gregladen | July 3, 2017Here is that famous documentary on the Koch Brothers. I'll just put it here for you to watch and comment on.
gregladen | July 3, 2017This is disturbing, but since civilization is ending as we speak, I suppose it is not surprising. From the Washington Post:
Any resident in Florida can now challenge what kids learn in public schools, thanks to a new law that science education advocates worry will make it harder to teach evolution and climate change.
The legislation, which was signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) this week and goes into effect Saturday, requires school boards to hire an “unbiased hearing officer” who will handle complaints about instructional materials, such as movies, textbooks and novels, that are used in local…
gregladen | July 3, 2017My father in law is an excellent amateur mixologist. I don't drink alcohol very often, but we're all up at the cabins, so last night I had a paper plane. And I believe this is what led to a night of strange and extensive dreams, and in my dreams was my recently deceased PhD adviser, Irv DeVore. (Irv was not dead in the dream.) DeVore is famous for having initiated, with Richard Lee, the first scientific study of extant living foragers, and they worked with the Ju/'Honasi of Botswana/Namibia/South Africa.
So, it was strange to have the lingering dream on my mind as I opened the latest…
gregladen | July 2, 2017I got an Amazon Echo Dot for my birthday. This allows me to command a computer, using voice, to do things. The voice response on the echo is amazing. It does not get much wrong, and you can speak in a fairly normal voice from another room and the mysterious entity that apparently lives inside the Echo (known to me as Alexa) will hear you.
There is an Amazon Echo and the alternative, Echo Dot. The price difference is very large, and the differences are fairly small. The regular Echo is tall and has high quality speakers, the dot is short and has OK speakers. If you have nice speakers that…
gregladen | July 2, 2017I'm avoiding books that are recent so you can get a deal on price, and to bring books from the past that you didn't read but should have back into focus. Each of these, I've either read (most of them) or have a recommendation from top notch sources. You should be able to finish then all by the end of summer, easily, and you can report back. Meanwhile, if you have other suggestions, let me know and I'll periodically add them to the main post unless I think they are bogus.
Happy reading!
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every…
gregladen | July 1, 2017Since reading this book, and listening to certain episodes of this podcast, I've been thinking about addiction now and then. Today, this came across my desk:
I've not read the original article, but it certainly looks interesting.
On the other hand it also brings up several difficult questions. Which, I'm sure, you immediately see.
gregladen | July 1, 2017I've made the point several times now. We live in a constitutional democracy, but many of the first line (and last line) protections are not enforceable laws, but rather, agreements made among people who all want to live in and respect a constitutional democracy.
But if a large enough cadre of members of Congress, a gaggle of highly placed judges, or a President decide to act in a way that conflicts with those conventions, they can actually get away with quite a bit.
The US Congress is run by such a cadre, pretending to engage in a democracy but willing to break the non-enforceable laws…
gregladen | June 29, 2017Were you thinking that the Republicans in Congress want to get to the bottom of the Russians stealing our election? That was never true, you were always wrong, it is time to stop pretending.
The document below can be found in PDF form here.
Here is Rachel Maddow's take on it:
This is what dictators have their minions do.
gregladen | June 29, 2017MSNBC has added Bret Stephens, climate denier formerly of the WSJ, lately of the NYT, to their list of commenters. Shame on them.
Also, shame on Wikipedia and others for referring to Stephens as a journalist. He is no more a journalist than Anne Coulter. He is a commenter. (He's way better than Coulter, of course.)
Prior related posts:
Out of the gate, Bret Stephens punches the hippies, says dumb things
Honestly, New York Times? You are entitled to publish all the opinions, but not to endorse your own facts!
My letter to the New York Times
Dear New York Times: Climate Change Is Real
The…
gregladen | June 29, 2017Trump is reportedly pressuring public news media and other outlets to not distribute information about Obamacare, as they normally would, in an effort to sabotage the n-Law. This is what dictators do.
