Even being generous to the idiot that he didn't mean gun nuts could shoot her, I reckon the least you could plausibly interpret it as would be speculating about armed intimidation of a Clinton presidency over her choice of presidents (of the "open carry" type of demonstration that makes the country look like a hick third world nation.)
The article linked deals with something I had been wondering about - wouldn't all of this woeful publicity be hurting anything branded "Trump"? I mean, if you were a Democrat who previously might have holidayed at a Trump resort, and just joked with your friends about the apparent support for an eccentric TV character that this entailed, wouldn't you now take it more seriously and definitely avoid having anything to do with his name?
Some spectacularly bad PR for Trump yesterday/today, hey? Even being generous to the idiot that he didn't mean gun nuts could shoot her, I reckon the least you could plausibly interpret it as would be speculating about armed intimidation of a Clinton presidency over her choice of presidents (of the "open carry" type of demonstration that makes the country look like a hick third world nation.)
The article linked deals with something I had been wondering about - wouldn't all of this woeful publicity be hurting anything branded "Trump"? I mean, if you were a Democrat who previously might have holidayed at a Trump resort, and just joked with your friends about the apparent support for an eccentric TV character that this entailed, wouldn't you now take it more seriously and definitely avoid having anything to do with his name?
Tuesday, August 09, 2016
Census 2016
I find it hard to understand the privacy freakout by certain folk with respect to the 2016 census. I strongly suspect it is age related - I reckon you have to be over 45 to worry about it at all, even though I well and truly belong to that category, and don't. I'm guessing that 95% of people under 30, most of whom have so little regard for privacy that they post about their strings of partners (temporary or longer) on Facebook, and have probably at least once sent or received pics of their naked bits through the aether, have no concerns at all.
Bernard Keane has been particularly overwrought about this - and didn't he write a novel about surveillance which featured many sex scenes? He has some other odd obsessions, including donkeys and greyhounds. (None of which, I trust, are involved in the novel.) I wish he would just stick to politics.
Anyway, no I couldn't complete it on line tonight either, and I'm sure I'll get sick of hearing about this government tech failure over the next week.
I don't know why they just didn't call it "Census Week" to make it clearer people could do it on line over (say) 7 to 14 days. Seems an obvious way to avoid the rush of "census night", no?
Bernard Keane has been particularly overwrought about this - and didn't he write a novel about surveillance which featured many sex scenes? He has some other odd obsessions, including donkeys and greyhounds. (None of which, I trust, are involved in the novel.) I wish he would just stick to politics.
Anyway, no I couldn't complete it on line tonight either, and I'm sure I'll get sick of hearing about this government tech failure over the next week.
I don't know why they just didn't call it "Census Week" to make it clearer people could do it on line over (say) 7 to 14 days. Seems an obvious way to avoid the rush of "census night", no?
Laffered out of a job
Conservative Lawmakers Ousted in Kansas Primary Election - WSJ
Even the Wall Street Journal notes the failure of the Laffer inspired Kansas experiment in large tax cuts.
Good to see some politicians paying for it.
Even the Wall Street Journal notes the failure of the Laffer inspired Kansas experiment in large tax cuts.
Good to see some politicians paying for it.
Steel story
The (largely false) globalization narrative - The Washington Post
I was surprised by this explanation of what happened to the American steel manufacturing industry.
I was surprised by this explanation of what happened to the American steel manufacturing industry.
Monday, August 08, 2016
Lol indeed
I was just on Youtube looking at the video of the old Safety Dance song (for no particular reason other than it's catchy - I've embedded it before.) Thought I would look at the recent comments, and found this:
This song attracts the funniest comments...
Olympics
For what it's worth: I quite liked the Rio opening ceremony. It was, apparently, a much cheaper production than recent Olympic openings, but was actually better for it - it reminded me of the scale of the Sydney opening, which was also great but with less mechanical contraptions than seem to have turned up at later openings. It again showed how much can be done with the clever projectors they use at all these events now. (I particularly liked how the early airplane I had never heard of before seemed to be designed backwards.)
And yes, it was appropriately sexy in a Brazilian way.
And yes, it was appropriately sexy in a Brazilian way.
Politics
* Wasn't Insiders interesting yesterday, with new Senator Malcolm Roberts sealing the deal as having outpaced Leyonhjelm as the biggest nutjob in the Senate, by far. Apparently, only 5 years ago he let some "very strong researcher" from Queensland convince him that the "sovereign citizen" movement was the way to go to try to argue against a carbon tax. (I hadn't even heard of this bunch of nutters until Malcolm came along.) He seems to have changed on this in more ways than one - originally trying to claim he had no knowledge of the movement, now saying it was "a mistake".
The guys looks nutty; he definitely sounds nutty; and he committed his nuttiness to paper - I think based on his "empirical evidence" insistence, I can declare the evidence is in: he was and is a nut; and a slippery dishonest (even by normal political standards) one at that.
* Also on Insiders, Gerard Henderson* was claiming that One Nation was a long term problem for the Coalition, as having 4 Senators and staff meant they could consolidate their credibility before the next election.
Yeah, sure, Gerard. The track record of parties based around one personality is obviously dire - especially when they are run by self interested populists like Palmer or Hanson. (Hanson does well out of elections whether she wins or not.). At least people like Xenophon or Don Chipp - smart guys running for a neglected centre of politics - might establish parties that run some distance, but even then the Democrats show they won't be around forever.
Gerard's gone downhill as a political commentator; time to retire, I suggest.
* Is Trump still the GOP candidate? The longer this campaign runs, the more it shows that the power of positive thinking may take a BS artist who starts with a family fortune quite a long way, but it does absolutlelynothing to encourage insight.
The thing is, the more he derides Hillary's mental state, the more the electorate will see it as projection. But he obviously doesn't see that risk.
Update: * even after just having watched the nut filled interview performance of Roberts. But Henderson has always given undue credence to climate change denialism - he gave Salby a venue at which to claim he had discovered the end of AGW. Where's Salby now? Completely discredited, where ever he is.
The guys looks nutty; he definitely sounds nutty; and he committed his nuttiness to paper - I think based on his "empirical evidence" insistence, I can declare the evidence is in: he was and is a nut; and a slippery dishonest (even by normal political standards) one at that.
* Also on Insiders, Gerard Henderson* was claiming that One Nation was a long term problem for the Coalition, as having 4 Senators and staff meant they could consolidate their credibility before the next election.
Yeah, sure, Gerard. The track record of parties based around one personality is obviously dire - especially when they are run by self interested populists like Palmer or Hanson. (Hanson does well out of elections whether she wins or not.). At least people like Xenophon or Don Chipp - smart guys running for a neglected centre of politics - might establish parties that run some distance, but even then the Democrats show they won't be around forever.
Gerard's gone downhill as a political commentator; time to retire, I suggest.
* Is Trump still the GOP candidate? The longer this campaign runs, the more it shows that the power of positive thinking may take a BS artist who starts with a family fortune quite a long way, but it does absolutlelynothing to encourage insight.
The thing is, the more he derides Hillary's mental state, the more the electorate will see it as projection. But he obviously doesn't see that risk.
Update: * even after just having watched the nut filled interview performance of Roberts. But Henderson has always given undue credence to climate change denialism - he gave Salby a venue at which to claim he had discovered the end of AGW. Where's Salby now? Completely discredited, where ever he is.
