Predictions:
- Covid continues to mutate forever, and we never actually get it under control.
- Vaccines only work on a few strains, so even if we vax'd up 100%, it would keep mutating forever.
- Lockdowns will continue until late 2022.
- People will be wearing masks for the next 6-10 years.
Prove me wrong, America!
"In Talley v. California (1960) the Court struck down a Los Angeles city ordinance that made it a crime to distribute anonymous pamphlets. Justice Hugo Black wrote in the majority opinion: "There can be no doubt that such an identification requirement would tend to restrict freedom to distribute information and thereby freedom of expression. ... Anonymous pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and even books have played an important role in the progress of mankind.""
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Anonymous_speech
The waiting is the hardest part.
Failure is important. Learning and growth comes from going for an ambitious effort, failing, and having to put the pieces back together – and move on to the next thing.
"In 2019, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation making Washington the first state to approve composting as an alternative to burying or cremating human remains. Advocates say composting is a greener alternative to cremation because it uses less energy. It’s also the only legal way for Washingtonians to be laid to rest on their own property, albeit in the form of mulch."
Of course he did.
https://www.kron4.com/news/national/humans-now-being-legally-composted-in-washington/
SOYLENT GREEN IS MADE OF PEEEEEOPLE
"Humans now being legally composted in Washington
NATIONAL
Three facilities are currently licensed to perform natural organic reduction"
https://www.kron4.com/news/national/humans-now-being-legally-composted-in-washington/
The internet was shut down in Uganda the other day:
https://blog.cloudflare.com/uganda-january-13-2021-internet-shut-down/
"Some 250 self-described “publishing professionals”—mostly junior employees of major houses—have issued a statement titled “No Book Deals for Traitors,” a category in which they include any “participant” in the Trump administration."
Reading the WSJ so you don't have to. If you can afford it, I recommend a subscription. The opinion section alone is worth it.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/blacklists-are-the-rage-in-publishing-11610981201?mod=hp_opin_pos_1
Heterodox opinion warning!
Is neoliberal globalization... working as planned? In 1980, Reagan ran with the promise of a "free trade zone." NAFTA began its existence in 1988, and was finally ratified in 1993. USMCA is more or less the same as NAFTA. One justification for a NAFTA-like trade bloc was to ensure peace by making north American nations too dependent on one another to risk conflict. A similar argument can be made for China's entry into the WTO.
So... is it working? We're not at war!
Stay away from the capitol today in Austin. Unless you want to go march around with guns, I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life.
Seems like a pretty good theory about who the Qanon authors are. Spoiler: it’s the guys who run 8chan.
Still can’t believe the degree to which my social connections have totally dropped me. It feels like 90% of the people I knew a year ago have all died.
Cypherpunk 2021
boosted
Consider the role of violence in our society.
Don't want to pay your taxes? You'll be charged with a crime. Ignore the charges, and you'll be thrown in federal prison.
Underlying ALL power is a threat of violence.
And yet there is a power greater than all societal power: YOUR power!
Each moment, we have the power to choose how we will live our lives. This is the promise of Stoicism, a philosophy evolved in ancient Rome, but still alive today among modern practitioners.
I have to admit a bit of schadenfreude as the rest of the world starts to realize the 'big tech' menace is real. I've been paranoid about my online data for years. I started purging my online identities back in 2015 or so.
I've scrubbed it to the point where you can't even find a photo of me online EXCEPT a photo on LinkedIn that I more or less need to get work. But this is only available if you've logged in and connected with me.
I'm in the process now of pulling out of cloud backups.
This was my dream machine back when I was 19 years old. I imagined being a real grownup with one of these on my desk at work. :D
Can you honestly say if Trump had won, there would have been no protests, violence, or mayhem in the streets?
The idiots on the left have a lot in common with the idiots on the right.
Humans are animals. Animals. We are bands of angry, fearful, tribal apes with swollen cerebral cortexes grafted onto our big dumb bodies.
OF COURSE we're going to be angry, vengeful, and stupid most of the time.
However, we have also discovered our rational capacity and ability to create great works of culture and art, as evidenced by everything we see around us. These are the highest aspirations of mankind! When you think, create, and work, you are helping to keep civilization afloat.
Sometimes it's hard to not hate humanity. A lot of hostility and unreasonableness in these times. But I like to think back on a few relevant passages (as interpreted by me, not citations):
Marcus Aurelius: Tell yourself every morning -- the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and mean.
Nietzsche: Man is a bridge between animal and what lies beyond man. Each day our striving is to reach for that higher ideal. (We may not succeed!)
The almost total social isolation and hostility from 90% of my contacts over the last year has made me want to just sink into a more meaningful and difficult job. Sort of like joining the army.
My job this past year was just something I took to keep paying the rent. I got in right before the pandemic. It's been rough -- company is not doing great.
Prior to that I was unemployed after being laid off. Company before that was sold off to an awful private equity firm.
I am ready for a GREAT job!
- Location
- Texas
- Website
Joined Jun 2020
