The Parable of the Peruvian Condor Killers

Once apon a time, there were Peruvian farmers, sheep and lama husbaners, who were losing baby animals to predation by condors. They got together are hired a man to kill the condors, he was paid very well because sheep and lamas are valuable. There were a lot of farmers and a lot of condors and soon, there were a lot of condor killers. They had families and they spent the money they earned in the local economy and became a large part of the community. After a while they killed all the local condors and had to travel long distances to find more to kill; they even argued for extra pay to buy boats to pay for the increase in cost of doing “business”. The people didn’t want to pay for killing condors way far away but the condor killers said, “You can’t take our jobs away!” The condor killers got lobbyists and sent them to the government… they were also supported by the buggy-whip manufacturers and the incandescent lightbulb lobby…. Coming soon to the USA, sparkplug companies, automobile radiator companies, gas tank makers, antifreeze bottlers, and millions of people who make things needed for a gas powered internal combustion engine. Their jobs are going away… we’re not taking them, they just won’t be needed any more. Change is hard, there are always winners and losers. The losers never go quietly. Very often we continue to do things because we always did them “that way”. Now about those insurance companies and the middlemen in our for-profit health, liability, and property damage system… I guess we can’t take their jobs away… because congress. Oh, and how many lawyers can the economy support? Certainly not 100% of us.

Information from your mind to you hand to the page

The ability to record information, words that outlast the voice, is the most important revolution in the construction of civilization. Stewart, Cohen, and Pratchett* call it “extelligence”. I’m old, I graduated from high school in 1965. In class, I always took all my high school notes with a real fountain pen. I did the same in college and grad school. I even made my own ink when I took chemistry. Over the years, the availability of fountain pens was replaced with cartridge pens (I refilled those cartridge’s too), and then ball point pens. Ball points promote sloppy penman ship. The nib wanders over the page without a feel for grain or direction. Look at 18th century writing, not just official documents, but just everyday writing. It’s often beautiful… And now the debate is, should we teach penmanship? Not to mention should we teach cursive at all. I know that the keyboard will replace the word on the page. The demise of the United States Postal Service at the hands of the Republicans is imminent so keyboards and the internet will be the only way to use text. But I also know that AI voice-to-text will replace the keyboard (it’s already on a smart phone), and from the brain directly to text will replace that. So, we’re losing it, we’ve lost it, and it’s all going away. But studies show that taking notes by hand on paper is a superior learning tool. Try using a fountain pen to write something. It’s an education in the connection of your mind to your hand to the page. Let’s not lose that. The word “pen” comes from feather, a quill, from a goose, a “penknife” is a small knife you keep about you to sharpen your pen’s nib. I personally, feel naked without a penknife in my pocket. * The Science of Discworld is a 1999 book by novelist Terry Pratchett and popular science writers Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. Three sequels, The Science of Discworld II: The Globe, The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch, and The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day continue their excellent explication of science and the human condition.

Garden hose and five-gallon buckets, Heloise

As you and I both know, Heloise, one can never have too many 5 gallon buckets. But of course, you and I don't buy them at Lowes or Walmart. We reuse the ones we accumulate from home projects or construction sites... and the good ones are the black ones, the UV ray resistant ones, they last almost forever. But the white handle grips break down way too soon. It’s aways one-damn-thing-after-another isn't it?

When the handle grips go bad and our fragile old hands protest the biting pain of skinny handles, we can be saved by the reuse of 5 inch pieces of old hose. So… those old garden hoses. Remember resistentialism? https://somelightsomeserious.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-you-dont-believe-in-resistentialism.html I used to fill the buckets up... not any more (unless it's with feathers).

Ask your Congressman If Nazis love him, why do you?

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, has ducks waving flags and ducks declaring their love of it, and it is seen in the company of ducks; it is most likely a duck. We have all seen a lot of Rebel flags and Nazi flags among trump supporters. If they love him, why does my Republican Representative, Ben Cline love him? If you see Ben, please ask him. Oh! And you could ask the Republican senate candidate, Hung Cao the same question.

I wrote a goodbye to the Washington Post news paper

I will really miss parts of the Washington Post newspaper. What I will miss the most is the Saturday “Free For All” letters to the editor (FFA). Given the deterioration of the Post’s journalistic, editorial, writing standards, I have greatly enjoyed the submissions by readers who are so much more assiduous and professional than whomever the Post has working there now. How many times does one read a FFA submission and say, “DUH! I agree! That piece in the Post was a stupid thing to put into an international paper.” Typos and bad grammar aside, what is wrong with you? Political bias is an issue of… well, personal bias that we all have to deal with. However, to read exhaustive criticism of President Biden’s poor speech patterns and memory problems while not mentioning the firehose of lies, infantile taunts, insults, and insanity that spews from former president Trump every time he speaks, smacks of an agenda that isn’t “fair and balanced” (to quote the so-called news organization that calls itself Fox). I have noticed that you have hired important staff from Fox. I can only assume that you are copying their “successful” business model. They paid $875,500,000 in their admission that they lie, that’s why I don’t listen to them no matter what they say. Why would anyone? Keep it up and we’ll all wonder how much will you have to pay? Oh, and I’ll miss the comics.

Please, somebody...

Please, please, somebody in the MSM ask trump who is his favorite philosopher. Please?

More questions I've asked of Ben Cline No answers yet

To Ben Cline: As you and I both know, Republicans, when in control of government, have never refused to raise the debt ceiling, even when the policies of Ronald Reagan, G.W. Bush, and Donald Trump were sending America into regions of unprecedented debt, mostly because of “trickle down” tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations (many of whom get out-right subsidies paid for by middle cast taxpayers like me). Therefore, I have no doubt that you will break with your Mike Johnson “led” party and vote to raise the debt ceiling and protect our economy and your constituents from the negative impacts of defaulting any time in the future. After all, why be a representative of people in your district and collect a salary if you don’t vote to fund the government that PAYS you? By the way, spare me the “conservative fiscal wisdom” of paying as you go. Our government has already spent the money that these budgetary bills address. Have YOU ever borrowed money for a car, tuition, or a house? Did you pay it back, or did you decide that you’d default on your already accrued debt and somehow, just “start over”?