Saturday, August 06, 2016
Friday, August 05, 2016
Quantum papers
Yay, two papers of interest have turned up on arXiv in the quantum section.
First, one talking about the transactional interpretation of quantum physics, which I've mentioned here before, and been wondering whether it's going anywhere. I haven't done much other than scan the paper (it's a heavy read, and I'll be skipping the maths), but it's worth looking at more carefully, I think.
Secondly, here's one talking about the enduring puzzle of the double slit experiment with the enticing title Can a Single Photon Modify Two Remote Realities Simultaneously? Here's the abstract:
First, one talking about the transactional interpretation of quantum physics, which I've mentioned here before, and been wondering whether it's going anywhere. I haven't done much other than scan the paper (it's a heavy read, and I'll be skipping the maths), but it's worth looking at more carefully, I think.
Secondly, here's one talking about the enduring puzzle of the double slit experiment with the enticing title Can a Single Photon Modify Two Remote Realities Simultaneously? Here's the abstract:
The concept of wave-particle duality, which is a key element of quantum theory, has been remarkably found to manifest itself in several experimental realizations as in the famous double-slit experiment. In this speci?c case, a single particle seems to travel through two separated slits simultaneously. Nevertheless, it is never possible to measure it in both slits, which naturally appears as a manifestation of the collapse postulate. In this respect, one could as well ask if it is possible to "perceive" the presence of the particle at the two slits simultaneously, once its collapse could be avoided. In this article, we use the recently proposed entanglement mediation protocol to provide a positive answer to this question. It is shown that a photon which behaves like a wave, i.e., which seems to be present in two distant locations at the same time, can modify two existing physical realities in these locations. Calculations of the \weak trace" left by such photon also enforce the validity of the present argumentation.
Death by (lack of) fashion
Neanderthals' failure to make parkas may have sealed their demise: A quartet of researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada has found evidence that suggests that the reason early humans were able to survive the ice age while the Neanderthal perished is because humans figured out how to make parka-like clothing to keep warm and Neanderthals did not....I can imagine some Neanderthal bloke pointing at some newly kitted out non-Neanderthal guy and saying "ha! look at the girly man in his new 'parka.' Clothes are for wusses."
The researchers also note that other evidence of humans crafting warm
clothes has been found as well, such as bone needles for sewing and
other tools that could be used to scrape pelts. Also, a set of figurines
wearing parka-like coats and dating back approximately 24,000 years was
found in Siberia. No such evidence of Neanderthals wearing crafted clothes has ever been found.
As to why the Neanderthals would not have crafted clothes to survive
the cold, the researchers suggest they may have lacked the intelligence
or simply because their cultural traditions were standing in the way.
Thursday, August 04, 2016
Derangement noted
From the Economist, a report on a campaign stop on 1 August:
The presidential race: Donald Trump’s disastrous fortnight | The Economist:
The speech that followed was even more rambling than usual, and peppered with personal gripes; the boasts were fewer, his haranguing of the media (“some of the most dishonest people”) went on for longer.
At times, Mr Trump sounded deranged. Some of the negotiators he says he will commission to improve America’s trade terms “are horrible, horrible human beings”, he said. “Some of them don’t sleep at night, some of them turn and toss and sweat, they’re turning and tossing and sweating and it’s disgusting, and these are the people we want to negotiate for us, right?” Whose experience, actually, was he describing? With three months to the election, it is early days, and the contest looks close; yet Mr Trump’s campaign is a mess. In Mechanicsburg it was tempting to think he really had seen the writing on the wall.
Out-nutted
Well, what a pain that Senator Blofeld Leyonhjelm got re-elected. I see his total vote in New South Wales was 3%, but his position on the ballot paper was pretty good again, and I also thought the big fault under the new system is the tiny size of the party logos at the top of their columns. I strongly suspect that this factor, and the parties use of the word "liberal," again benefited him, and I expect if he was way to the right of Liberal column, you could shave off at least a third of his votes.
But as a big a nut he is on guns and other matters, he will certainly be out-nutted in the Senate by the Queensland no.2 Senator for Pauline Hanson, Malcolm Roberts. An ageing engineer (a professional which produces some of the most obnoxious examples of Dunning-Kruger), he's the climate change denier whose mutterings about international banking family conspiracies made even Andrew Bolt distance himself from his group. I see from the link that he's also (naturally) an Agenda 21 conspiracist completely opposed to any support of renewables (even though, as Abbott found out, quite a lot of people who might be dumb enough to vote for Hanson actually quite like their solar panels on the roof). I bet he's a goldbug, too. And, I wouldn't be surprised if he loves his guns as much as Leyonhjelm.
So, it's going to be interesting, and worrying, to watch what crap he will come out during Senate speeches.
But as a big a nut he is on guns and other matters, he will certainly be out-nutted in the Senate by the Queensland no.2 Senator for Pauline Hanson, Malcolm Roberts. An ageing engineer (a professional which produces some of the most obnoxious examples of Dunning-Kruger), he's the climate change denier whose mutterings about international banking family conspiracies made even Andrew Bolt distance himself from his group. I see from the link that he's also (naturally) an Agenda 21 conspiracist completely opposed to any support of renewables (even though, as Abbott found out, quite a lot of people who might be dumb enough to vote for Hanson actually quite like their solar panels on the roof). I bet he's a goldbug, too. And, I wouldn't be surprised if he loves his guns as much as Leyonhjelm.
So, it's going to be interesting, and worrying, to watch what crap he will come out during Senate speeches.
Unsettled weather
Just saying, but the weather in Brisbane in the last couple of weeks has been all over the shop, in a way that I think's quite unusual for this time of year. We've had a late winter burst of quite cold mornings after some very clear nights, but then it seems out of the blue will come cloud, wind and rain. Last night it was from an east coast low, which I don't think are very common at all in early August. Now its sunny and warm again, although maximums are still relatively modest. (Whoops - spoke too soon, it's gone cloudy and breezy again.)
I have been noticing in other recent years that Augusts have not been very cold at night at all - I pay attention to these things because of insisting on sitting and staying at the Ekka for fireworks. But this year - unless this messy weather all clears up - I am thinking it is going to feel colder there at night, like it used to sometimes be when I went as a child.
Is it all part of global warming causing a more turbulent and changeable mixing of the atmosphere?
I have been noticing in other recent years that Augusts have not been very cold at night at all - I pay attention to these things because of insisting on sitting and staying at the Ekka for fireworks. But this year - unless this messy weather all clears up - I am thinking it is going to feel colder there at night, like it used to sometimes be when I went as a child.
Is it all part of global warming causing a more turbulent and changeable mixing of the atmosphere?
Support warranted
Guardian Australia has made a difference – with your help, it can do more | Media | The Guardian
I see that The Guardian Australia is asking for subscribers (or donors, if you will) and suggesting $10 a month or $100 a year.
I think this would be well deserved support for a great paper and website. (I already subscribe to the SMH too.)
Get our your credit cards.
I see that The Guardian Australia is asking for subscribers (or donors, if you will) and suggesting $10 a month or $100 a year.
I think this would be well deserved support for a great paper and website. (I already subscribe to the SMH too.)
Get our your credit cards.
The drop out option
Would Donald Trump really consider dropping out?
