You get the picture. We all can get our media tailored to us, these days.
What does it mean for us as a society?
Any thoughts?
dv8 --
That’s certainly worth pondering; to quote RabBeet, “I must think on this.”
Gonna pack-up my desktop in a bit and take it into the shop this morning. After it unexpectedly restarted last night, for the first time since this started occurring eight days ago, I got a system report when it rebooted. (Was very surprised I wasn’t getting them, but perhaps their absence is a helpful clue for someone more knowledgeable than I.) Utter gibberish to me, but I cut-and-pasted it all into the -- hopefully -- concise notes I put together for the tech.
Not looking forward to uncabling / recabling, but it’s gotta be done. Extra glad I bought that used “travel MacBook” a couple of years ago (although this shop has been pretty quick in the past…).
dv8, Ref yesterday, I guess I am just old enough to remember Watts and Kent State, though it is funny how my perspective has changed from those days. I remember watching TV with my parents when JFK made his famous “Ask not what your Country can do for you…” speech. I remember how excited my parents were. I considered myself utilitarian then, greatest good for the greatest number, and I was in ROTC in high school. I considered myself patriotic but that patriotism was to the government, the nation was the government. I have about done a 180 on that now, and JFK’s speech seems anathema to what our Republic really stands for.
I never read Ayn Rand until much later in life, and much seems unrealistic, but her basic concept of the individual being supreme seems very much in line with the founders’ idea for our Republic. I consider Democracy to be no more successful than Socialism, and for the same reason. The only form I think can approach the idea of individual liberty in a practical way is a Republic. I am afraid we have slid too far down the chute to recover this time, and the scientific advances we have made will make this period of darkness and repression long and terrible. I hope someday we will rise again, wiser and with more experience, but I will certainly not live to see it. It is sad as I truly believe our founders gave us the best chance mankind has ever had. We just don’t seem to be able to educate and prepare our future generations, they always lapse into complacency and decadence, trading away their priceless legacy for beads and trinkets of security and comfort, not appreciating what they were handed and what it cost to win.
Mac: I hope so too. Ayn Rands novels are classical romantic literature. They are not intended to be “realistic” they use classical devices to illustrate concepts. I.E good guys are portrayed using heroic devices. Bad guys are portrayed using marxist devices that such people seem to claim are more “authentic” e.g. being portrayed “warts and all” creating a contrast that is hard to miss.
I’m back on my desktop. Long story short: video card -- as CorporateToolK had correctly suggested -- was going T.U.; the error report from last night confirmed that. (It was an inexpensive replacement for the original, which bit the big one about 5 years ago.)
Lovely folks at the repair shop benched it immediately, got me sorted-out with a similar replacement unit (again not as good as the Apple OEM but more than good enough since I’m not a gamer / graphic artist). Also did some other minor (but appreciated) tweaks, ran some heavy-duty diagnostics to be sure and got me out the door in under two hours.
All at a price I think was quite fair for all they did, including some cosmetic work on the aluminum case as a freebie. Very nice folks; yay!
Re Kent State: Best Man was an eyewitness to the shootings. Since he still lives near there, one of his hobbies is disputing the “official narrative” at the memorial event every year. Which apparently pisses-off the powers-that-be. He enjoys that a lot because…well, there’s a reason I asked him to be my Best Man. 🙂
I hope someday we will rise again, wiser and with more experience, but I will certainly not live to see it.
Neither will I; that sucks. I just hope my grandkids will not have to live under tyranny. It is deeply unfortunate we have strayed so far from the COTUS.
Today being the anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, this seems appropriate: “…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
I fear we may go out with a whimper and for no good reason. Buried under an avalanche of entitlements, social media crazes, scolds, bullshit, socialism, and a complete lack of humor from the left.
For me, it’s enough to be an American; no hyphens or other qualifiers needed. If i had to look at the one thing that’s pushed our country down the wrong path it’s identity politics and the cultural push towards tribalism, hurt feelings, and revisionist history.
What’s odd about the cultural/social divide in the country today is that there’s been this 180 degree turn between the left and the right over the last 40 years or so. It’s those on the right now that are the outcasts, the rebels. Those on the left are the ones bitterly clinging to weird and unfathomable ideas and the first ones to shut someone up that voices an opinion contrary to what they’ve been fed in school or their own echo chambers. They take offense at everything to the point where they have to make up hate crimes and imagined slights so they can play their victim cards.
I’ll bet you that college Republicans get laid considerably more than their anitfa counterparts cuz girls are always attracted to the bad boys.
“The Sierra Club reported last week that more than 50 cities across the state are considering or have passed policies that will over time, eliminate the use of natural gas and support new construction that is only all-electric. Senate Bill 1477, signed by then-Governor Jerry Brown in 2018, aims to have near-zero emission homes with an all-electric model.”
G’day, Wheelizens!
Mac --
Heh.
dv8 --
That’s certainly worth pondering; to quote RabBeet, “I must think on this.”
Gonna pack-up my desktop in a bit and take it into the shop this morning. After it unexpectedly restarted last night, for the first time since this started occurring eight days ago, I got a system report when it rebooted. (Was very surprised I wasn’t getting them, but perhaps their absence is a helpful clue for someone more knowledgeable than I.) Utter gibberish to me, but I cut-and-pasted it all into the -- hopefully -- concise notes I put together for the tech.
