tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.comments2024-03-13T19:49:05.520-07:00The Adventures of Shylock HolmesShylock Holmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00446165270035271752noreply@blogger.comBlogger526125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-84305761893845049532024-03-13T19:49:05.520-07:002024-03-13T19:49:05.520-07:00“In other words, your likely bewilderment looking ...“In other words, your likely bewilderment looking at photos and videos of us is matched only by our own bewilderment in looking at ourselves. It is a strange time, but alas, we have no other.”<br />Very beautifully put, probably the best summary of our age to our distant descendants.Martin Simonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-37668028571302611642024-01-24T14:33:24.530-08:002024-01-24T14:33:24.530-08:00I always felt particularly sorry for Tsar Nicholas...I always felt particularly sorry for Tsar Nicholas II in this regard. <br /><br />He was so personally amicable and obviously politically accommodating, that the Left have to admit his extreme flexibility in granting them concessions. But how then to justify the brutality of the revolution and massacre of the royal family? <br /><br />I just found this gem on the Tsar's wiki page. After talking about all the modern reforms made by the Tsar: <br /><br />'Ultimately, progress was undermined by Nicholas's commitment to autocratic rule...'<br /><br />'Progress' was undermined. Not Russia, or a three hundred year dynasty, or a thousand year old tradition.. no, no... progress lol<br /><br />Wiki literally calling the Tsar a 'wrecker' because his consistent flexibility was not flexible enough. You cant make this shit up. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-32275583796621447482023-09-08T18:52:48.018-07:002023-09-08T18:52:48.018-07:00Thanks for noticing that Canada, Australia and New...Thanks for noticing that Canada, Australia and New Zealand didn't have to suffer like the various American republics. Also note that much of anglophone Canada, especially Ontario and New Brunswick, was settled by Loyalist refugees from the American Revolution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-26199378224112313152023-08-27T19:17:18.444-07:002023-08-27T19:17:18.444-07:00Ha, I noticed that too. Also the somewhat arbitrar...Ha, I noticed that too. Also the somewhat arbitrary choice of advice which may or may not have solved the problem. Charles I was too inflexible! Louis XVI was too flexible! We need Goldilocks amounts of flexibility. J. F. Bosher made a great case that Louis XVI should have just applied more force, at any one of a number of scenarios (from "shake down his creditors and tell them they're not getting paid" to "sent in your guards to arrest the people undertaking the Tennis Court Oath")Shylock Holmeshttp://https://shylockholmes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-22868526921828508572023-08-27T19:14:22.038-07:002023-08-27T19:14:22.038-07:00The line was taken from a Radio War Nerd podcast, ...The line was taken from a Radio War Nerd podcast, referencing the Dolan translation of the Iliad. It's very good and captures his sense of the atmosphere well, especially the comedic aspect of all the ultra-violence being described:<br />https://www.amazon.com/War-Nerd-Iliad-John-Dolan/dp/1627310509<br /><br />The specific context was the opening scene where the old man comes to Agamemnon to beg for the life of his captured daughter. Agamemnon mocks him and sends him away. This makes his men uneasy. Paraphrasing Dolan's description, it's not because it's important to be nice to people. That message appears nowhere in the Iliad. The problem is that the old man is a priest of Apollo, and you don't fuck with Apollo. Shylock Holmeshttp://https://shylockholmes.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-68597869814588799142023-08-26T12:27:21.820-07:002023-08-26T12:27:21.820-07:00The HTML stripping made my comment above incoheren...The HTML stripping made my comment above incoherent – “nobody wanted [some revolutionary outrage]” and “forced them to [commit pointless atrocity]”Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-67322073560563222662023-08-26T12:25:49.395-07:002023-08-26T12:25:49.395-07:00Wonderful post. Thought similar things listening t...Wonderful post. Thought similar things listening to it but as always you put it perfectly.<br /><br />Another recurring trope of his I just loved was that he always emphasizes how nobody wanted , but the old order’s intransigence just forced them to . Sure, they didn’t want to, and were not just waiting for the preference cascade in the room to reach their derangement!Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-21995317864479159452023-08-25T09:24:51.996-07:002023-08-25T09:24:51.996-07:00Can you or John Dolan give us examples of ancient ...Can you or John Dolan give us examples of ancient Greeks hilariously enjoying cruelty?