A good consideration here of what would happen if Trump dropped out, and why he probably won't. (Although I still suspect he might if enough Republicans continue to repudiate him.)
Update: and here's Vox on what the party can do to try to get him out of the race. (They can't force him.)
A good consideration here of what would happen if Trump dropped out, and why he probably won't. (Although I still suspect he might if enough Republicans continue to repudiate him.)
Update: and here's Vox on what the party can do to try to get him out of the race. (They can't force him.)
Wednesday, August 03, 2016
My suggestion for the next James Bond
He's dark haired; darker skinned (for a bit of character variety); good with gadgets; knows his way around Europe; and the ladies love him. [OK, so 4 out of 5 is not bad.] :)
Anyway, he would make an excellent Q, at the very least.
An amusing comment about Friedman
Noahpinion: How are Milton Friedman's ideas holding up? Part 1: For some reason, Friedman is treated a bit like a secular saint in policy discussions. If you criticize "Idea X", fine. We can have an argument. But if you criticize "Milton Friedman's Idea X", then WHO ARE YOU, LOWLY WORM, to criticize the great FRIEDMAN?? If you say government is a lot more useful and important than Reagan and Thatcher and Art Laffer and Friedrich Hayek and Ed Prescott and Greg Mankiw think, well, fine, that's your opinion. But if you say government is a lot more useful and important than Milton Friedman thought, then you're wrong wrong wrong and don't you know that Friedman proved government was bad in the 70s?? Etc.
OK, I might be exaggerating as an excuse to use lots of capital letters and italics, but Friedman is such a towering intellectual that criticizing him does feel a bit like tipping a sacred cow. Fortunately I'm from Texas, where cow-tipping is a way of life.
Any suggestions?
Ridiculing Trump has become a bit like shooting a fish in a barrel for everyone, so I'm getting a bit bored with that. Seems to me the only thing providing any real tension in the Presidential election is what's in emails that Julian Assange is determined to try to take down Clinton with, and when they'll be released. I can't dismiss the possibility that there might be real problems for her in this - but Assange is going to be winning no friends on the Left by playing games with the timing of release, and he has no friends already on the Right. He's stuffed either way, then.
I wonder, though, whether Trump might do something really unprecedented - such as pulling the pin himself on his run if enough Republican figures say they can't endorse him. His musing about a possible rigged election seems potentially on the path to something like that, and he obviously is worried about how he'll cope with one on one debates with Clinton. Let's see...
I haven't even been posting much science lately - I think most scientists must be enjoying the NH summer holidays, because I don't think that much of interest has been in the media recently.
Oh - here's something: Brian Cox's new series from the BBC started last night - Forces of Nature - and as with his previous similar shows, it's beautiful to look at, and I find it rather endearing watching a man who seems continually blissed out about science and nature. Could be a bit better edited - there seemed to be a little bit of unnecessary repetition in last night's episode - but overall, it's highly recommended.
Apart from that, I feel like calling for suggestions as to what I might find interesting on the 'net at the moment...
I wonder, though, whether Trump might do something really unprecedented - such as pulling the pin himself on his run if enough Republican figures say they can't endorse him. His musing about a possible rigged election seems potentially on the path to something like that, and he obviously is worried about how he'll cope with one on one debates with Clinton. Let's see...
I haven't even been posting much science lately - I think most scientists must be enjoying the NH summer holidays, because I don't think that much of interest has been in the media recently.
Oh - here's something: Brian Cox's new series from the BBC started last night - Forces of Nature - and as with his previous similar shows, it's beautiful to look at, and I find it rather endearing watching a man who seems continually blissed out about science and nature. Could be a bit better edited - there seemed to be a little bit of unnecessary repetition in last night's episode - but overall, it's highly recommended.
Apart from that, I feel like calling for suggestions as to what I might find interesting on the 'net at the moment...
Tuesday, August 02, 2016
When any publicity is not good publicity
Some would say this is hardly surprising, given the source, but I am still amused to see this group of headlines re Trump on the Washington Post website today:
A very odd thing to say
Gee, for a man who has a long association with the IPA, with its transgender staffer Mikayla Novak and its past high profile gay spokes-ego Tim Wilson, Sinclair Davidson sure likes to buy into moral panic about high school students and sexuality. And he has done so today in a truly spectacularly oddball way.
This is the post in question, about a scholarship body that has started asking teenage applicants if they identify a gay/transgender etc, apparently with the intention of specifically offering money to some in that category. SD notes, however, that the applicants will often be below the age of consent, which leads to his ending his post with this:
"...perhaps this is a matter for the police and not reporters from The Australian."
Now look, I have long, long argued in this blog that sexuality of school students is something best dealt with at school as a matter of emphasising privacy and respect for all (and therefore don't particularly care for teenagers in high school who go out of their way to be "out"), and I would agree that gay identity politics influencing sex education may have gone so far as to advertently or inadvertently put inappropriate pressure on students to categorise themselves in ways they should not need to. So do I think it makes much sense in principle to be offering scholarships based on sexuality? Of course not.
But do I think that they're aren't some teenagers who have a pretty good understanding of their sexuality as not being heterosexual? Of course not.
Everyone who has read anything by, or talked to, gay adults knows that a great many do feel sure fairly soon into puberty that their sexuality is at least different, and (even before the modern Western openness to discussing homosexuality) recognized it as homosexuality, or at least bisexuality. And in most cases, this is prior to any actual sexual experience at all.
Therefore, it is obvious that asking a 15 or 16 year old if he or she identifies as gay, etc, (and leaving it open for them to decline to answer) carries no necessary implication about whether they are or have ever been sexually active, or will be before it becomes "legal" by virtue of their age. So in what implausible way does SD think asking this question on a piece of paper could induce an underage teenager to have gay sex? A scholarship possibility means they'll just go and try out the gay stuff to make sure they can honestly answer the question? Yeah, sure. Is it meant to be just be like how detailed sex education encourages straight students to have sex early (when in fact, if anything, it probably has the opposite effect)?
Even when asked to clarify in comments what he could possibly mean about police looking into this, the Professor does not retract at all, and seems to make his concern sound even more like extreme conservative, moral panic, ridiculousness. People who work in a body offering scholarships to a gay identifying 15 or 16 year old are "grooming"?? The police should look into this instead of pursuing George Pell?? In fact, we all know the police would be rolling their eyes and writing "just plain nuts" in their notebooks.
It's remarkable how SD can take a matter on which moderate conservatives might agree (do we really need scholarships based on sexuality?) and take the argument to such an unjustified extreme that makes it immediately dismiss-able not just by Lefties, but by any sensible social conservative too.
This is the post in question, about a scholarship body that has started asking teenage applicants if they identify a gay/transgender etc, apparently with the intention of specifically offering money to some in that category. SD notes, however, that the applicants will often be below the age of consent, which leads to his ending his post with this:
"...perhaps this is a matter for the police and not reporters from The Australian."
Now look, I have long, long argued in this blog that sexuality of school students is something best dealt with at school as a matter of emphasising privacy and respect for all (and therefore don't particularly care for teenagers in high school who go out of their way to be "out"), and I would agree that gay identity politics influencing sex education may have gone so far as to advertently or inadvertently put inappropriate pressure on students to categorise themselves in ways they should not need to. So do I think it makes much sense in principle to be offering scholarships based on sexuality? Of course not.
