neonvincent (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
neonvincent) wrote2017-08-05 05:48 pm
neonvincent) wrote2017-08-05 05:48 pm
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Saved comments from June 2016, both about the election and zombies
I'm going to put my comment on zombies above the cut.
Death to All Zombies!
“A zombie is a terrible thing to behold, but a zombie holding a bag of dog-shit is like unto the end of the world.” No, a zombie holding a bag of dog shit is funny. All that needs to make it funnier is setting the bag on fire. Of course, the zombie will still try to eat your brains, but you’ll get a good laugh out of it. Just don’t step on the burning bag once you shoot the zombie in the head.
My comment on They Died of Progress.
New Scientist is exploring the end of progress, too: What happens when society crumbles and progress stops. "Would we be better off without economic growth? Can we survive the end of industrial civilisation? And is science itself running out of steam?" I only got a few paragraphs in, but I'm wondering if the authors have been reading you.
Pinku-sensei, okay, now I'm flummoxed. If New Scientist is talking about the end of progress, the concept may actually be getting some traction in the mainstream.
@Justin Chris Hatfield and Farley Mowat are my two favorite Canadian scientist-personalities. Now I wonder if "don't-let-the-truth-obscure-the-facts" is a Canadian story-telling trait.
My comment on The Desperate and the Dispirate
It depends on what you mean by "terrorist action." I quoted Northeastern University terrorism expert Max Abrahms who tweeted “Was the #OrlandoNightclubShooting terrorism? Was it a hate crime? Was it a mass shooting? Yes.” If you mean an act of political violence meant to terrorize civilians, yes, of course. If you mean that it was plotted by the Sith Jihad overseas and then fed to the perpetrator, almost certainly no. This looks more like an individual act of homophobic rage by a lone wolf than an attack coordinated overseas. The man had access to far more strategic assets than a nightclub, yet didn't target them.
As for our host's visit to Detroit, there has been some progress on making the city more sustainable. The latest is the regional rapid transit plan for Metro Detroit. The city and its suburbs have terrible public transportation and I applaud any effort to improve it.
My comment on Nausea Rising.
Sorry to read that your site is being attacked, but I'm glad to see it back up. Now on to last week's post.
"Last Friday’s job’s report was a humdinger: only 38,000 new jobs created in a country of over 300 million, with a whole new crop of job-seeking college grads just churned out of the diploma mills."
On the other hand, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7%, but that was because of people dropping out of the work force. My take on that was "good news, bad news from jobs report." The economic situation looks a lot like 2000 or 2006, when each of the previous recoveries and expansions were getting long in the tooth. Both of those years were just before recessions hit in 2001 and 2007. Based on those comparisons, I expect a recession to begin sometime in 2017. If it hits in December 2017, we won't know until July 2018, when it will be officially confirmed. Be patient.
"Sooner or later they will have to become un-demoralized and do something else with their lives."
In some places, that's happening. Two weeks ago saw 1968 arrive with a Weimar moment in San Jose. While I understand the protestors' fear and anger, as they see Trump posing an existential threat, I think violent protests will be counterproductive to their cause, which is stopping Trump. Fortunately for them and the rest of the anti-Trump forces, Trump himself is busy pissing off all the wrong people, ranging from the judge in the Trump University case to the Executive Editor of the Washington Post, who was the editor of the Boston Globe featured in "Spotlight." Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
Death to All Zombies!
“A zombie is a terrible thing to behold, but a zombie holding a bag of dog-shit is like unto the end of the world.” No, a zombie holding a bag of dog shit is funny. All that needs to make it funnier is setting the bag on fire. Of course, the zombie will still try to eat your brains, but you’ll get a good laugh out of it. Just don’t step on the burning bag once you shoot the zombie in the head.
My comment on They Died of Progress.
New Scientist is exploring the end of progress, too: What happens when society crumbles and progress stops. "Would we be better off without economic growth? Can we survive the end of industrial civilisation? And is science itself running out of steam?" I only got a few paragraphs in, but I'm wondering if the authors have been reading you.
Pinku-sensei, okay, now I'm flummoxed. If New Scientist is talking about the end of progress, the concept may actually be getting some traction in the mainstream.
@Justin Chris Hatfield and Farley Mowat are my two favorite Canadian scientist-personalities. Now I wonder if "don't-let-the-truth-obscure-the-facts" is a Canadian story-telling trait.
My comment on The Desperate and the Dispirate
It depends on what you mean by "terrorist action." I quoted Northeastern University terrorism expert Max Abrahms who tweeted “Was the #OrlandoNightclubShooting terrorism? Was it a hate crime? Was it a mass shooting? Yes.” If you mean an act of political violence meant to terrorize civilians, yes, of course. If you mean that it was plotted by the Sith Jihad overseas and then fed to the perpetrator, almost certainly no. This looks more like an individual act of homophobic rage by a lone wolf than an attack coordinated overseas. The man had access to far more strategic assets than a nightclub, yet didn't target them.
As for our host's visit to Detroit, there has been some progress on making the city more sustainable. The latest is the regional rapid transit plan for Metro Detroit. The city and its suburbs have terrible public transportation and I applaud any effort to improve it.
My comment on Nausea Rising.
Sorry to read that your site is being attacked, but I'm glad to see it back up. Now on to last week's post.
"Last Friday’s job’s report was a humdinger: only 38,000 new jobs created in a country of over 300 million, with a whole new crop of job-seeking college grads just churned out of the diploma mills."
On the other hand, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7%, but that was because of people dropping out of the work force. My take on that was "good news, bad news from jobs report." The economic situation looks a lot like 2000 or 2006, when each of the previous recoveries and expansions were getting long in the tooth. Both of those years were just before recessions hit in 2001 and 2007. Based on those comparisons, I expect a recession to begin sometime in 2017. If it hits in December 2017, we won't know until July 2018, when it will be officially confirmed. Be patient.
"Sooner or later they will have to become un-demoralized and do something else with their lives."
In some places, that's happening. Two weeks ago saw 1968 arrive with a Weimar moment in San Jose. While I understand the protestors' fear and anger, as they see Trump posing an existential threat, I think violent protests will be counterproductive to their cause, which is stopping Trump. Fortunately for them and the rest of the anti-Trump forces, Trump himself is busy pissing off all the wrong people, ranging from the judge in the Trump University case to the Executive Editor of the Washington Post, who was the editor of the Boston Globe featured in "Spotlight." Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.