Seven

Can see the end of the road on this stretch now.

No prompt for today, however. I hadn’t put on in, so I’m just going to go with whatever’s on my mind.

  1. Incredibly excited about seeing Robbie “The Fire” Bernstein, Dave Smith, and Chris from BKLYN in DC tomorrow night. Chris’s addition was unexpected; heard it listening to Dave and Robbie on “Part of the Problem” earlier in the week. Even when I was young and healthy, I rarely got excited about much. I am very excited about this one. I’m taking part of the day off on Monday to give me some time to recover.
  2. Similar to the first point, I’m excited to go to NYC to see the Soho Forum Debate in October. There was quite a bit of discussion this week about the app. This morning, I’ve been researching the very-fascist Key To NYC passport for the vaccine. The mayor was pretty emphatic that there’s no location tracking, etc.. I went over and have looked at some of the technical details. I’m a little more comfortable with it, but I’m still not going to install it on my personal phone. I’m still looking hard at buying a “burner” phone, Baltimore-style, for the trip. Just get things as far away from prying eyes as possible. But when I’m there, with the exception of the debate, itself, where they said that the venue is forcing it, if I’m asked to show my papers, I will politely wish a nice day, and leave. No, I’m not showing you anything to buy your products. Sorry. And that’s something where the restaurants just choose not to participate, they can have my business. If all of them take a similar tack, they’ll immediately hurt their waitstaff. If you’re intentionally narrowing your clientele, that’s something your waitstaff should know. Following that, you hurt their bottom line by buying from the delivery apps. You Can Leave
  3. I only watched parts of the Hall Of Fame game. I’m still trying to figure out the fantasy league. If you’re interested, let me know. @757sean on Twitter, or sean@control-h.org.

And that’s about it for now. Enjoying this.

Six

Chugging along. So much mindless training this week.

But I feel like I’ve gotten a lot accomplished ahead of the deadlines.

Two billionaires have each taken a trip to the edge of outer space  what significance does their actions have on the future of space travel (T2K)

First, this shows the Austrian view of economics is true — products should get cheaper over time. Yes, that seriously fucks with the never-ending price inflation that the Keynesians on. Tech advances make things cheaper over time.

One of the common things is Friedman’s Pencil example. How much does a run-of-the-mill pencil cost? A few cents. How much would it cost you to produce one, yourself? A lot more than a few cents.

I used to have a boss who was really big on the do-it-all-yourself mantra. We were doing some wiring for a network product that used CAT-5e breakout blocks. Wiring up a single unit was probably $10 in product, but it took probably three hours to do all the connections. What I figured out how to do was take pre-fabricated cables, cut them in half, and punch down the cut ends of the cables. The cables to cut in half were cheaper than the $10 in products, and the labor to do the punches on the pre-made cables probably only took about 25% of the time.

When it comes to going to space, from a purely research and economic perspective, that, as the price drops, this falls into private industry is not at all surprising.

What’s really prevented it is law/government. Nice launchpad you’ve got there. Do you have a permit? No? Okay, well, I’ll take that, then.

How much would production of something equivalent of the Mercury capsules cost using off-the-shelf products today?

Probably a lot less than what it cost to initially-create them in the 1950s.

The billionaires, however, are producing more vehicles even more advanced than the Mercury capsule. The rockets are reusable. The vehicles are reusable. They have landing options better than an ocean spashdown.

Private industry does all of this without stealing money from people to pay for it.

Government can help most by doing nothing. If there’s something the state would like to buy, great. See: SpaceX’s missions to/from the ISS.

As for the future, costs will continue to decline.

The production costs of the vehicles will get cheaper.

Even if fuel increases in price, the vehicles will require less of it to get where they’re going.

If someone wants to make it too difficult to pursue in the US, they’ll go somewhere else.

Oh well.

Maybe they can still do that. If there’s nowhere on land where they’re allowed, they’ll move to a floating platform in the oceans. You can leave.

