Base Assumptions

Ran into this execrable pile of shit this morning and "felt led" to opine. I'll quote it here and tell you what I think following:

Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield’s HB260 bill permitting concealed guns without a permit is irresponsibly dangerous. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court held, “Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose. For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues of arms.”

As a licensed clinical social worker, I counsel men in relational disputes. Jacqueline C. Campbell, Ph.D., an internationally recognized domestic violence expert, has research suggesting the risk of a man killing a woman is highest where he is unemployed and possesses a weapon. Such men would often not be deemed mentally ill at the time of purchase of a weapon prior to relational disputes occurring.

Rep. Oda’s bill is irresponsible and would increase the likelihood that more women will be seriously injured or murdered than save people from criminals. Now is the time when government has a responsibility to protect its people and not promote freedom to handle anger and frustration to the detriment of people’s lives. Our freedoms on[sic] not unlimited, says the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tab L. Uno, LCSW, MPA

The open assertion is interesting, but there it is in all its sordid glory, the theme of his letter. Pity he follows up with a quote from a Supreme Court case that does not contribute in any way to his conclusion that a permitless concealed carry is "irresponsibly dangerous." Perhaps there's more following.

The second paragraph continues with an appeal to authority that because he's a licensed social worker--leftist alert!--what follows should be accepted without argument. What does he follow up with, a quote from yet another expert that suggests that a "man killing a woman is highest when he is unemployed and possesses a weapon."

Let's look at his base assumptions here: as a licensed clinical (no less) social worker, he's telling you to accept the "research" which "suggests" (though not actually proves) that there is a increase in the risk of men killing women when they're (a) unemployed and (b) in possession of a weapon. Keep it at the front of your mind his thematic conclusion: that permitless concealed carry is "irresponsibly dangerous" then ask yourself what connection permitless concealed carry has with research from some unknown authority figure named Jackie--whom he asserts is an internationally recognized expert--produced which show unemployed men who own guns are at risk of killing women.

Think of his assumptions here, based even though they are on this purported "research": he's assuming that men will have to be both unemployed and simply own a firearm to raise the risk of them killing women. That alone is debatable but it betrays a vicious mindset, a generalization that slanders men. Though strangely this curtails his argument, such as it is, since all I would have to do to destroy it is to say that employed male gun owners exist in much larger numbers.

Continuing: since the risk is "raised" that unemployed men are at risk of killing women (women in general or just ones they run into on the street?), we should not pass a law permitting concealed carry without a license. Okay, that makes all the sense in the world!

Unemployed male gun owners are at risk of killing women therefore do not pass a bill that would allow permitless concealed weapons carriage. Do you see the meandering illogic of this? The pure emotionality of it all? Women will die! The only thing that would round out this perfect dunghill of an argument is if he can somehow work in minorities, preferably gay minorities--into the whole stewpot.

His final paragraph seals the tomb: this bill will increase the likelihood that women will be murdered. H'm. Doesn't that require his two ingredients of male unemployment and simple gun ownership? Alas, he doesn't say. He just wildly asserts. His premises don't support his conclusions, but I wager he doesn't care, women will die! The fantastic rat's nest of assumptions that draws a connection between unemployed males killing women with their guns is a work of a very disturbed mind. That this person is "counselling men" is only just this side of frightening.

Secure in the fact that he has indeed made the connection between unemployed, gun-owning males, the women they kill, and permitless concealed weapons carry, he proceeds:

Now is the time when government has a responsibility to protect its people and not promote freedom to handle anger and frustration to the detriment of people’s lives.

Does that statement make any sense to you? I've read it a few times and each time, I get more confused. "Now is the time [as opposed to when other time?] when government has a responsibility to protect its people and [here comes the super bizarre part] not promote freedom to handle anger and frustration to the detriment of people's lives [Huhhuhwhat? Is there a freedom fit to be promoted by the government to "handle anger"? Seriously, what the fuck does this mean?]

By passing a permitless concealed weapons carry law, this is government "promoting freedom to handle anger and frustration to the detriment of people's lives"? How about permitted concealed weapons carry, which is legal now? How is the permitting process supposed to weed out unemployed men who will kill women? What standard ought the government use here? Will there need to be a question in the form for concealed carry that asks whether you're employed if you're male and which will deny you the right to keep and bear arms since it raises the risk of you bad male person you killing women?

Our freedoms are not unlimited, says the Supreme Court. I have so many questions: what does this have to do with permitless concealed weapons carry? Does the Supreme Court get to decide what those limitations on our freedoms are, or just the right to keep and bear arms? What will a limitation on the right to keep and bear arms mean with respect to unemployed male gun owners killing women?

This letter gives you an insight into the disjointed mind of a leftist who speaks only in buzzwords. Men kill women. Buzz! Guns are bad. Buzz! I am a clinical social worker. Buzz! Freedoms are not unlimited. Buzz! Supposition based on emotion riding on the rails of base assumptions with a touch of just pure crazy.

