The Thursday Thrill

Where do YOU get your kicks?

It’s a post card, Jules…

Bullet Points:

** I’ll admit that I like the idea of drafting Leftists into the military. Despite concerns that they’d have no value in some quarters, I disagree. The Navy desperately needs rust chippers for its ships, and Army infantrymen can be issued a Leftist to carry cargo and clear land mines—no sense risking a valuable robot.

** Housekeeping: The blogging will be spotty between travel and work demands for the next few weeks. Please don’t read anything into it other than what it is. I’m trying to balance the need to travel for work and a little fun with the holiday season, which is upon us. Explaining to demanding clients that it’s useless to do almost everything between December 10 and January 10 can be challenging when dealing with Asia. Though now that Pres. Xi canceled Asian New Year (Tet), there will be no fun or Day of the Dead for them.

** Self-Deportation? Yes – winter is coming. The Chicago Tribune reported three days ago, “Migrant family journeys back to Venezuela, more leaving Chicago as winter looms: ‘The American Dream doesn’t exist anymore.’”

The story said, “Migrants said they’re realizing the city is at a breaking point. Not only is there no more space in shelters, they also acknowledge that some residents in Chicago oppose the opening of more shelters for them. Michael Castejon said that despite the dangerous trek to get here — often begging for money and sleeping in the streets to cross several borders — the journey had not been worth it.”

Winter is coming. Read more from Don Surber here. It’s a good article.

** I think art, film, and music, for the most part, have “jumped the shark” regarding anything new under the sun. More artifice than we originality with Photoshop, CGI, and Autotune. “Pushing the limits” in the arts for the sake of progress results in regressive, infantile works that include graphic violence, discordant noise, pornography, and literal trash. To present a portrait of a filthy landfill or cattle slaughterhouse to a gullible public and call it art. To achieve nerve-numbing shock and reflexive disgust to disguise lack of talent. Essays, books, and news can now be published by AI, hijacking story themes from other classic works to pluck upon our senses and emotions like Palov’s dogs.

** A Postcard from the Edge…via Jules.

** As California Governor (and Saurian) Gavin Newsom gushes over California’s deep and abiding friendship with Red China…CNN (the Communist New Network) outs them here.

The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found.

The onslaught of attacks – often of a vile and deeply personal nature – is part of a well-organized, increasingly brazen Chinese government intimidation campaign targeting people in the United States, documents show.

** 1271 was a busy year. But it was quiet in Gaza…unlike this year.

** Many don’t realize that Napoleon reduced the size of his invasion force to accommodate the transportation of scholars and engineers. He did this specifically to excavate the areas surrounding the Pyramids. Several of these digs produced remarkable discoveries, none as exciting as the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked the ancient Egyptian language. Remember that when you hear stories about artillery target practice on the Pyramids or damage done to the Great Sphinx of Giza…… “history is a set of lies agreed upon.” – N. Bonaparte

** To clear up a common misconception about comets, they do not leave a “tail” behind them as they travel. In the vacuum of space, there is no atmospheric drag. When astronauts conduct a spacewalk, their ship does not zoom ahead and leave them behind. Solar radiation from a nearby star sublimates (defrosts) the comet’s frozen surface, and those sublimating particles are pushed in the same direction as the solar radiation. The direction of the tail is entirely independent of the comet’s trajectory.

** From Sabo: “Google’s pervasive surveillance tracks us more than Facebook does. If you think Facebook is bad, Google is far worse. It tracks you everywhere. Everything you’re doing. On your Android phone. On your computer. In your car when you’re using Waze. In your home. Your children. Google even tracks the barometric pressure so it knows what floor you’re on. All your movements. These small pieces of data create patterns of your personality and behavior, which Google sells to advertisers and others who target you.”