Five

I didn’t have a prompt for this one, so I’m going to repeat something from November 2015.

The prompt, then, was actually from the sixth; the fifth didn’t really fit, here.


Nov. 6, 2015, midnight

What are your plans for this weekend?


I have a virtual event on Friday night, then I’m going to see a comedy show Sunday.

Otherwise, no idea.

What I wished for in that entry, however, was just some time to relax. I’m kinda there right now, actually.

I’m sortakinda off on Monday. I’ll hop on for our normal team meeting, then I have my Monday night maintenance window.

Maybe I’ll get motivation to do more with these mailing lists…..

Four

Getting some feedback on OD about my last two entries.

Yes, I don’t think the way a lot of people do. Understood. But I do aim for consistency, adherence to underlying principles.

Maybe my life would be easier if I played for “one of the two” political teams. Sorry, I can’t do that.

I only can do what ultimately makes me feel comfortable.

I also admit that I can make incorrect pronouncements; I’m willing to hear other arguments if they’re well thought-out.

Very little of what I’m seeing with what’s happening in DC today points to that, however.

The Machiavellian curiosity is just about how corrupt the folks in the “mainstream” are when it comes to exercising power.

Maybe it’d be better to ask directly, firmly, what do you think it’s always unacceptable for government to do?

The news cycle is moving so incredibly quickly. I know, I know, it’s dangerous that I get my news from multiple sources, Chuck Todd, but I am paying attention to what’s happening in New York because I’m supposed to go up there in October.

Their wonderful mayor was touting some new vaccine passport yesterday that’ll allow you entry to bars/restaurants/clubs/etc.. This afternoon/evening, there’s been a full backpeddle from some of his political allies.

Like the mayor of Boston. Hm. How’s that work, now?

We’re finished. You failed. Move on to something different.

Meanwhile, I’ll cross my fingers, and hope that there’s no issues with my trip to NYC in October. And DC this weekend.

Three

Do you prefer to be an educated opinionated person, or just an opinionated person? 

I’m really not sure how to deal with this one. Wouldn’t education preclude firmly-entrenched opinion in most cases?

It does kind of speak to part of what I’ve been struggling with recently, however.

Everybody knows that wearing a mask reduces infection.

I’ll accept that stipulation. The question is by how much? Quantify it.

With the pandemic response, too, I’m seeing eerie similarities to climate change.

We have to do X. We think it’ll prevent A, B, and C.

Okay. How are you measuring the effectiveness of whatever measures you’ve put in place?

With the climate measures, the quantification of cost are a lot simpler

How much does it cost to put everybody in a mask? For the masks, themselves, not a ton. But how much will it cost for young people who never learn to identify facial expressions?

What of any other negative medical effects?

My family’s partial-origin city of New Orleans is below sea level. So, too, is a good chunk of the Netherlands.

Those places aerated having issues with sea levels long before THE SCIENCE said the problems are due to human-caused climate change. So we need to attempt reversion to the climate when those places were initially-settled?

Humans have this nasty ability to figure out how to adapt to changes. Bad us.

But I’d imagine it’ll be the same with COVID. We’ll develop treatments, and people will die in far fewer numbers from it.

So, maybe, stop trying to roll back to a time before it? Maybe?

Two

I had this set aside for free writing. I guess I’ll stick to that, even though I don’t really feel up to it.

Again, there’s a lot of the just doing something to do it that goes into this at some point.

Things seem to be trying to slide back to things that didn’t work in 2021 to fight the pandemic.

That attempt is over. Your prescription didn’t work; you failed. Move onto something different.

It’s not a problem to admit that your solution didn’t work. It’s almost like not having the right solution is, you know, part of following THE SCIENCE.

With that, too, I think people are getting too bound up in levels of evidence, even when they don’t understand burdens of proof.

There’s certainly a preponderance of the evidence, if not clear and convincing evidence, that this is directly attributable to things that were happening at the lab in Wuhan.

How do you get “justice” for that?

Not by making two year-olds wear masks, and avoid human contact for another year.