The American Form of Government

The Intelligence of Race

H'm:

It's a biological fact that there are innate differences in IQ among different races. If you can't deal with that, enjoy being a truther.
— Charles C. Johnson (@ChuckCJohnson) January 30, 2015

Set aside the fact that Charles Johnson is a soulless ginger (heh), let's talk about race and intelligence and this assertion he makes about a fact of biology. But more, let's talk about the consequences of his assertion about that fact of biology.

To start, I will declare outright some biases: (a) I fucking love science (ahem) (b) I am bi-racial; specifically, I'm half white boy, half black girl. That sounds weird, but there you have it. I have some skin (heh) in the game, so to speak. And (c) I am a Christian.

I was born in Cameroon, lived the first half of my life in Nigeria in the west of Africa and then moved around until I settled in Florida, which is as close to a melting pot as you will have anywhere else in the US, both in literal and metaphorical terms. What this means is that, as an average observer of humanity--certainly enough to know I don't like most humans--I can tell you that there are truths to be found in generalities about groups. Where things start to fray is in applying those averages, those generalities to individual members of those groups. It takes a steady mind to avoid bigotry, and we are all of us guilty of it regardless of skin color.

For example, the myriad problems in Nigeria have at their root the deep divides between Nigerian ethnic and attendant religious groups: the eastern Igbos, reputed to be more intelligent than the northern Hausas, don't like the western Yorubas, etc. And they each say things about each other in generalities: "Don't trust an Igbo trader, son. He's out to steal as much as he can. Learn to bargain!" And so on.

We are generalization engines. We categorize. We sort and classify. It's what has made us the dominant species on the planet. But it is also the bane of our existence. The source of much strife, of war, of violence, of evil. With this in mind, let's talk about genetics, of which I know just enough from High School & College biology (I was a Zoology major at a University in Nigeria, intending on going on to Medical School). It is a fact that certain attributes pass genetically from generation to generation. It is, truly, settled science if there ever was such a thing. Among black Americans, a doctor will say, high blood pressure is more common. Sickle Cell Anemia is prevalent among black Africans, etc.

Chances are, you inherited your father's thighs or your mother's breasts--which would really suck for you if you're a man. Chances are, you'll likely die from the same disease that killed one of your grandfathers, if medical science doesn't find a cure. Chances are, people will say you have your mother's green eyes, Chances are, you and your sisters share your grandmother's Roman nose. And the list goes on.

There's no valid reason why genetic inheritance of attributes should stop, by human fiat, at the neck and go no higher. Those calf muscles you got from your father, but no one knows why you both suck at mathematics. No idea. Nonsense. Intelligence and the attendant capability is heritable. I've seen it, you've seen it. I believe, based on the evidence, that this is a fact of life.

Well now, what about groups? Ah now there's where the road is not so easy to walk. The Nazis (you knew it was coming) used the "biological fact" of racial differences to send millions to the gas chambers. Does this, one wonders, therefore invalidate the study of racial differences? Of course not, because to do so is to commit a logical fallacy. Are there racial differences between peoples and are those differences genetic? I say yes. Race, like sex, is most certainly not a social "construct" and it is foolish to think otherwise.

And if by extension, there are biological--including morphology--differences between the races, transferrable through the genes, and if, intelligence is likewise transferrable through the genes, it ought to follow that there are differences in intelligence between the races. As a half-black, half-white man, this makes sense to me; it does not make me uncomfortable in the least.

And this is why: I do not apply what I know to be true about groups to the individual members of that group. For two reasons: first because it's committing a logical fallacy to do otherwise and also because earlier I declared the bias that I am a Christian. What that means is that in the way I live my life and in my interactions with people, there are certain rules and regulations that govern and provide guidance to those interactions. I believe I am made in God's image (Imago Dei) and I also believe every human being on the planet is also made in God's image. This does not nullify the fact of our differences, of which there are many: racial, ideological, political, and so on. What is does do is require that I act accordingly for we are, all of us, God's children, brothers and sisters.

The problem is, we're humans. Fallible and fallen creatures that really suck generally. With evil in the heart, we seize on our differences to rationalize our evil actions against others. It is "harder" to shoot your son in the head than a stranger's. It is "easier" to kick a dog (Canis familiaris) than it is to kick a child (Homo sapiens). People and things that are different from us are easier to act against with malice. It is the stuff of which human history is made and all you have to do to convince yourself of this reality is to read a few history books.

So then, for argument's sake accept the fact of the matter that there are differences between the races. The question now is, so what? From which follows, no what? What are we to do with this information? As with most questions posed to humanity, it comes fraught with advantage and danger.