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-88472707664977759852023-08-23T12:29:20.434-07:002023-08-23T12:29:20.434-07:00Brilliant. I listened to and enjoyed his podcast b...Brilliant. I listened to and enjoyed his podcast but thought similar things at the time. Thanks for expressing them well. Polynicesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-27947365269655617942023-08-08T17:05:04.627-07:002023-08-08T17:05:04.627-07:00There are definitely a lot of victims of this mind...There are definitely a lot of victims of this mindset that the de jure rules are a trivial guide to the day to day; progs think that the aristocracy rode around executing peasants at will and fucking everybody's wife. <br /><br />However, and maybe I'm an outlier, but I've always viewed it as common knowledge that relationship dynamics are somewhat constant in essence. The henpecked husband is a tale older than time; even modern "Misogynistic" Arab muslims are famously pussy-whipped. Which goes to show how, as you say, women already have abundant informal power over men; a de jure legal standard that rightly views the man as head of the household in a substantial way is necessary just to give the average man a chance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-40722896766424837802023-08-08T13:07:21.179-07:002023-08-08T13:07:21.179-07:00Lovelyy postLovelyy postMarkushttps://markusforbes.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-60816871971463128592023-08-04T18:33:23.224-07:002023-08-04T18:33:23.224-07:00ısparta
tunceli
ağrı
ığdır
samsun
WN1<a href="https://isparta.escorthun.com/" title="ısparta" rel="nofollow">ısparta</a><br /><a href="https://tunceli.escorthun.com/" title="tunceli" rel="nofollow">tunceli</a><br /><a href="https://agri.escorthun.com/" title="ağrı" rel="nofollow">ağrı</a><br /><a href="https://ığdır.escorthun.com/" title="ığdır" rel="nofollow">ığdır</a><br /><a href="https://samsun.escorthun.com/" title="samsun" rel="nofollow">samsun</a><br /><br />WN1ahmetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-20599775933858987782023-07-24T06:47:30.797-07:002023-07-24T06:47:30.797-07:00üsküdar
kumluca
cekmekoy
cesme
240L<a href="https://uskudar.escorthun.com/" title="üsküdar" rel="nofollow">üsküdar</a><br /><a href="https://kumluca.escorthun.com/" title="kumluca" rel="nofollow">kumluca</a><br /><a href="https://cekmekoy.escorthun.com/" title="cekmekoy" rel="nofollow">cekmekoy</a><br /><a href="https://cesme.escorthun.com/" title="cesme" rel="nofollow">cesme</a><br /><br />240Ladanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-49341511229462717912023-07-09T11:04:11.725-07:002023-07-09T11:04:11.725-07:00tunceli
urfa
uşak
van
yalova
NNJ4J<a href="https://tunceli.escorthun.com/" title="tunceli" rel="nofollow">tunceli</a><br /><a href="https://urfa.escorthun.com/" title="urfa" rel="nofollow">urfa</a><br /><a href="https://usak.escorthun.com/" title="uşak" rel="nofollow">uşak</a><br /><a href="https://van.escorthun.com/" title="van" rel="nofollow">van</a><br /><a href="https://yalova.escorthun.com/" title="yalova" rel="nofollow">yalova</a><br />NNJ4Jmeleknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-4747809213529223722023-07-02T20:38:33.232-07:002023-07-02T20:38:33.232-07:00Apparently it is common, over the past century, fo...Apparently it is common, over the past century, for Japanese men to cede control of household finances to their wives. It also occurred that British working men, somewhat earlier, to hand-over their wages to their wives and receive an allowance in turn. That darn patriarchy!Steven Chttp://gravatar.com/stevenjbcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-88764292564565817942023-06-01T20:23:18.439-07:002023-06-01T20:23:18.439-07:00Thank you. A very good read. Well written and insi...Thank you. A very good read. Well written and insightful. What a mess.MacDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00622720894426859083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-28852767909079318282023-04-09T10:45:45.235-07:002023-04-09T10:45:45.235-07:00"From here on out, both parties' leaders ..."From here on out, both parties' leaders began to suspect that if they lost power, they were liable to lose their freedom, if not their lives."<br /><br />This is certainly true but with one caveat: If you threaten somebody you'd better make sure you destroy them or else they will destroy you.<br /><br />Trump threatened to "drain the swamp" but he was such a horrible leader he misread the fear and loathing he created in his enemies. He should have gone in and laid waste to hundreds of executive branch political appointees. He should have gotten Washington insiders to make deals. Instead, he actually hired people who worked against him.<br /><br />The next Trump will walk softly and carry a big stick.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-61668948557657775832023-04-09T08:36:34.574-07:002023-04-09T08:36:34.574-07:00Thanks for an interesting essay.