No. You just reach agreement with other countries harmed by the mistake, and stop paying sovereign depts.

Think of it as reverse reparations. The Federal Republic of Germany didn’t finish paying its World War I debts until something like 2010.

No, this has been paid. We’re square. We don’t owe you anything for all you lent prior to the virus, and what we spent dealing with the virus you caused, and you don’t owe us anything for the trillions of dollars in damage, and millions of lives lost.

Okay?

One

Slept waaaay too long. Oops. That happened after watching what’s going on in DC with piqued interest. I guess Dave Chapelle was playing one of the larger venues in town for its reopening….just before people are going to be forced to wear masks again.

Since I’m scheduled to see a comedy show in the District next weekend, if it happens, I’ll probably have to wear a mask.

So I bought one of these.

The concept of a non-player character seems incredibly appropriate in a locked-down society. Let me see your vaccination record, cretin, I mean citizen!

Would you read a controversial book, such as “Mein Kampf” or “The Communist Manifesto”?

I actually read both of those in college. Both books have to be taken in perspective of the times in which they were written.

The latter fits with Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. in The Jungle, horrible things happen to the poor protagonist until he joins a labor union, and discovers the greatness of socialism. Mein Kampf could closer to The Jungle, but driven by misplaced blame for all of post-war Germany’s woes (on Jews and Communists).

I will say that Lenin’s writings get down closer to the barbarity that would happen with Communism.

I’m too lazy to find the quote, but there’s a concept that the Venezuelans wanted Sweden, but ended up getting Cuba.

Listening to this.

i don’t have a lot else to say at this point.

Thirty-one

End of July. I was promised last year that things certainly would be all better by now. It’s over. They failed. Let’s try something different.

Sitting back and rereading that; it’s about as polite and positive as I can be.

At the same time, part of me says that no courtesy is required, much less warranted. Stop being nice, start being real.

I don’t care that you’re more concerned with others’ well-being than I am. I’m not going to get behind, EVER, aggressing against them.

If you want to do something that’s going to cost money, limit freedom, you need to have defined measures of performance. If you don’t meet those, your experiment stops, and you pay them back for any damages that they’ve incurred.

“How long do you think I should spend in prison if I want something else?”

A polite person might not ask that question.

I might counter that a truly-polite person would never advocate a policy that might elicit such a question in response.

Speaking of that, a look at the news.

Evictions loom after Biden and Congress fail to extend ban that is set to expire Saturday

Emphasis by me, of course. The eviction moratorium is a perfect example of where government’s prescriptions don’t, haven’t, and won’t work.

Searching around about my own residence got me sidetracked. I’ve wondered if my complex’s shoddy work has had to do with people living here rent-free. IN the middle of the pandemic, there was a rather-abrupt management company change. The new folks took a long time to get up-and-running, but haven’t done a great job.

Today, there was another curt note from the property management. Thought it doesn’t really affect me, the tone might reflect the pending period of evictions, and lack of tenancy.

Things are going to get really bad really quickly. Someone with a more-conspiratorial bent might say that the push on masks, extra inoculations, might be an attempt to justify extension of the bad policy.

For the mask thing, I’ve ordered an NPC mask.

Continuing on…

Mask guidance divides parents heading into new school year

If I had kids, this might be of interest. (I could say a lot more about this, and how it ties into some other things, but I don’t feel like it.)

Though I don’t have any kids, I don’t think they should be masked. There is a chance of getting sick all the time. Even if the masks worked 100%, I’d be opposed to making kids wear them. Just like I’m opposed to making them wear helmets all the time.

My dad was pretty adamant that I couldn’t play tackle football until I was in high school because he was worried about me being injured. I appreciate that now. It didn’t take the government to protect me.

The U.S. economy is bigger than ever, but it’s still got a few big problems, too

This pins a shortage of supplies and labor on the rising prices.

When it comes to manufacturing, labor, itself, is a supply. Consumer products don’t assemble themselves.