My doctor asks me for a family history so he can help me avoid "family-related" problems so I can live longer and healthier than my mother who died young. The racist down the street from me assumes because of my mother's skin color that I am unintelligent, if not outright stupid, and because of this, am two steps away from being violent. Well, in a way, he's right: I am steps away from being violent, but that requires he takes the first few steps first. :)

For good and for bad, there are differences between the races. For good, we can tailor health practices to ensure we all live longer. For bad, we can have Auschwitz. Personally, for you, as an individual, what should this bit of information do for you? Information, data, sitting there means nothing. You may as well have never known it--and I believe this is the path many take, to turn a blind eye. Does this mean that you will act in a certain way when you meet a black person? An Arab? A Jew? A Chinese man? Will it change the way you would have acted?

If it is shown that the intelligence of black Africans is lower than that of white Europeans, does this mean you now understand why black African countries are such hell holes? Does this remove the blinders, everything now clear? Does the relatively high intelligence of the Ashkenazi Jews now mean we should only have those Jews be scientists? Drawing only from that class of persons the doctors, engineers? Are you, as a white man, better than me, as a half-white man who is in turn better than a fully-black man? What does "better" mean in this situation?

As a government, do we start passing legislation barring certain groups from occupying certain posts in society based on genetics? Are we to segregate blacks in certain sections of our cities (which they already do on their own, by choice, it seems)? Japanese? Do we pass laws requiring that blacks cannot intermarry with Asians because the ensuing offspring will be "less capable" for society?

What do we do with this information, considering it's truth? Now, what? Considering how bad we are at statistics, replete through and through with cognitive bias after cognitive bias, now what.

Tears on My Pillow

Ran into this gem published by our newspaper of record (I use that term loosely) here in Idaho, The Statesman. I'm going to quote it and intersperse my thoughts.

When a powerful organization called al-Qaida nurtures the violent fantasies of angry and disaffected men and enables them to obtain weapons and kill innocent civilians, we call that terrorism.
When a profit-driven industry lobby called the NRA makes it easy as pie for any angry or even crazy person to get handguns and assault weapons and act out their own violent fantasies against family and community members, does that count as terrorism, too?

Right off, you get the sense this is going to be a well-reasoned, thoughtful and sober reflection on the issues. "al-Qaida" is compared with the National Rifle Association because they both nurture the violent "fantasies of men" (not women?) by enabling them to "obtain weapons and kill innocent civilians."

Yes, those two organizations are different in name, perhaps, but that's where all difference ends. Must I point out the insanity of conflating these two organizations, really? Must I? Oh alright, I suppose I must. The NRA (I mean 'al-Qaida') enables crazy people to get handguns and assault weapons. I'd like to know how it does that exactly. Does it buy them the handguns? Does it encourage the crazy people to commit these atrocities? Does it put the evil in their minds, maybe using some "Inception"-type brainwashing? Does it make them crazy in the first place? I'm not quite clear what this person means by "enabling" because "easy as pie" isn't exactly a methodology.

To purchase a firearm, the NRA (I mean, 'al-Qaida') plays no part in the transaction whatsoever. To purchase a firearm, the person has two choices: buy from a dealer or buy from a private citizen. To purchase from a dealer, they must first have money, which isn't exactly easy to come by. So called "assault weapons" (so called because there's no one legal definition for what an assault weapon is) are expensive and the NRA, if anything, takes money not gives it.

At the dealership, the prospective buyer must pass a background check to ensure he or she is not a "prohibited person." Felons cannot purchase firearms, neither can those adjudicated mentally insane. So far, no 'Easy Pie' but it is simple as a concept: if you're not a felon or otherwise prohibited, nothing should come in the way of your obtaining a firearm, which is a right as recognized by the Second Amendment.

So what about private purchases? The first point to make here is an important and philosophical one: a firearm is not a sentient being, capable of making choices on its own. It is a tool, designed for the specific purpose of throwing a projectile in a certain direction, that direction chosen by the wielder of the firearm. It is a piece of property, no more no less. In many ways, it's like a car or a boat. As a private citizen, I ought to be able to sell my own private property, period. If you don't agree with this simply because it is a firearm, you are a tyrant-in-the-making.

That said, there are laws governing such transactions specifically because it is a firearm: the seller must be reasonably certain that the buyer is not a prohibited person. This means that most purchasers who do not know the buyer beforehand will insist on getting a bill of sale filled out, an ID check, and many insist that the buyer have a Concealed Weapons Permit which shows they've already passed an FBI background check. So far, no pie and the NRA (I mean 'al-Qaida') still hasn't made an appearance.

But, you protest, criminals and other prohibited persons get their guns somewhere! That's right: they buy them from other criminals. They do not go into gun stores. They do not buy them from law-abiding private citizens. Read the FBI reports on this and you'll find that criminals get the majority of their guns from strawman purchases (bad boy thug felon sends his baby momma who has no criminal record to buy him a gun) and of course from the streets.