But do I think that they're aren't some teenagers who have a pretty good understanding of their sexuality as not being heterosexual? Of course not.
Everyone who has read anything by, or talked to, gay adults knows that a great many do feel sure fairly soon into puberty that their sexuality is at least different, and (even before the modern Western openness to discussing homosexuality) recognized it as homosexuality, or at least bisexuality. And in most cases, this is prior to any actual sexual experience at all.
Therefore, it is obvious that asking a 15 or 16 year old if he or she identifies as gay, etc, (and leaving it open for them to decline to answer) carries no necessary implication about whether they are or have ever been sexually active, or will be before it becomes "legal" by virtue of their age. So in what implausible way does SD think asking this question on a piece of paper could induce an underage teenager to have gay sex? A scholarship possibility means they'll just go and try out the gay stuff to make sure they can honestly answer the question? Yeah, sure. Is it meant to be just be like how detailed sex education encourages straight students to have sex early (when in fact, if anything, it probably has the opposite effect)?
Even when asked to clarify in comments what he could possibly mean about police looking into this, the Professor does not retract at all, and seems to make his concern sound even more like extreme conservative, moral panic, ridiculousness. People who work in a body offering scholarships to a gay identifying 15 or 16 year old are "grooming"?? The police should look into this instead of pursuing George Pell?? In fact, we all know the police would be rolling their eyes and writing "just plain nuts" in their notebooks.
It's remarkable how SD can take a matter on which moderate conservatives might agree (do we really need scholarships based on sexuality?) and take the argument to such an unjustified extreme that makes it immediately dismiss-able not just by Lefties, but by any sensible social conservative too.
Trump-ism of the day
Trump says he hopes Ivanka would quit if she got harassed: Kirsten Powers
Apparently, from a telephone interview with Trump:
Apparently, from a telephone interview with Trump:
What if someone had treated Ivanka in the way Ailes allegedly behaved?
His reply was startling, even by Trumpian standards. “I would like to think she would find another career or find another company if that was the case,” he said.
But most women don’t have the financial resources of Ivanka. They can’t afford to quit their job without another in hand, something that is impossible to do when you are under contract and forbidden to speak to competitors. Most importantly, why should a woman be expected to upend her career just because she ended up in the crosshairs of some harasser?
Hand cleaning considered
Health Check: should we be using alcohol-based hand sanitisers?
Here's something I didn't know about alcohol based hand cleaners:
Here's something I didn't know about alcohol based hand cleaners:
In a hospital setting, health-care workers use medicated soap and water
wash or alcohol-based hand rub to remove germs and kill pathogens.
Alcohol-based hand rub has the added bonus of providing an additional 20
minutes of residual action on the surface of the health workers’ hands
to keep pathogens from multiplying to a level that can cause infection
in vulnerable patients.
Monday, August 01, 2016
Milling about in the dark
Tokyo’s surreal and shadowy world of Pokemon Go after dark - The Washington Post
The photos aren't that special really; but yes, I can just imagine how incredibly popular this game will be there.
The photos aren't that special really; but yes, I can just imagine how incredibly popular this game will be there.
The Apollo astronaut I saw
Mike Collins Talks About Mars, and How to Handle Apollo Hoaxers | Daily Planet | Air & Space Magazine
I have mentioned here before, but I saw Michael Collins in the late 1970's in the bookshop of the Air & Space Museum, when he ran the place. (I thought it was the 1980's, but I was also there in either '78 or '79, and he was the director up to 1978, apparently.)
He's 85 now, and recently gave an interview (linked above) which has a few funny parts, including this:
I have mentioned here before, but I saw Michael Collins in the late 1970's in the bookshop of the Air & Space Museum, when he ran the place. (I thought it was the 1980's, but I was also there in either '78 or '79, and he was the director up to 1978, apparently.)
He's 85 now, and recently gave an interview (linked above) which has a few funny parts, including this:
Is there anything particular that provokes memories of the Apollo days?
Well, the moon kind of surprises me sometimes. I’ll be out at night and I’ll see a nice moon, and say, “Hey, that looks good.” Then I’ll say, “Oh shit, I went up there one time!” Kind of surprises me. It’s like there are two Moons, you know—the one that’s usually around, and then that one.
Trump and the Russians, continued
Trump: Don’t worry, Putin won’t go into Ukraine � Hot Air
When even Hot Air keeps noting how Trump is making a complete mess with his media appearances, you know he's in trouble...
When even Hot Air keeps noting how Trump is making a complete mess with his media appearances, you know he's in trouble...
Heh
Trump Sick And Tired Of Mainstream Media Always Trying To Put His Words Into Some Sort Of Context
It's a few days old now, from The Onion, but it's pretty funny.
It's a few days old now, from The Onion, but it's pretty funny.
Some skepticism called for
Computers will require more energy than the world generates by 2040 - ScienceAlert
Oh, and by the way:
YES, BAN THAT MILITARY GRADE FLASHLIGHT - IF THAT WILL STOP IT APPEARING AS AN ADVERTISEMENT EVERYWHERE I GO ON THE NET.
Oh, and by the way:
YES, BAN THAT MILITARY GRADE FLASHLIGHT - IF THAT WILL STOP IT APPEARING AS AN ADVERTISEMENT EVERYWHERE I GO ON THE NET.
Evolving interpretations of ancient sexuality
TLS Greek homosexuality
This (sort of) review of a re-published important book about Greek homosexuality takes a broader look at how its ideas were received, and it's pretty interesting. The author of the book - KJ Dover - also sounds like quite a strange character.
This (sort of) review of a re-published important book about Greek homosexuality takes a broader look at how its ideas were received, and it's pretty interesting. The author of the book - KJ Dover - also sounds like quite a strange character.
Getting mileage from your toilet
An interesting story has appeared at the LA Times about Japanese (and American) progress with hydrogen powered fuel cell cars. (The Japanese are using sewerage to make the gas.)
It sounds like there is more work going on with this technology than I realised.
It sounds like there is more work going on with this technology than I realised.
Trump's wrath with Khan (sorry...)
No doubt someone else has already made that pun somewhere, but never mind.
Everyone except the stupidest, and those who comment at Catallaxy (what a Venn diagram that would make) can see that Trump badly hurt himself with his inane comment on the Muslim parent's appearance at the DNC. I thought this Vox commentary really got to the heart of it:
Update: sorry monty, had you done the "wrath of Khan" reference already?
Everyone except the stupidest, and those who comment at Catallaxy (what a Venn diagram that would make) can see that Trump badly hurt himself with his inane comment on the Muslim parent's appearance at the DNC. I thought this Vox commentary really got to the heart of it:
The second thing, as Salam says at the end of his argument, is that Trump is easily baited. He couldn’t swallow his hurt and anger over the Khan’s speech, he had to lash out, to fight back, to smear them in response. This doesn’t make sense if you understand the goal of an election as getting elected, but it does make sense if you understand the goal of an election as playing out an endless series of dominance games.
This is a point TPM’s Josh Marshall has repeatedly made about Trump. A need for dominance, Marshall writes, "is the key to understanding virtually everything Trump does. Whatever is actually happening he tries to refashion it into a dominance ritual or at least will not engage before performing one. You saw that in those numerous examples where he said he would participate in a debate but only after the other party wrote a major check to charity. It's primal."