The story also doesn’t talk much about the compounding element of price — available money. Employers/manufacturers have to top the additional unemployment benefits.

When you actually start earning money, too, you stop qualifying for many other benefits.

Don’t work, and qualify for Medicaid, or work, and pay for a plan from the healthcare.gov exchange that’s almost exactly the same as Medicaid.

I actually was asked by one provider if my exchange plan was Medicaid. Uh, no, I’m paying hundreds of dollars a month. Yeah, sorry, we don’t accept Medicaid this plan

Once again, the government solution didn’t fix anything.

More tomorrow.

Thirty

Long day in the District for a variety of reasons. No neat photographs out the window; the room I was in had a great view of the parking garage.

A bit reminiscent of my perch at the radio station.

But getting home took absolutely forever. It’s one of those things where you balance the money you’d spend on a cab versus the sunk costs I have in paratransit fare.

I was kind of spun up about what I’ve seen with what’s been happening with the “Beltway Libertarians.” I’d listened to the podcast that set Dave off, and while i didn’t really agree with what either side said, I took some of what Dave said in his response to heart.

Link

Reason’s done a remarkably poor job articulating much of anything other than things that don’t affect many people’s lives — drugs, sex work, and school choice.

I can’t take drugs, regardless of whatever individual states do. I have no desire to frequent sex workers. I don’t have any kids, so I’m not particularly worried about government schools.

Out of the demo. Frequent story for me.

Regardless of me, it strikes me as extreme narrowcasting. Your tricycle motor is going to go to some exclusive prep school, and you’re going to be able to redirect funds away from the corrupt teachers’ union to support it. Great.

What’s that do for the shop owner who’s lost everything because of the failures of government to protect property during the riots?

How about the incredible expansions of government power and spending to battle a disease that’s rarely fatal?

To that end, one of the things that occurred to me this morning — quick, off the top of your head, no searching the web, name a celeb who’s died of the disease this year (2021).

If you can name one, is that person’s life worth the liberty that’s been surrendered in hopes of not repeating such a loss?

To me, it’s a hard case to make.

And several of the organizations I’ve supported, financially, have been damned near silent on the excesses, but are very concerned with off-color humor from others.

Eyes on the big picture, y’all.

Where has government made anything better? There’s vaccines now that weren’t there before, and they’re being distributed because government got out of the way.

Is that the dreaded bothsidesism?

I don’t know, or care.

Let me live my life as I choose, and protect my liberty and property.

It’s not that difficult to understand.

So. Prompt.

Do you have a fear that you want to overcome? What is it and do you have a plan to overcome it?

This was something that fits nicely with some of what I’ve been doing with my mental health work lately, but it also speaks to some of what’s been going on with Simone Biles quitting the Olympics.

I do see both sides of the argument.

She’s worried that she won’t be able to deliver a performance up to her standards Maybe she’ll be embarrassed. Maybe there’s something else. Or maybe she performs well enough to get the job done for her team.

I do understand and appreciate both arguments.

You could be Ronnie Lott, and get part of your finger taken off during a game, and still play. Or Curt schilling with the bloody sock for the fackin’ Red Sawcks.

Or you could end up producing the “full Delhomme.” Ultimately, however, it’s up to the athlete, and the coaches.

For my personal things, I’m not going to share. There are things that I won’t write aobut.

Twenty-nine

Listening to a company meeting. It’s largely a marketing thing, but whatever. I’m kind twiddling my thumbs.

At the outset, I mislabeled my post yesterday. For whatever reason, I thought yesterday was the 29th. Nope. Oops.

Still trying to figure out how to take some time off for the rest of the year.

At the same time, there’s very little I really want to go do. I guess that kind of plays into today’s prompt….

You get three wishes, no rules. What do you ask for?

  1. Obviously, I’d like a cure for MS, and at least partial relief from my various MS-related problems
  2. An end to the pandemic, and the various remedies thereto
  3. Land/House/Whatever where I can modify things to fit my tastes

How about that?