As for crazy people obtaining firearms, until the day we can merely look at a person who has shown no signs of mental illness beforehand and foresee they are about to become insanely violent, we are forced to give them the benefit of the doubt. Mental illness is a terrible thing, but we all should not be guilty of it before clinical diagnosis. As easily as the mentally ill can use a firearm to cause violence, they can use a knife (as happened in China with those poor children) and they can use a car (too many examples of this abound) or something else, usually benign. It is the responsibility of society at large that before we strip someone of their unalienable rights--which include bearing arms--a sober judicial process must occur. We shouldn't be required to prove our sanity before exercising a basic and natural right. On second thought, maybe we ought to require proof of sanity before voting!

Now for "angry" persons obtaining firearms--what a ludicrous idea! Who hasn't been an "angry" person a few times in life? Prohibiting people from obtaining firearms because they're "angry" is insanity itself and pretty much rules out every man, woman, and child on the planet. Which is perhaps his goal, and if so, why doesn't he just say so?

As with most of the stupidity and irrationality in American public life, our friends, neighbors and family members are being killed on a weekly basis nationwide because this is what we have asked for, either by voting for politicians who are stooges of the NRA, or by not voting at all and thus leaving the decision to zealots.

In one breath you call Americans stupid and irrational but your "friends, neighbors and family members" who are killed on a weekly basis aren't stupid and irrational, they're just dead. Are those people not part of the stupid and irrational American public life? The connection he attempts to show between voting for politicians who are NRA (I mean, 'al-Qaida') stooges and his "friends and neighbors" being killed is tenuous, at best.

Let's see here: the politicians in Chicago, Democrats almost all, are hardly NRA stooges. In fact, Chicago and the state of Illinois has some of the most stringent gun regulations on the books. Yet it also has some of the highest murder rate committed with handguns (not "assault weapons," mind you which are statistically insignificant) in the nation. In fact, the areas with politicians who write the most stringent gun control measures into law have the highest rates of "gun violence." Interesting, that, no? So it seems where there's no NRA ('al-Qaida'), there's higher rates of "gun violence" which, alas, doesn't help his points.

So tell me again that a nation flooded with guns and plagued with mass murders is somehow freer and safer than nations such as Australia, Canada or England with vastly lower murder rates.
Somehow, I'm not feeling it.

And that's the key, isn't it? This whole letter is composed of "feels." You're not "feeling" it because basically, that's about all you're doing, is feeling. This is an unsteady appeal to emotion. None of the clear-eyed statistics actually supports your contentions so you blast out in a spittle stream of over-emotionality.

Well, I'm sure sorry to tell you this, but your feelings have no weight in overturning Second Amendment rights. As most Americans now agree, based on polling data, the Second Amendment is sacrosanct and gun control is nothing more than people control in hiding. The fact that someone, somewhere, will misuse their right to own firearms is not a reason to strip those rights away from everyone else. The fact that someone, somewhere, is sure to drink and drive is no reason to prohibit the sale of alcohol. Unless and until you commit a crime or are adjudicated mentally unstable, your rights are yours, given by the Constitution's 'Creator' and are not subject to your feelings.

As for the spurious claim about our nation flooded with guns is less "freer and safer" than Australia, Canada, or England, well that just does not hold any water! England and Australia have different populations in both numbers and culture than we do. Not only that, but their violence rates are higher per capita than ours. In fact, the United States is number 111 (One hundred and Eleven) in homicide rates worldwide and, if we take out the Democrat-controlled cities, we would fall even lower. We are freer, yes, and come to find out, we're safer, too.

Watch this, if you dare:


As an aside, it's rather interesting that you're calling out Australia and Canada where in the last few months violence with highly-regulated firearms have exploded into the news. France, with its Draconian firearms laws, just saw Islamic terrorists (NRA members?) murder police and journalists with semi-automatic rifles. How do you explain that away, I wonder?

And yes, I've been a gun owner all my adult life, am pro-hunting and attended the police funeral following the previous Moscow mass murders in 2007. Still not feeling it.
Chris Norden, Moscow

Well, Chris, the fact you're a gun owner "all your life" means nothing. It does not grant your opinion any more weight. That you want to limit firearm ownership, while being a firearm owner yourself, means nothing. It's a cheap rhetorical ploy to cover yourself in a mantle of reasonableness. It's sort of like saying that because you're married to a Jew, you are thereby free to be an anti-Semite.

The Second Amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with "hunting." Nice try. Go sell your crazy somewhere else, pal. Like Chicago.

I'm not a member of the NRA but this guy has given me all the reason I need to pull the trigger (no pun). Today, I'm joining the NRA (I mean, 'al-Qaida').