The Khans’ speech hurt Trump. He watched it. He read the coverage of it. He felt slighted, inferior, humiliated. And so he needed to rebalance the scales. He needed to regain his dominance. He seems confused that anyone faults him for this — isn’t it obvious that they attacked him, and so he should get to attack them back?
This is the logic of a schoolyard bully, which Trump is. But it’s a dangerous mindset for a president.
Putting Trump in the Oval Office would open a huge vulnerability in our national security. It’s much easier to bait Trump than it is to attack the United States. Our enemies’ aim is often to provoke us into overreacting and overcommitting abroad because they can’t hope to seriously hurt us here. With Trump in control of the armed forces, the path to manipulating us into that kind of overreaction would be clear.
By the way, monty, if you're reading. Could you pass on a message over at an open thread that this piece made me realise why CL has such sympathy towards Trump - he's psychologically the same in this key respect.
Update: sorry monty, had you done the "wrath of Khan" reference already?
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Meanwhile, in Siberia...
There's been an anthrax outbreak, with a possible global warming connection:
Russian army biological protection troops called in amid warnings 'utmost care' needed to stop deadly infection spreading.
The concern among experts is that global warming thawed a diseased animal carcass at least 75 years old, buried in the melting permafrost, so unleashing the disease.
A total of 40 people, the majority of them children, from nomadic herder families in northern Siberia are under observation in hospital amid fears they may have contracted the anthrax. Doctors stress that so far there are NO confirmed cases.
Up to 1,200 reindeer were killed either by anthrax or a heatwave in the Arctic district where the infection spread.
Specialists from the Chemical, Radioactive and Biological Protection Corps were rushed to regional capital Salekhard on a military Il-76 aircraft.
They were deployed by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to carry laboratory tests on the ground, detect and eliminate the focal point of the infection, and to dispose safely of dead animals.
The move confirmed the seriousness with which the authorities view the anthrax outbreak, the first in this region since 1941.
Nearly spring
I usually post some photos from the garden at this time of year; and the type of flower hasn't changed much recently. But some - like this daisy - even if you've seen similar before, I just like the strong contrast with the black behind it:
And this bee may not be perfectly lined up against a contrasting background, but you try taking photos of bees and see how often they stay still for a shot:
And there's always a scruffy dog to try to get to stay still, too:
And finally for now: nothing too spectacular, but nice enough:
And this bee may not be perfectly lined up against a contrasting background, but you try taking photos of bees and see how often they stay still for a shot:
And there's always a scruffy dog to try to get to stay still, too:
And finally for now: nothing too spectacular, but nice enough:
He really likes his soy sauce
Make sure you get to the last paragraph:
'Kioke': The secret ingredient of soy sauce | The Japan Times: Shodoshima, the largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, is not only covered in thousands of olive trees, it also holds half of Japan’s remaining wooden soy sauce barrels. Though the island has produced olive oil for about 115 years, soy sauce has been made here for centuries — and has weathered many changes.
After World War II, soy sauce makers across Japan were encouraged to modernize their 1,000-year-old tradition by fermenting in stainless steel tanks rather than kioke (wooden barrels). But Shodoshima’s residents — like many islanders — don’t always do what they’re told by mainlanders. They decided not to use stainless steel, and today there are still 20 soy sauce makers on Shodoshima who ferment the old-fashioned way. Yamaroku Shoyu is one of them.
“In the hot and muggy summer, the shōyu moromi (soy sauce mash) becomes active, making gurgling sounds as the fermentation accelerates,” says Yasuo Yamamoto, the fifth generation head of Yamaroku. “When I walk the planks between the wooden soy sauce barrels, the moromi in each barrel becomes noticeably more active, as if it is talking to me, telling me it is happy to be in my presence. We have a mutual love for each other.”
The submarine cyber hacking we don't hear much about
America uses stealthy submarines to hack other countries’ systems - The Washington Post
This is pretty fascinating:
This is pretty fascinating:
"There is a — an offensive capability that we are, that we prizevery highly," said Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, the U.S. Navy's program executive officer for submarines. "And this is where I really can't talk about much, but suffice to say we have submarines out there on the front lines that are very involved, at the highest technical level, doing exactly the kind of things that you would want them to do."
The so-called "silent service" has a long history of using information technology to gain an edge on America's rivals. In the 1970s, the U.S. government instructed its submarines to tap undersea communications cables off the Russian coast, recording the messages being relayed back and forth between Soviet forces. (The National Security Agency has continued that tradition, monitoring underwater fiber cables as part of its globe-spanning intelligence-gathering apparatus. In some cases, the government has struck closed-door deals with the cable operators ensuring that U.S. spies can gain secure access to the information traveling over those pipes.)
These days, some U.S. subs come equipped with sophisticated antennas that can be used to intercept and manipulate other people's communications traffic, particularly on weak or unencrypted networks.
"We've gone where our targets have gone" — that is to say, online, said Stewart Baker, the National Security Agency's former general counsel, in an interview. "Only the most security-conscious now are completely cut off from the Internet." Cyberattacks are also much easier to carry out than to defend against, he said.
One of America's premier hacker subs, the USS Annapolis, is hooked into a much wider U.S. spying net that was disclosed as part of the 2013 Edward Snowden leaks, according to Adam
Weinstein and William Arkin, writing last year for Gawker's intelligence and national security blog, Phase Zero. A leaked slide showed that in a typical week, the Navy performs hundreds of so-called "computer network exploitations," many of which are likely the result of submarine-based hacking.
"Annapolis and its sisters are the infiltrators of the new new of cyber warfare," wrote Arkin and Weinstein, "getting close to whatever enemy — inside their defensive zones — to jam and emit and spoof and hack. They do this through mast-mounted antennas and collection systems atop the conning tower, some of them one-of-a-kind devices made for hard to reach or specific targets, all of them black boxes of future war."
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Rousseau and Trump?
I was enjoying this essay in the New Yorker which argues that the origins of the anti-elitism of Trump supporters can be found in Rousseau (although I would have appreciated an explanation as to how - apart from stupidity - they can pin their hopes on a member of the pretty elite club known as "American billionaires"), when this paragraph came out of the blue:
Rousseau’s denunciations of intellectuals may have acquired an extra edge from the fact that Voltaire exposed him, in an anonymous pamphlet, as a hypocritical proponent of family values: someone who consigned all five of his children to a foundling hospital. Rousseau’s life manifested many such gaps between theory and practice, to put it mildly. A connoisseur of fine sentiments, he was prone to hide in dark alleyways and expose himself to women. More commonly, he was given to compulsive masturbation while sternly advising against it in his writings.This makes me want to re-read Paul Johnson's chapter about him in Intellectuals - where I am sure I would have read about his kids before, but don't know if it covered his, shall we say, sexual issues.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Book sales hard to believe
Speaking as I was about Pauline Andrew Bolt, once again I raise the mystery of why there has been such an effort by him, and the IPA, to promote and sell his book, especially when it was simply a collection of his already published columns from a newspaper and magazine. Why would you even expect that to sell well? All the words have been read by his fervent followers before: it's not as if there was any effort put into creating something with original content.
And some sites have been mocking its initial small sales, and say that it has been pushed onto newsagents who didn't actually order it.
TodayHanson Bolt is claiming that there are only "a few" left out of its initial print of 15,000 - and that it is being reprinted.