I'm betting ...Thanks for an interesting essay.<br /><br />I'm betting (for now) that things will continue to decline but not to the point of total chaos or political opponents rounded up. There will be power grid problems, infrastructure breakdowns, that sort of thing. Stuff will just stop working. Like DC Metro. They can't find out why the trains are derailing. It's a mystery. The pressing of wheels sounds like exorcizing demons. Eventually, the US will become a Yankee version of Brazil. Real estate in the right places will continue to rise as more and more whites are cordoned off into smaller and smaller enclaves. Those whites who can't afford to escape will be the ones who might rebel, I suppose. Maybe that's why the elites are so terrified of Trump.<br /><br />But, for now, they are in total control.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-10891178525538880042022-06-02T19:42:34.000-07:002022-06-02T19:42:34.000-07:00Speaking of old testament prophets, Daniel chapter...Speaking of old testament prophets, Daniel chapter 2 helps to ease the anxiety of waiting for collapse. It reveals an alternative, the idea of the last world empire, i.e. one which is destroyed by God himself and replaced in situ. It is exciting to think about...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-39923840565605808482022-06-01T05:06:08.171-07:002022-06-01T05:06:08.171-07:00My son sent this to me. It goes well with morning ...My son sent this to me. It goes well with morning coffee to start the busy day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-42109062005387964012022-05-31T06:21:00.862-07:002022-05-31T06:21:00.862-07:00I enjoyed this very much. Thank you for publishin...I enjoyed this very much. Thank you for publishing it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-24859329217685753852022-05-21T09:13:27.104-07:002022-05-21T09:13:27.104-07:00It didn't feel like Asimov himself believed in...It didn't feel like Asimov himself believed in psychohistory to me. Why else would he come up with the second foundation?<br /><br />I think the real crux of the stories is not about some magical statistical oracle at all but rather the goodness of rule by men of learning (i.e. academia). The Foundation(s) are great because they get away from the vagaries of politicians and emperors and are guided by benevolent scholars who know best.newt0311https://www.blogger.com/profile/00275501056310821335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-77580872848823179392022-05-15T16:37:09.737-07:002022-05-15T16:37:09.737-07:00One big problem I had with psychohistory but could...One big problem I had with psychohistory but couldn't put my finger on when reading those books as a child, was that it seemed dependent on all forms of scientific advancement to have come to a halt. Imagine trying to predict events a hundred years hence in 1922 without any way of knowing how much the world would be altered by advances to science and the technology it enabled. IIRC, almost nothing changed technology-wise throughout the span of the Foundation series, and only the appearance of psionic powers threatened to alter the playing field.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-44371760125610853312021-12-16T05:24:11.943-08:002021-12-16T05:24:11.943-08:00Another example of building separate payment rails...Another example of building separate payment rails you should ook at is UPI in India. Basically the Indian government specified a payments API, imposed price controls, and told the banks they need to do it. They did it and it actually worked amazingly well - it's probably the most advanced payment system in the world right now.<br /><br />Of course, Google/Apple are another vulnerability. Most likely their woke employees (or USG) will pressure them to ban the Texas payment apps in case of Texit. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1764328218611568829.post-45083699244740913832021-12-15T22:27:29.230-08:002021-12-15T22:27:29.230-08:00El Salvador onboarded half of its population to it...El Salvador onboarded half of its population to its "Chivo" wallet in just a few weeks. A lot of people only installed it to get the free $30 the government was offering -- which seems like a lot until you look at a government budget. Many of the signups were fraudulent, which is a solvable problem if it's done more slowly and rationally (or even done without the free gibs) rather than just the "let's gooooooo!" attitude their government had for it.<br /><br />The technology has worked fine for the most part. The biggest problem has been that the Chivo app (perhaps intentionally) sometimes fails to send balances outside of the Chivo system, or is slow at doing it. By now that should be tested and fixed (but isn't, which is why I think it's intentional).<br /><br />The system allows them to denominate account balances as either dollars or bitcoin. There are reserve balances held by the government to provide liquidity when moving between the two, but the bitcoin portion can be held online in LN instead, and gradually probably will be.<br /><br />Using that rollout as a template, Texas could be up and running in at most a couple of months, or as little as a few days if the infrastructure servers and accounts are set up and tested in advance.Harry Peanutsnoreply@blogger.com