Various & sundry ramblings
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
I intended to write a long (and no-doubt Deeply Profound) meditation on the above. And on how, even if we were all flying around in those personal gyrocopters the futurists of the 1950s were all so certain we’d own now, life would still be pretty much life, humans would still be oh-so-very-human, and time would still be pretty much wasted.
But my brain has been feeling soggy and loggy the last few days, as if somebody left it in tepid bathwater and it got all pruney.
That may be a good sign. Sometimes I get like this when Ye Olde Braine is cogitating on something Vitally Important that it just hasn’t informed me about yet. But for now …
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All that fancy pocket-tech isn’t only for looking at pictures of cats.
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I also thought I’d write something reflecting on this rather interesting essay on how modern brains are being programmed to destroy logic. (Very long but thoughtful; the bit toward the end about new-minted gun-banner and former Vatican attorney Alexis Haller is an eye-opener.)
But go. Do your own reflecting. You’re better at it than I at the moment. (H/T to WL for the link.)
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And here’s a charming monkeywrench for you folks who plan to bury guns — or not bury them. (Thanks JB!)
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And while these are not exactly the height of fashion, it’s encouraging that clever people are still concerned about privacy.
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It may be stuff like this that’s got my brain feeling as lively as a bowl of cold oatmeal this week. Obama worship. Not sure. But you’ve got to admit that when a large part of the nation thinks in these Obama-as-Jesus terms even after seeing him in action for four years, we are surrounded by some scary, scary people for whom logic and facts are definitely not factors.
I agree with Joel; Monday’s coronation ceremony (or re-re-coronation ceremony, as Bear pointed out) was weirdly inescapable even for those of us who usually manage to avoid all such rot.
Even the little bits of it I heard or heard about on the radio made it seem as though something far worse than usual has crawled into the heart of the land. I couldn’t decide whether the Second (or is it third?) Coronation of King Obama was more like a Roman spectacle or more like Germany in the 1930s. All it needed was Leni Riefenstahl.
January 23rd, 2013
Yeah, it’s been a strange week thus far. Can’t seem to concentrate on anything. Thanks for the links, and I love the dog photo!
January 23rd, 2013
Thwarting cameras using facial-recognition software with “privacy goggles” is a neat idea…someone needs to adapt this technology to vehicle license plate frames in order to fight back against those damnable red light/speed trap cameras.
January 23rd, 2013
Glasses themselves tend to distort recognition, so if those goggles really worked, the technology could be attached to a pair of ordinary-looking glasses as well. (But I would be hesitant to place LED lights so close to my eyes too often or for any length of time, even from behind the light.)
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I suspect the Obama > Jesus poster is just one more act of faith from Obama’s groupies. Obama gives us soundbites, and thinks that saying makes it believable. His followers do the same.
January 23rd, 2013
Easiest way to mess with facial-recognition cameras is to wear your hair so that your bangs hide one eye. found that out while my brother trying to take a picture of his girlfriend. The camera was set to “face-finder” mode, and kept insisting she didn’t have a face!
January 23rd, 2013
Thanks sooo much for the “sub woofer “pic, I really needed a laugh. Now instead of steam venting from my ears, I might manage a brief grin for the remainder of my day. Thanks.
January 23rd, 2013
jesse — :-) I had the same reaction. It was a bad day and that picture improved it considerably.
January 23rd, 2013
I think we can has kitteh and goggie pikchurz boaf.
BTW, our braaaaaiiiiiinzzzzz, at least the cerebral cortex part, start off looking kinda pruney. (Was just thinking about Wendy McElroy’s recent piece on Romero’s zombie flicks.)
My Vltor IMOD stock showed up today, so I’m pretty happy!
January 23rd, 2013
Aaaand, I eff’d up the HREF.
http://cheezburger.com/6979337472
January 23rd, 2013
Awwwwwwww (about the cute pic, dat iz; I don’t think there’s much “Awwwwww” factor in an ugly black stock).
January 23rd, 2013
But it isn’t black. I fooled them — fooled them all muahahahahaa! I got it in Flat Dark Earth. (Which doesn’t look much like dark earth, IMHO; it’s a more of a tan color.) So if I ever finish this build, it won’t be an evil black rifle at all, with all the FDE parts I plan on using.
And that dog could use some tweeters, I think.
January 23rd, 2013
Hi Claire
re: the personal ownership theme, I wanted to make sure you read what I wrote over on TMM, stickied on the General Discussion forum.
Hoping you have a great 2013!
January 23rd, 2013
I did a brief analysis of the Liar-in-Chief’s Re-coronation Obamafuscation on the news show the other day. Given the Messiah-references, it was hard NOT to draw on a Biblical reference or two, if for no other reason than to observe he does to Scripture what he does to the Bill of Rights (calling ‘evil’ good, and vice-versa).
Here’s the podcast link, sans the “www” up front:
hebrewnationradio.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=3808:podcasters&Itemid=119
January 23rd, 2013
PS> For those that remember Isaiah 28, I call his speech,
“Lie upon lie, pretext upon pretext…”
January 24th, 2013
Well, dang, Terry… give the lady a link! https://www.thementalmilitia.com/forums/index.php?topic=32250.0 Who Owns You?
Not sure if everyone here knows about TMM, but anyway a link makes it easier. :)