This seems a very surprising result for a political book (and surely it would count as that) with no fresh content. Sales of over 10,000 for any political book in Australia seem fairly rare - according to this list, there were three that sold over 10,000 last year, and one of those was only 12,000.
Given the previous articles about how slowly it initially sold, I strongly suspect something funny is going on here. Has the IPA (with staffer Bolt Jnr) snapped up a large number to send out for free if memberships are renewed? Did Gina Rinehart have a particularly large gap on her library shelves that she decided to fill up just to make it look like reads a lot? That's two possible theories that immediately spring to mind.
I await some commentary to appear on these implausible sounding sales figure to appear in the media soon.
And some sites have been mocking its initial small sales, and say that it has been pushed onto newsagents who didn't actually order it.
Today
This seems a very surprising result for a political book (and surely it would count as that) with no fresh content. Sales of over 10,000 for any political book in Australia seem fairly rare - according to this list, there were three that sold over 10,000 last year, and one of those was only 12,000.
Given the previous articles about how slowly it initially sold, I strongly suspect something funny is going on here. Has the IPA (with staffer Bolt Jnr) snapped up a large number to send out for free if memberships are renewed? Did Gina Rinehart have a particularly large gap on her library shelves that she decided to fill up just to make it look like reads a lot? That's two possible theories that immediately spring to mind.
I await some commentary to appear on these implausible sounding sales figure to appear in the media soon.
About political panel shows
Jack the Insider: Why I quit TV
Here's an amusingly written piece by Jack the Insider about what it's like to appear on TV political panel shows.
The only thing is - while I do think that in principle that it's a good thing that different party politicians sometimes remain on friendly terms despite opposing policies, I'm in a way disappointed that panellists on these shows routinely do likewise. The difference being that politicians are sometimes running positions that they feel they have to and may personally regret. TV commentators, though, argue for stupid, immoral or otherwise odious positions completely voluntarily. So they have less excuse, and overlooking their positions for the sake of a drink later seems a bit of a cop out.
Or am I saying that just because lately I'd like to throttle Andrew Bolt? OK, maybe just throw a sauvignon blanc at him.
Here's an amusingly written piece by Jack the Insider about what it's like to appear on TV political panel shows.
The only thing is - while I do think that in principle that it's a good thing that different party politicians sometimes remain on friendly terms despite opposing policies, I'm in a way disappointed that panellists on these shows routinely do likewise. The difference being that politicians are sometimes running positions that they feel they have to and may personally regret. TV commentators, though, argue for stupid, immoral or otherwise odious positions completely voluntarily. So they have less excuse, and overlooking their positions for the sake of a drink later seems a bit of a cop out.
Or am I saying that just because lately I'd like to throttle Andrew Bolt? OK, maybe just throw a sauvignon blanc at him.
Australian Trumpkin nutjob watch
You can guess which blog has this comment about Trump:
Yes, it’s uncanny – he’s right so often. Yet many here can’t see a real leader when they see one. Most comments on Trump matters here are about him being “the lesser of two evils” or “Klin Ton is worse”.
President Trump is a game changer, a paradigm shift, away from the degenerate Marxism that has infected the West.
Get real Cats&Kittehs – Trump is the only choice. If only we had someone in his image in this gay political backwater.
Don't export trouble
So, the government has been wondering whether to nominate Rudd as a candidate for UN Secretary General.
As a person who long picked Rudd as a dud before the rest of the nation caught up with the idea, I really cannot see why the government should hesitate in not nominating him. Honestly, a politician dumped from the top job by his own party for having a disastrous management style should have no reasonable expectation that his nation would nominate him for such a high profile job where management is a key issue. That he got a second run at the top job was out of sheer party desperation as to how to resolve internal conflict, and not due to any significant re-assessment of his talents.
Besides this, his actual performance when meeting world leaders when he was PM was embarrassing.
And furthermore, on recent media appearances, he has looked to me to be very pale and very puffy faced - and while I think Right wingers are often ridiculous and immature in honing in on odd personal appearance in a single photo, I genuinely got the impression that Rudd does not look very healthy (and we know he has had significant health problems in the past.) In all honesty, despite any temporary hurt to his ego, Turnbull would probably be doing him a long term favour by not nominating him...
Update: so Rudd doesn't get nominated, although it looks like Malcolm may have led him to believe he would be.
Big deal, Kevin: do you know how much the public will care about this - not one iota. So you may have wasted a year or two in flying around the world trying to schmooze the right people. Meh - you had a hobby, and now it's ended. Go do something full time for a charity, or learn to paint in watercolours, or anything: we really don't care. You're not short of a quid - but here's a suggestion: find a hobby that doesn't depend on people liking you.
I also endorse Jason Soon's tweet on this:
As a person who long picked Rudd as a dud before the rest of the nation caught up with the idea, I really cannot see why the government should hesitate in not nominating him. Honestly, a politician dumped from the top job by his own party for having a disastrous management style should have no reasonable expectation that his nation would nominate him for such a high profile job where management is a key issue. That he got a second run at the top job was out of sheer party desperation as to how to resolve internal conflict, and not due to any significant re-assessment of his talents.
Besides this, his actual performance when meeting world leaders when he was PM was embarrassing.
And furthermore, on recent media appearances, he has looked to me to be very pale and very puffy faced - and while I think Right wingers are often ridiculous and immature in honing in on odd personal appearance in a single photo, I genuinely got the impression that Rudd does not look very healthy (and we know he has had significant health problems in the past.) In all honesty, despite any temporary hurt to his ego, Turnbull would probably be doing him a long term favour by not nominating him...
Update: so Rudd doesn't get nominated, although it looks like Malcolm may have led him to believe he would be.
Big deal, Kevin: do you know how much the public will care about this - not one iota. So you may have wasted a year or two in flying around the world trying to schmooze the right people. Meh - you had a hobby, and now it's ended. Go do something full time for a charity, or learn to paint in watercolours, or anything: we really don't care. You're not short of a quid - but here's a suggestion: find a hobby that doesn't depend on people liking you.
I also endorse Jason Soon's tweet on this:
Rudd's response to not being supported is a perfect example of why he should not be supported.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
A good summary of what's happened with the conventions
Democrats have stolen the GOP's best rhetoric — and Republicans have noticed - Vox
It seems everyone, except Trumpkin nutters, can see that the Democrat convention got its mojo back (so to speak) on this third day of extremely well received speeches.
It seems everyone, except Trumpkin nutters, can see that the Democrat convention got its mojo back (so to speak) on this third day of extremely well received speeches.
Hey Trumpkins: If the country is a disaster, why is Obama quite popular?
Obama Approval: Can it Help Clinton? - ABC News: President Obama will address the Democratic convention tonight from an unusually strong position; for the last two months straight he’s held the highest job approval rating in ABC News/Washington Post polls since early in his presidency. Fifty-six percent approve of his job performance, up from a career-low 40 percent just in advance of the 2014 midterm elections.
Obama’s in a particularly enviable position in comparison with George W. Bush at this time in his presidency: His approval rating was a dismal 28 percent in July 2008, a year in which Bush was perceived as a drag on John McCain’s unsuccessful effort to succeed him.
