COF 093 - dfs-archiver/dfs-archive GitHub Wiki
Cranky Old Man #93
a frothy mix of leftovers and links
♦ ♦ ♦
Unlike anything astronomers have seen before
"This object was appearing and disappearing over a few hours during our observations," she said. "That was completely unexpected. It was kind of spooky for an astronomer because there’s nothing known in the sky that does that."
At a deadly pace, it came from outer space...
♦ ♦ ♦
Today’s cars are dumb where they should be smart, and smart where they should be dumb. Enough already. Make a car that’s pretty much all dumb and watch it sell — because what automakers are giving people is so bad, they’ll pay more to have less of it.
My car is from an earlier, low-tech era, but I've ridden inside those newfangled vehicles. Too much tech, too many touchscreens and distractions. Too much!
♦ ♦ ♦
♦ ♦ ♦
What turned Smedley Butler into a critic of American foreign policy?
Most folks have never heard of him, but Smedley Butler is one of my favorite under-remembered dudes from history. He was a high-ranking mega-Marine who retired and reflected on what his career had been about, and wrote a thin but thoughtful book called War is a Racket.
♦ ♦ ♦
War surplus from WW2 was low-ball estimated at $25-billion, and in the 1940s $25-billion was a lot of money. It's mostly a photo-essay, but — wow.
♦ ♦ ♦
Like most Americans, my brother is on Facebook, and he's mentioned that it has a timeline 'feature', showing you pictures you posted one, two, five or ten years ago. It's marketing, of course — it keeps you 'engaged' on the site, drowning in their ads for a few minutes longer. I would hate that feature myself, but I hate everything about Facebook so my opinion's moot.
I'm guessing that what happened here is, an image popped up on my brother's Facebook timeline, showing me and my wife laughing, while we were having dinner with him & his wife, many years ago. I'll further guess that my brother thought the photo was charming, which is why he emailed the picture to me. So far, so good.
His subject line said, "Remember this?" I opened it, and it's that picture of me and my dead Mrs. There's nothing else in the email.
Yes, I do remember this. She was my wife. She died 3½ years ago. I no longer burst into tears at random moments all day long, but I'm still completely lost in her absence, and a picture of her with no warning, no note, hit me like a torpedo and sank the rest of my afternoon.
Pretty sure I would've been fine if the subject line had been "Found a photo of you and Stephanie." Probably I'd've been fine if a note inside said that. But sending only "Remember this?" and the photo?
Ouch. Possibly I'm oversensitive...
♦ ♦ ♦
Going undercover inside MAGA just for fun!
This is a long read, but also a hell of a story. I couldn't do any of it — when I'm disgusted you can see it on my face, hear it in my voice.
♦ ♦ ♦
California county recalls top official, giving militia-aligned group a path to government
Carlos Zapata, a local militia member who helped organize the recall efforts, in 2020 told the board there could be blood in the streets if the supervisors didn’t reject state health rules such as mask requirements.
"This is a warning for what’s coming. It’s not going to be peaceful much longer. It’s going to be real … I’ve been in combat and I never wanted to go back again, but I’m telling you what – I will to stay in this country. If it has to be against our own citizens, it will happen. And there’s a million people like me, and you won’t stop us," he said.
And what's got these folks so furious is mostly… being required to wear a mask in public during a pandemic?
♦ ♦ ♦
Republican Party declares Jan. 6 attack "legitimate political discourse"
What goes on inside the heads of these people, I do not understand — but I do understand what fuels it: Fox News, et al.
I don't want to live in the country they want America to be.
♦ ♦ ♦
Furries are leading the war against a book-banning Mississippi mayor
♦ ♦ ♦
These anarchist-designed DIY heaters are saving homeless people's lives
I like the sentiment, but gotta say: Every homeless person should always have no-cost housing available if they want it.
♦ ♦ ♦
Canadian doctors can now prescribe national park pass to patients who need 'nature time'
I like the sentiment, but gotta say: Admission to public parks should always be free, for everyone.
♦ ♦ ♦
An old photo of a very large BBS
♦ ♦ ♦
NYPD honors whistleblower Frank Serpico — 50 years late
This is perfectly in keeping with the police mindset — they honor Serpico fifty years later… by mailing a certificate. The man doesn't even get a handshake.
♦ ♦ ♦
When Gertrude Stein refused to take William James’s philosophy final (and still got an A).
♦ ♦ ♦
The 50 greatest breakthroughs since the wheel
I've skipped the boring article, and linked directly to the list.
♦ ♦ ♦
♦ ♦ ♦
Over 70 episodes of Joe Rogan Experience were quietly removed from Spotify on Friday
... the episodes removed include interviews with Amy Schumer, Marc Maron, Bill Burr, Andy Dick, Tool frontman Maynard J. Keenan and Iliza Shlesinger.
It’s unclear why the episodes in question were pulled, and representatives for Rogan and Spotify did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s requests for comments. However, eagle-eyed fans of the controversial podcast on Reddit observed that many of the deleted episodes contained racial slurs, ableist language and other content that could be deemed insensitive…
Spotify wants to polish Rogan, so he appears more like a sane person who 'just has questions' about COVID-19?
♦ ♦ ♦
One-word newscast:
• cops
• cops
Dead:
♦ ♦ ♦
Mystery links — Like life itself, there’s no knowing where you’re going:
♫♬ Sing along with Doug ♫
"Chances" — Athlete
2/5/2022
Tip 'o the hat:
All Hat No Cattle • Linden Arden
BoingBoing • Captain Hampockets
CaptCreate's Log • Follow Me Here
John the Basket • LiarTownUSA •
National Zero • Ran Prieur
Voenix Rising
Extra special thanks:
Becky Jo • Name Withheld • Dave S.
and always, Stephanie
Cranky Old Man