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/01/27/3612814_letter-guns.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Triple Check

So as many of you have seen, this is what your hand would look like if or when a 9mm Speer Golddot +P goes into your palm and out through your wrist. It's not a good feeling at all. Having been shot by one now I know why so many people like them. Even after a couple hours, morphine and an oxycodone I still feel like a tank is sitting on my arm with a fire brand inside. I'll have everyone know I didn't cry at all the while time and no one else was endangered by the gun when it went off. Now for exactly what happened : I had just made it home from work and was gonna oil my gun and put my new grip pin and trigger pins in the gun. It was loaded with gold dot +Ps and I dropped the mag racked the slide and was pulling the trigger to take the slide off and had my palm in front of the muzzle to pull the tabs down like I would with any unloaded glock. I shot through my hand and out my wrist. I did everything right but the bullet didn't eject so there was still a bullet in the chamber. It's been a good learning experience for me, even though it sucks to have to learn the hard way to triple check, it's worth it in the end. Thanks to everyone who has checked on me, sorry I haven't replied go everyone but I wanted to make this post so everyone understood what happened exactly. I appreciate any prayers while I try and rest up and heal. Thank you all my friends!! #glock

A photo posted by Hunter (@hunterrwill) on Jan 25, 2015 at 6:49am PST

How Multiculturalism Caused the Paris Terror Attacks | Afterburner w/Bil...

Ew, Christians

Douthat is right;

Palmer’s secular and scientistic worldview, of course, is not the worldview of the classical world, which was far more inegalitarian and cruel than the still-Christian-influenced secular humanism of our own era.

Read the rest, then with that in mind, read Palmer's loathsome article for Slate.

Kill or Be Killed

Last night, because I wanted to understand the salient points of Idaho's self-defense statutes, I decided to take the course by the Ada County Sheriff's Office. It was three hours long and mostly worth it. However, there were a few glaring errors--maybe it would be better to call it let-downs than errors; I'm going to describe them, for the hell of it. There were two instructors, one behemoth deputy with each arm the size of three baseball bats taped together with bungee cords, Deputy Muscles. This is a guy you wouldn't want to tangle with without the aid of a meth/8-ball cocktail. The other instructor was a typical Idahoan male of a certain persuasion: funny, meek, untraveled, provincial, 6 children, all homeschooled. I liked him immediately. He was a Sergeant, Muscles a Corporal. After a few corny jokes that the universe could have done without, we got into it, wading ankle-deep into what was surely a wide and deep ocean of self-defense law. We were made to understand that our fine state had laws essentially unchanged since the 1800s when they were first drafted. The Deputies tried and laughably failed to show that the laws had been updated to “the present day” through the accumulation of case law. Now, I knew this, but from the vacant looks on the faces of the approximately 30 people in the class, I could tell they didn’t understand the concept. Is it slightly gauche to point out at this point that more than half the class was female? Maybe sexist. Maybe. And I’m not kidding about the Idaho Statutes! There’s mention of a justifiable homicide in defense of the life of one’s wife, husband, etc. and one’s “master or mistress or servant.” Nice. What was missing--but kept getting hinted at--was the fact that it would be necessary, on shooting in self-defense, to articulate the reason. Muscles made it seem as if you would be so doing to the Police. He did, naturally, point out that it was up to you whether or not you chose to speak to the Police and that, of course!, you had a right to shut up and request an attorney. But, it would still be necessary to “articulate” your reasons. Yes, Muscles, I must be able to articulate clearly the reasoning that went into my decision to shoot and possibly kill in self-defense. But it wouldn’t be to you, or any other Law Enforcement official: in the immortal ebonics of Tupac, only God can judge me. Well, Him and a jury of my peers. What they left out was that the articulation would be to that jury. While one’s first contact would certainly be with Law Enforcement, none of those yahoos had the power to pronounce guilt or innocence. With that in mind, Muscles really ought to have instructed class takers that in addition to the archaic-sounding statutes, it was necessary to find and read the Idaho Criminal Jury Instructions. This is really the standard to which one would be held. It should also have been mentioned that the standard for judging an action of self-defense involves what a third person, a so-called “reasonable person,” would have done in the same circumstances. That this wasn’t discussed by Muscles is slightly alarming. The other surprising thing I noticed: Muscles came to a slide in his pitiful Powerpoint deck that he skipped outright, mentioning insouciantly that it dealt only with Law Enforcement. By the way, these atrocious Powerpoint slides featured the usual “presentation sins”: text-heavy, shitty default templates, ponderous animation; in other words, something these cops were probably very proud of creating. Back to the slide in question: it dealt with Idaho’s “fleeing felon” law. 4. When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed, or in lawfully suppressing any riot, or in lawfully keeping and preserving the peace. I can understand why Deputy Muscles didn’t want to discuss it, because it essentially gives citizens the right to pursue and possibly kill a felon. He preferred to lie instead. For shame. Yes, that Statute gives the everyday man and woman the right to claiming that killing a fleeing felon was a justifiable homicide. I know you don’t like it, Muscles, but that does not mean you get to lie about it. It does not only cover Law Enforcement, it covers everyone. The hint is in the title of the Statute itself: 18-4009. JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE BY ANY PERSON. I’ll save you the time and simply give you the answer: “any person” includes you, me, and yes, Deputy Muscles. Is it a good idea to pursue a fleeing felon and possibly kill him or her? No. The cold and unwavering eyes of the modern Justice system would probably not look with any mercy if you did. But that statute exists and can be claimed by, yes, any person. Another faux pas was his mentioning the fact that, by law, you needed to aid the now-stopped threat/assailant. I don’t see this anywhere in the books. It does indeed look good that you attempted to give aid and succor to the jerkoff you just shot--after all, one is shooting to stop a threat, not to kill but to say it was required by law without reference to any law is, again, a bit disconcerting. In all, I enjoyed the class. It needs a bit of a retouching, some highlighting, a spiff-up here and there and definitely losing a bit of shitty information. In his defense (no pun intended), Deputy Muscles did take the effort to point out that this class was just the beginning. More study was necessary. Roger wilco.