Not looking forward to uncabling / recabling, but it’s gotta be done. Extra glad I bought that used “travel MacBook” a couple of years ago (although this shop has been pretty quick in the past…).
BBL.
Good morning Fatwa and GN! Good luck getting your machine to start acting properly.
Is today perhaps the day the media has been promising for three years now?
Good morning gentle gerbils.
dv8, Ref yesterday, I guess I am just old enough to remember Watts and Kent State, though it is funny how my perspective has changed from those days. I remember watching TV with my parents when JFK made his famous “Ask not what your Country can do for you…” speech. I remember how excited my parents were. I considered myself utilitarian then, greatest good for the greatest number, and I was in ROTC in high school. I considered myself patriotic but that patriotism was to the government, the nation was the government. I have about done a 180 on that now, and JFK’s speech seems anathema to what our Republic really stands for.
I never read Ayn Rand until much later in life, and much seems unrealistic, but her basic concept of the individual being supreme seems very much in line with the founders’ idea for our Republic. I consider Democracy to be no more successful than Socialism, and for the same reason. The only form I think can approach the idea of individual liberty in a practical way is a Republic. I am afraid we have slid too far down the chute to recover this time, and the scientific advances we have made will make this period of darkness and repression long and terrible. I hope someday we will rise again, wiser and with more experience, but I will certainly not live to see it. It is sad as I truly believe our founders gave us the best chance mankind has ever had. We just don’t seem to be able to educate and prepare our future generations, they always lapse into complacency and decadence, trading away their priceless legacy for beads and trinkets of security and comfort, not appreciating what they were handed and what it cost to win.
Mac: I hope so too. Ayn Rands novels are classical romantic literature. They are not intended to be “realistic” they use classical devices to illustrate concepts. I.E good guys are portrayed using heroic devices. Bad guys are portrayed using marxist devices that such people seem to claim are more “authentic” e.g. being portrayed “warts and all” creating a contrast that is hard to miss.
Happy Tuesday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Fatwa, Sven, and Mac!
Fatwa -- good luck with your computer, glad you’ve got a back-up!
Sven -- I’m sure today is the day. Or possibly tomorrow. Maybe Thursday, but soon!
dv8 -- good luck with the crypto-currency studying.
Hiya, Sven, Mac and Paddy!
I’m back on my desktop. Long story short: video card -- as CorporateToolK had correctly suggested -- was going T.U.; the error report from last night confirmed that. (It was an inexpensive replacement for the original, which bit the big one about 5 years ago.)
Lovely folks at the repair shop benched it immediately, got me sorted-out with a similar replacement unit (again not as good as the Apple OEM but more than good enough since I’m not a gamer / graphic artist). Also did some other minor (but appreciated) tweaks, ran some heavy-duty diagnostics to be sure and got me out the door in under two hours.
All at a price I think was quite fair for all they did, including some cosmetic work on the aluminum case as a freebie. Very nice folks; yay!
Re Kent State: Best Man was an eyewitness to the shootings. Since he still lives near there, one of his hobbies is disputing the “official narrative” at the memorial event every year. Which apparently pisses-off the powers-that-be. He enjoys that a lot because…well, there’s a reason I asked him to be my Best Man. 🙂
Neither will I; that sucks. I just hope my grandkids will not have to live under tyranny. It is deeply unfortunate we have strayed so far from the COTUS.
Okay…gotta get back to work; laterz!
Glad you got your machine back in working order, Fatwa.
Today being the anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, this seems appropriate: “…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
I fear we may go out with a whimper and for no good reason. Buried under an avalanche of entitlements, social media crazes, scolds, bullshit, socialism, and a complete lack of humor from the left.
For me, it’s enough to be an American; no hyphens or other qualifiers needed. If i had to look at the one thing that’s pushed our country down the wrong path it’s identity politics and the cultural push towards tribalism, hurt feelings, and revisionist history.
This brand of neo-Marxism hit the ground in this country in 1914 and has been polluting the waters and the land ever since.
What’s odd about the cultural/social divide in the country today is that there’s been this 180 degree turn between the left and the right over the last 40 years or so. It’s those on the right now that are the outcasts, the rebels. Those on the left are the ones bitterly clinging to weird and unfathomable ideas and the first ones to shut someone up that voices an opinion contrary to what they’ve been fed in school or their own echo chambers. They take offense at everything to the point where they have to make up hate crimes and imagined slights so they can play their victim cards.
I’ll bet you that college Republicans get laid considerably more than their anitfa counterparts cuz girls are always attracted to the bad boys.
It’s a good thing that electricity is free.
“The Sierra Club reported last week that more than 50 cities across the state are considering or have passed policies that will over time, eliminate the use of natural gas and support new construction that is only all-electric. Senate Bill 1477, signed by then-Governor Jerry Brown in 2018, aims to have near-zero emission homes with an all-electric model.”
https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/more-cities-in-california-are-banning-the-use-of-natural-gas/
We deserve what we get and we’ll get it good and hard.
Except for the electricity. That we won’t get.
Great thread pic. Just catching up a bit.