Scott Adams and his precious bodily fluids
In "what is nutty not-so-crypto Trump lover Scott Adams saying about US politics now" news: he's worried that the DNC is having a bad effect on his hormones:
Update: I just happened to catch much of Obama's pretty sensational convention speech - although some American writers are saying Biden was even better. Can poor old Scott feel his hormones rising again, I wonder?
I watched singer Alicia Keys perform her song Superwoman at the convention and experienced a sinking feeling. I’m fairly certain my testosterone levels dropped as I watched, and that’s not even a little bit of an exaggeration. Science says men’s testosterone levels rise when they experience victory, and drop when they experience the opposite. I watched Keys tell the world that women are the answer to our problems. True or not, men were probably not feeling successful and victorious during her act.
Let me say this again, so you know I’m not kidding. Based on what I know about the human body, and the way our thoughts regulate our hormones, the Democratic National Convention is probably lowering testosterone levels all over the country. Literally, not figuratively. And since testosterone is a feel-good chemical for men, I think the Democratic convention is making men feel less happy. They might not know why they feel less happy, but they will start to associate the low feeling with whatever they are looking at when it happens, i.e. Clinton.
On the 2D playing field – where policies and facts matter – the Democratic National Convention is doing great. And when it comes to exciting women, it might be the best ever. But on an emotional level – where hormones rule – men have left the building…that they built.Is he still married? Being recently dumped by his wife would explain a lot...
Update: I just happened to catch much of Obama's pretty sensational convention speech - although some American writers are saying Biden was even better. Can poor old Scott feel his hormones rising again, I wonder?
Happy Stagflation Anniversary (and what it's an example of)
OK, so I am a day early: but tomorrow will be the 5 year anniversary of the Sinclair Davidson stagflation warning. I am reminded too that my lengthy post about this in 2013 attracted a comment from a Catallaxy reader (they're the only ones who address me this way) as follows:
Anyway, how's inflation going? It is very low. Now true, this might not be the best sign economically - but it is not "stagflation". (I presume that the economic doldrums that do not incorporate high inflation would still be claimed by Sinclair to be "the consequence of pursuing Keynesian economic policy" - because that's the beauty of being ideologically committed to a view against government spending - everything's the fault of Keynesian economic policy!)
Catallaxy also no longer features any posts by the Prof about the "pause" in the global temperature record - presumably because the long term temperature/modelling record now looks like this:
In fact, his series of posts about "the pause"; his stagflation warning (which seems to have been inspired by a very short term bump in CPI); his (more recent) attempts to decry tobacco plain packaging as a failure by analysing some post introduction short term data about tobacco consumption; and his blog's (though not his own) posts about the dire state of renewable energy because of a very high but very brief spike in South Australian electricity prices - all show up a clear pattern. Namely, a continual rush to make claims out of obviously limited short term data. But look at the longer term and the claims either have collapsed entirely, or look extremely wobbly.
Do the threadsters of Catallaxy appreciate this pattern? Of course not. Ideology and short term evidence trump long term results every day. (Oh yeah, and speaking of Trump - most of them are on board with him being better than Hilary. What a bunch of jokers.)
You can wait Stevie, perhaps stagflation will happen, or not. Certainly there is a recession around the corner.Not sure how long I have to wait to declare that prediction wrong too - how far away is "a corner" in economic terms?
Maybe this won't affect you, but there will be about 1.5 million people who will be effected.
Anyway, how's inflation going? It is very low. Now true, this might not be the best sign economically - but it is not "stagflation". (I presume that the economic doldrums that do not incorporate high inflation would still be claimed by Sinclair to be "the consequence of pursuing Keynesian economic policy" - because that's the beauty of being ideologically committed to a view against government spending - everything's the fault of Keynesian economic policy!)
Catallaxy also no longer features any posts by the Prof about the "pause" in the global temperature record - presumably because the long term temperature/modelling record now looks like this:
In fact, his series of posts about "the pause"; his stagflation warning (which seems to have been inspired by a very short term bump in CPI); his (more recent) attempts to decry tobacco plain packaging as a failure by analysing some post introduction short term data about tobacco consumption; and his blog's (though not his own) posts about the dire state of renewable energy because of a very high but very brief spike in South Australian electricity prices - all show up a clear pattern. Namely, a continual rush to make claims out of obviously limited short term data. But look at the longer term and the claims either have collapsed entirely, or look extremely wobbly.
Do the threadsters of Catallaxy appreciate this pattern? Of course not. Ideology and short term evidence trump long term results every day. (Oh yeah, and speaking of Trump - most of them are on board with him being better than Hilary. What a bunch of jokers.)
Is he still the GOP candidate?
Trump’s news conference was chock-full of outrages and lies - The Washington Post
Must be near full blown panic amongst establishment Republicans about how they can't stop Trump giving disastrous press conferences like that one.
Must be near full blown panic amongst establishment Republicans about how they can't stop Trump giving disastrous press conferences like that one.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Reasonable advice from a playwright I don't care for
David Williamson's advice to playwrights - write like a TV writer | Daily Review: Film, stage and music reviews, interviews and more.
I don't know that I have ever seen anything by David Williamson that I've really liked. Yet, oddly enough, his comments in the talk at the link about the issues he sees confronting Australian theatre seem all pretty sensible to me.
The vague appeal to me of trying to write a play is that there are not that many words involved, compared to writing a novel, or movie script. The difficulty of my doing so is that I freeze up with the thought that I don't really know how people talk when I'm not there. (Actually, that stops novel writing stone cold, too.) Does that make sense?
I don't know that I have ever seen anything by David Williamson that I've really liked. Yet, oddly enough, his comments in the talk at the link about the issues he sees confronting Australian theatre seem all pretty sensible to me.
The vague appeal to me of trying to write a play is that there are not that many words involved, compared to writing a novel, or movie script. The difficulty of my doing so is that I freeze up with the thought that I don't really know how people talk when I'm not there. (Actually, that stops novel writing stone cold, too.) Does that make sense?
More on stupid Julian
At WAPO, an article about Assange's deliberately timed attack on Clinton includes this part:
The second was to do with her being a "liberal war hawk": in this respect, Assange would prefer to have someone who is "completely unpredictable", and who contradictorily promotes himself as a new strongman who will "smash" ISIS (in contrast to the "weak" Obama), while at the same time suggesting that the US should stay out of the Middle East (and, by the way, hints that some NATO countries may not get protection they were expecting, either.)
Assange is a twit.
In the interview, Mr. Assange told a British television host, Robert Peston of the ITV network, that his organization had obtained “emails related to Hillary Clinton which are pending publication,” which he pronounced “great.” He also suggested that he not only opposed her candidacy on policy grounds, but also saw her as a personal foe.
At one point, Mr. Peston said: “Plainly, what you are saying, what you are publishing, hurts Hillary Clinton. Would you prefer Trump to be president?”
The first was to do with "freedom of the press" (because she wants Assange indicted): yes I can just imagine Donald Trump being much more conciliatory towards those who partake in security leaks.Mr. Assange replied that what Mr. Trump would do as president was “completely unpredictable.” By contrast, he thought it was predictable that Mrs. Clinton would wield power in two ways he found problematic.
The second was to do with her being a "liberal war hawk": in this respect, Assange would prefer to have someone who is "completely unpredictable", and who contradictorily promotes himself as a new strongman who will "smash" ISIS (in contrast to the "weak" Obama), while at the same time suggesting that the US should stay out of the Middle East (and, by the way, hints that some NATO countries may not get protection they were expecting, either.)