To The Memory of Trim

An ode to a cat, by Matthew Flinders.

To the memory of Trim, the best and most illustrious of his Race,—the most affectionate of friends,—faithful of servants, and best of creatures.

He made the Tour of the Globe, and a voyage to Australia, which he circumnavigated; and was ever the delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers. Returning to Europe in 1803, he was shipwrecked in the Great Equinoxial Ocean; This danger escaped, he sought refuge and assistance at the Isle of France, where he was made prisoner, contrary to the laws of Justice, of Humanity, and of French National Faith; and where, alas! he terminated his useful career by an untimely death, being devoured by the Catophagi of that island. Many a time have I beheld his little merriments with delight, and his superior intelligence with surprise: Never will his like be seen again!

Trim was born in the Southern Indian Ocean, in the year 1799, and perished as above at the Isle of France in 1804.

Peace be to his shade, and Honour to his memory.

 How lovely. RIP Trim.

 

 

 

 

"Two Chips" / An Animated Short

Calcugirl

Hark! There are not enough women in the sciences! Did you know? Well take it that there aren’t and that’s a problem. Listening to the usual suspects, it’s not just a problem, it’s a big problem.

I’m in science. I was in actual science more when I was in college studying electrical engineering. Now I’m just a systems administrator whose life is a storm-tossed sailboat on the large and angry Microsoft sea, but bear with me. I’m in science.

Once upon a time, your humble correspondent was good enough to be indoctrinated in the engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi (hi guys!) At the risk of boring you—and it is mighty boring; except that one time when I threatened to kill a fellow “Tau Bate”. That was exciting—let me tell you how I got conferred this high honor: I busted my ass. I became an automaton. For every hour in class (with such scintillating titles as Control Systems 1), I was in the library studying, editing, highlighting, cramming, for 3 sometimes 4 hours. Finals saw me neglecting personal hygiene entirely.

In most of my classes with an average of 25 students, about 10 per cent were female. I’ll just say it’s a sight to behold a half-woman and leave it at that. I am no psychologist, just a patient, but I’ll tell you this: there are very few women who revel in neglecting personal hygiene for hours on end. It’s damned hard work and leaves the worker fried and friendless.

So what do you do to attract the female into such an exciting field as EE?

I read an article some time back that hinted that one perhaps subconscious reason some girls don’t want to enroll in these areas of study is the dearth of … how can I say this without hurting some of my former classmates’ feelings … real men. I cast my aching mind back and look around the classroom. Most of these guys were frumpy, desiccated specimens of manhood. Emaciated and pasty (even the black guys) from staying out of direct sunlight for weeks on end. If that wasn’t enough to deter the average female, the odious lack of hygiene often did the trick. Essentially, they (not me though) were brains dragged around in weak bodies. Not much prospect for a boyfriend much less a husband in that lot. That is, if the girl would like to be defended from actual physical harm anyway.

No sir, the girls were in the Social Sciences, where the Football demigods strutted their stuff. So there you have it, a course of study that didn’t involve killing off whatever social life she deems important (she is a girl) and the prospect of meeting and interacting with hawt boiz. What woman wants a halfling Asperger candidate capable of solving advanced difference calculus when healthy young, good-looking Adonises with all the right words roam the halls of PoliSci?

Game, set and match

Flight Tests–A Review

A review I posted to Amazon.

I knew I was about to read something most definitely not run-of-the-mill when I read the cover that showed the book was endorsed by an organization known as the Live Cowards Club. Since this is a club for which I will handily pass any and all entrance tests, it tickled the old laugh muscles.

Make no assumptions though, this is a very serious book, just written in a humorous manner: that of showing oneself capable of being a good and safe pilot to an examiner. It is mainly written from a South African point of view (so expect to stumble into words spelled weird like ‘manoeuvre’ ;) ) although the laws of physics holds no matter where you fly. As Davis says, this little book “takes you through each flying exercise and tells you what [the examiner] expects of you.”