Trump's people in the "press" room have bullied the press to the point that they are finally starting to lash out. This is what dictators do.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/879783260137504768?ref_src=twsr…
Trump has attacked another female journalist, this time Mika Brzezinski, with another enigmatic blood coming out of her body parts comment.
This is what dictators do.
https://…
gregladen | June 29, 2017This is from Parents magazine:
When you talk about “preexisting conditions,” you probably think of things like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. But the reality is that healthcare companies consider a whole slew of common health concerns preexisting conditions. Odds are, if you’re a mom, you probably already have one of them. And now that the American Healthcare Act passed the House of Representatives today—if it becomes law, your health insurer could charge you thousands more for your coverage or reduce your insurance coverage because of these "preexisting conditions."
"Things that are…
gregladen | June 29, 2017Two items I know you'll want to check out.
The ‘intellectual’ debate Rick Perry says he wants is already over
Last week, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told CNBC he considers his skepticism towards climate data to be a sign of a “wise, intellectually engaged person.” Yesterday, at a press briefing at the White House – it’s apparently supposed to be “Energy Week” – Perry used similar phrasing, calling for “an intellectual conversation” on global warming.
Four myths journalists should watch out for during Trump’s “Energy Week”
The White House has declared this to be "Energy Week" and is pushing…
gregladen | June 28, 2017The press has had enough of being called liars by the liars. I'm not a big fan of MJ, but the very fact that MJ has quotable conversation about this is a change in how the world works.
Here's another thing dictators do: Make up accolades. Trump created a fake TIME magazine cover and hung it in several of his golf clubs. It has him on the cover. That issue of TIME never happened. It is not just fake news, it is an entire fake news magazine. Details here.
Here it is. Interesting set of headlines:
gregladen | June 27, 2017There is no free lunch, but you can watch a normally unfree documentary for free on the usual streaming networks for a little while.
Click here to get to the NGS site
From Hollywood Reporter:
Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, says, “Coal affects our lives and planet in important ways, but people often take positions on it without seeing the full picture. So this week, National Geographic is making From the Ashes available for free on a number of platforms. We encourage family and friends to watch the film and join the CrowdRise campaign to support organizations that are…
gregladen | June 27, 2017These books are one or two books in kindle form right now, get 'em while they're still cheap:
Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World
Blind Ambition: The White House Years
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 6
gregladen | June 27, 2017The benefits of vaccines far outweigh the minuscule risks, but some parents still question their safety. John Oliver discusses why some people may still feel uncertainty about childhood vaccinations.
gregladen | June 25, 2017Today is the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Harry Potter phenomenon.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published on this day in 1997, and Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) were produced with regularity afterwards, eventually in some degree of step with the movies.
Author J. K. Rowling was to produce a number of Harry Potter related things later, but…
gregladen | June 23, 2017I know some of you cheapskates will want to pick up these books ... well, not really pick them up, but rather, instantiate them on your eReader. These are all 2 bucks or less for the Kindle version, at the moment, price presumably subject to change at any moment.
How the mind might or might not work
This is a collection of writings by various experts on how the mind works. They are not all right, but they are all intertesting. Includes Pinker, Lakoff, etc. Personally, I think there is a bit of a bias in the listing of authors towards a certain school of thought that I don't personally…
gregladen | June 23, 2017... or do the sheep lie?!?!?
Anyway, I need the brilliant and well informed people who read this blog to have a gander at this college transcript and interpret it. Place your comments below.
gregladen | June 19, 2017UPDATE (Aug 30th)
Irma is a new named storm in the Eastern Atlantic. See this post for details, eventually.
UPDATE (Aug 29th)
There is a system currently raining on Cabo Verde, off the West Coast of Africa (nee Cape Verde) that is expected to develop. It is on the verge of becoming a tropical depression. The National Hurricane Center has estimated that there is a high probability of this stormy feature becoming a tropical storm in a couple of days or so. If it gets a name, it will be Irma, unless some other large rotating wet object takes that name first.
UPDATE (Aug 29th)
How is the…