Assange is a twit.
In Trump We Trust 2
Trump Time Capsule #57: Russia, and Taxes - The Atlantic
James Fallows argues that the media has been way, way too soft on the matter of Trump refusing to release his tax returns, especially in light of suspicion that Russians were involved in the Wikileaks hack. (Assuming it was a hack, I suppose - I had first assumed it was probably a leak by Sander's sympathisers. But no, it does seem to have been an outside hack into the system.)
James Fallows argues that the media has been way, way too soft on the matter of Trump refusing to release his tax returns, especially in light of suspicion that Russians were involved in the Wikileaks hack. (Assuming it was a hack, I suppose - I had first assumed it was probably a leak by Sander's sympathisers. But no, it does seem to have been an outside hack into the system.)
Product placement
Amidst the general news of death and mayhem in the world, let's pause to appreciate something relatively simple.
[I have a strong sensation of acting like one of those TV ads that purport to give information about a product when it's actually just an ad (what is that series in Australia with the terrible intro music? - can't remember) but here goes.]
My family and I are very impressed with the Zoosh range of salad dressings, and in particular, their aioli:
We're also enjoying the South East Asian salad dressing at the moment
Trust me, they're distinctively good.
Owners of Zoosh company - please send me money!
[I have a strong sensation of acting like one of those TV ads that purport to give information about a product when it's actually just an ad (what is that series in Australia with the terrible intro music? - can't remember) but here goes.]
My family and I are very impressed with the Zoosh range of salad dressings, and in particular, their aioli:
Owners of Zoosh company - please send me money!
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Mind control
Why did Iran destroy 100,000 satellite dishes? - CSMonitor.com
Some surprising information here about the Iranian government's determination to control television content.
Some surprising information here about the Iranian government's determination to control television content.
Transplant gamble
‘I Can Do Absolutely Nothing.’ The First American With a Double Hand Transplant Wants Them Removed | TIME
Whether a hand transplant will give you a usable hand seems a very big gamble:
Whether a hand transplant will give you a usable hand seems a very big gamble:
The surgeon who led the transplant in 2009, Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, is currently at Johns Hopkins where he’s preparing to perform penis transplants for American veterans. Lee says the need for removal is uncommon and has occurred in six out of 100 similar transplants in the U.S. and Europe.I suspect medical science is better off pursuing robot hands.
“Mr. Kepner’s transplanted hands do not function as well as those of other hand transplant recipients,” said Lee in an email to TIME. “Our team has performed bilateral hand/arm
transplants in four patients to date, including Mr. Kepner. The other three patients have had significant functional return in their hands and have been able to resume completely independent living, including driving, working, and going to school.”
“Complex surgery such as hand transplant do not produce uniform results in everyone,” Lee adds, “but we have been encouraged by the functional return in the great majority
of our recipients whose lives have been transformed by the procedure.”
Putting a face to the voice
'Ghost' Soprano Marni Nixon, Who Voiced Blockbuster Musicals, Dies At 86 : The Two-Way : NPR
I've probably seen her face before, but I don't recall it.
Well, actually, I definitely had, just that I didn't know it:
I've probably seen her face before, but I don't recall it.
Well, actually, I definitely had, just that I didn't know it:
After My Fair Lady was released in 1964, Nixon appeared onscreen in only one movie — The Sound of Music — as Sister Sophia, one of the nuns who sing "How Do You Solve a
Problem like Maria?" The film's star — Julie Andrews — didn't need any help in the singing department.
Yet more "Don't Panic" from yours truly
Trump versus Clinton polls: why the next 2 weeks of them will be basically meaningless - Vox
Interesting, though, that Julian Assange is on a revenge mission over Clinton.
Does he really expect that he, America, and the world, would do better under Trump? Prone to fantasy, that boy.
Interesting, though, that Julian Assange is on a revenge mission over Clinton.
Does he really expect that he, America, and the world, would do better under Trump? Prone to fantasy, that boy.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Trump update
I am rather surprised that some on the Left are running around like headless chickens worrying that Trump's acceptance speech was evil but effective. I'm not the first to notice, but the giant, angry, head of Trump put me more in mind of this, rather than anything else:
and the dark tone is surely recognized by a very large slab of Americans as an exaggeration, and a cynical one at that.
The Democrat email leaks don't even have me particularly worried - internal party politics can be very dirty, so why should anyone be surprised? And Clinton has chosen a respected Democrat politician who speaks Spanish, and is Catholic but respects Roe v Wade - ticking quite a few boxes there for voter turnout. (Speaking of Catholics - surely there are few Catholic bishops in the States comfortable with the idea of a Trump Presidency?)
I remain entirely confident that Trump will not become President.
and the dark tone is surely recognized by a very large slab of Americans as an exaggeration, and a cynical one at that.
The Democrat email leaks don't even have me particularly worried - internal party politics can be very dirty, so why should anyone be surprised? And Clinton has chosen a respected Democrat politician who speaks Spanish, and is Catholic but respects Roe v Wade - ticking quite a few boxes there for voter turnout. (Speaking of Catholics - surely there are few Catholic bishops in the States comfortable with the idea of a Trump Presidency?)
I remain entirely confident that Trump will not become President.
Shell shock via rabbit
Rabbit Death at Manassas - Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog
A mostly amusing story involving a rabbit, which despite the title, does not die.
A mostly amusing story involving a rabbit, which despite the title, does not die.
How toys evolve
The History of Dollhouses - The Atlantic:
In the beginning, dollhouses had only two purposes: display and pedagogy. First built in the 17th century in northern Europe, primarily in Germany, Holland, and England, dollhouses were designed for adults. They were closely associated with wealth and served as markers of social class and status. As Faith Eaton explains in The Ultimate Dolls House Book, the German word dockenhaus meant not dollhouse but “miniature house.” And a miniature house was not a house to play with. In Holland, these exhibits of wealth were called “cabinet houses.” The front of the house opens like a china cabinet on hinges that can be closed and locked. Inside cabinet houses, people could both show off and conceal their collections of expensive miniature objects.
Beginning in the 17th century, “Nuremberg kitchens” might contain a hearth, cooking pots, a straw broom. These all-metal houses were designed without ornament, for purely utilitarian purposes. Used as teaching tools for girls, Nuremberg kitchens allowed mothers to show daughters how to set up and control a house. All about learning rules, a Nuremberg kitchen was the opposite of a dollhouse as a dream world of fantasy. It was a place where girls learned to manage not only the objects of the house but also its servants, where girls would learn to become the lady of the house.
By 18th-century England, the “Baby House” emerged. The Baby House was an exact copy of the owner’s home, a replica designed to showcase the owner’s wealth—a small, “baby” version of a real-life house. Unlike the Dutch Cabinet House, which might have miniature furniture but tended to be full of expensive or rare objects, the Baby House was full of
furniture in tiny versions of the owner’s rooms.
Changing definitions of childhood in the beginning of the 19th century shifted ideas about play. But it took the industrial revolution and the increase in mass-produced objects to make dollhouses and miniatures begin to be construed as toys. And it took until after World War II, when the U.S. stopped importing goods from Europe, for dollhouses to become mass-produced and affordable. Miniatures began to take on a second, different life.
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