Each part of the check ride is examined, from pre-flight inspection to steep turns, to cross-country flying. Each section is filled with tips and the strong voice of a very experienced pilot. In essence, this book will help you get mentally prepared for the test. Here's one from near the front of the book:

“Try to do everything smoothly. Imagine that you have your 90-year-old granny in the back, and its[sic] her first flight ever. Do everything smoothly, even small things like applying carb-heat, changing power settings or selecting flap. Passengers should not be able to notice changes of power and speed and attitude.”

With equal parts mindset framing, expounding on the philosophy of good airmanship and practical flying technique information, this is a book that punches above its weight class. Five highly recommended stars.

Merry Christmas

To anyone who’s still reading this blog, bless you and a merry Christmas! I will be writing a lot more in the new year so stay tuned, will you?

To anyone who’s just passing, merry Christmas.

Tilton Against Windmills

Frederick Tilton (he should immediately change his name; he’s no “Fred”!) contacted the AOPA and announced that the FAA, after all that bluster and wind, will not be implementing its new sleep apnea policy.

The policy would have required pilots with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 to be tested, and if needed, treated for obstructive sleep apnea. Instead, in the new year, the agency will open discussions with aviation industry stakeholders to find a way to balance pilots’ and the FAA’s concerns.

Would that this kind of thing occurred more often.

Like Women

I suppose it's inevitable, as the feminine becomes ascendant in American society we all start behaving like teenage girls. The political system has been reduced to playing Mean Girls, each side—the liberal contingent being the worst offenders—vying to paint their opponents in the worst light possible: that of “meanie.”

It's also seeping into everyday life. I recently read that not taking things personally is an essentially masculine trait. If that's true, we're done for. On a discussion board last week, I took a medical doctor to task for holding what is, in my opinion, a rather ridiculous stance—it doesn't matter whether or not I was right or wrong. What matters is his reaction: this man, in his seventh decade of life, a clinical assistant professor, board certified in Internal Medicine, Pain Medicine and Anesthesiology responds with all the drama of a teenage girl on her period:

This hilarious version of a swoon prompts an outpouring from his prom court of men on the board soothing his apparently fragile ego:

“Hang tough. Focus on all the good things in your life.”
“Doc, you are caring respected person. You have your friends and fans. Ignore the rest.”
“The 99% that appreciate and respect you wish you a peaceful mind.
Regroup, Recover, Repost -- We support you !”

If this doesn't sound like a cackling sewing circle validating the shit out of each other, it can't be too far off.

Yes, we're done for.

An Arnold Truism

I'm not entirely sure it's a secret but I agree: the mind always fails first. At least for me. Damned dirty mind. Em, well, get your mind out of the gutter!

The Illegality of Christianity

I read without real surprise about the Oregon bakery that's gone out of business because the Christian owners refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding.

In addition, they're being investigated by the State of Oregon for discriminatory practices.

Here's why I'm not surprised: in many states, it is already illegal to practice Christianity and I'll formulate an argument for why.

Christianity is a discriminatory religion.

It makes certain claims about humanity, and these claims are intensely discriminatory. It calls people names. It categorizes people.

Of course, it also freely ‘offers’ a way out of that categorization, but that's neither here nor there in the context of this post.

In the modern state, it has become illegal to discriminate.

Therefore to practice Christianity is illegal.

There are quite a number of people who can't wait to see this come to actual, practical fruition, when practicing Christians will be imprisoned for holding fast to a faith that discriminates.

These will be interesting times.

The White Rabbit Rides Again

Every summer it seems the gods decide to put me through an Olympics: “you, athlete (ha! Athlete!) prepare thyself for competition … with yourself.” Boom!

Here it comes—I picture a lightning rod upon which rides the gnarliest of viruses. This  year, it was these little beasties that landed with a thud:

These things decided to take up residence in my throat and turn it into a bachelorette's eve of Roman orgy proportion. And wouldn’t you know it, right in the middle of an Exchange Server 2007 to 2013 migration. The gods, they have a funny sense of humor.

Not knowing exactly what microbe had caught a ride on Thor’s lightning bolt, I decided to rest as much as possible and eat, only the latter of which I do rather well. When it became clear that it was strep throat, I felt like I should let my body (rest and nutrition, remember!) fight the infection rather than asking for help with antibiotics. Yes, this can be dangerous. Strep is no laughing matter, and people have died from it. However, at my age, I’m not particularly sure rheumatic fever or whatever other strep-related problems could take me out. So I (weakly) girded my loins and hung on for the ride.

I’m happy to report that though these bastards rained steel on the old stockade, it held strong. Though not without some very interesting hallucinations—you’ll have to remind me some time to select a few special ones for publication. One reason I felt I could withstand the onslaught without antibiotic aid is that I was still able to move about on my own steam, however slowly. I could still concentrate for a good hour or two. And so it was that Friday last, I went in to work with the idea of gathering up the remnant “action items” for the Exchange project I wanted finished this week. Silly Rabbit, projects are for healthy kids.

Nevertheless, as I scurried up the data I decided to check in on the governing document: the Exchange 2013 Deployment Assistant. This rather well-structured bit of work goes through and models out a project and task list for either a new installation or an upgrade from the various Exchange editions to 2013. When I had completed it the last time three weeks ago, the list printed out to 23 pages or so. This time, Microsoft had added enough information to make it now a 33-page monstrosity. Great!

This is a problem I’ve found with using on-the-cusp technology, especially Microsoft on-the-cusp tech. Things change, but enough to generate an additional ten or more pages?

Guess who took time off to get better?

By the way, at the first sign of strep infection, try this excellent recipe:

Porn Sex vs Real Sex: The Differences

Do not watch this. You have been warned.

The Black Hole

[Composed on the spur of the moment. I am responsible, as usual, for any ranty goodness even if it doesn't make logical sense.]

I hope you're sitting down, but I've been reading. I've been reading about so-called race relations in America in light of the Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman affair. For the record, I deplore these two men's actions. I deplore Zimmerman because he should have known better, being the older and therefore supposedly wiser man. I deplore Zimmerman because he should have been more cognizant of the responsibility that comes with having a concealed weapon. I do not think--not that it matters--that he's a racist just quite stupid. I deplore Martin because he was a jerk. He was center deep in the rut to become a gangster, a thug, and a blight on good society.
That said, the jury made a sound decision in pronouncing Zimmerman not guilty. There was enough reasonable doubt that it would not have been justifiable in any sense, starting with the legal and ending with the moral, to send Zimmerman to prison.
I deplore Barack Obama even more than those two reprobates. His decision to enter the fray was perhaps the politically astute thing to do considering his failing presidency, but that aside it was a repugnant show of racist ideology and belies a cynicism bred of deep-seated hatred. I can only surmise that it is of white people, but I can't be certain but it doesn't matter. He's an asshole, and that's all there is to it. I'm now awaiting any of several Federal Agencies (including the Department of Education with its law enforcement arm. Yes, it has one. Who'd a thunk that!) to carry out a campaign against me at his behest. Not that I'm that significant or anything. How's that for being cynical?
All that was a preamble for something that's been eating at me for a while: black Americans as a group. It has been said in some areas of the Internet that I've trod that blacks are altogether inferior (this is true racism by the way, according to its dictionary definition) and therefore are incapable of American citizenship, one that requires intelligent and educated participation. When one looks around at the actions or inactions as the case may be of black Americans, can you fault the racist for thinking this? Substandard scores in just about every recorded education goal. A hellaciously fractured family life. Mob mentality in voting practices and actual mob behavior. Crimes committed at a rate completely out of proportion to population numbers.
Attributing such behavior to poverty is nonsensical and smacks of political opportunism. How? As a thoroughly reliable guide, anything Barack Obama thinks can be chalked up to political opportunism and he thinks poverty and a currently non-existent widespread racism is the cause of black malaise.
There are studies that have shown that black people are predisposed to violence and criminal behavior based on genetics. Is that true, one wonders. Is there a genetic link that dooms the average black American to becoming a criminal? If you believe, as I do, that even if it were true there was a genetic predisposition to crime locked somewhere in the genes of black people, it does not then follow that black people are completely helpless in determining whether or not to commit a crime. Criminal behavior is learned and correlation is not causation and all that claptrap. But I play my hand too soon.
What I find ironic is that the racist thinking that dooms black Americans to being inferior citizens, incapable of breaking from their genetic prisons to live peaceably in the freest society in human history is the same  shared by those who are supposedly virulently avowed non-racists. Liberal thought actually treats blacks with kid gloves that belie an ideology of low to no expectations. Black voting is a sure thing, like children can be counted on to always like ice cream. Black-run cities are always guaranteed to be violent and out-of-control, therefore more money should be heaped on them much the same way you provide your crying toddler with a lollipop to assuage a tantrum. Black education scores are deplorably below standards therefore amass a heap of money so that black children who don't care to learn are presented with world-class facilities that go mostly unused.
It is my considered opinion that black Americans are not genetically inferior humans anymore than than Asians are genetically superior human beings. In spite of all the studies that show a correlation between one gene or the other and a certain behavior, humans are and have always been capable of rejecting any such predispositions. “The history of the world is but the biography of great men” is an aphorism I read long ago, and it is true. Now take a look at the actual biographies of such great men and you will find all those foibles that make humanity its own worst enemy: we steal, we lie, we cheat, we kill. We are not doomed to behavior. The supposed best of us can show the worst of all behaviors. The supposed worst of us can show the best of all behaviors. We learn to become what we are.
This is not to say that genetics play absolutely no part in fashioning our natures. To say so would be to overstep my expertise. I do believe our genes determine our brain chemistry, which may in turn determine behavior, yes. But I do not believe therefore that it does determine our behavior. There are many reasons which this is so, and we as a society certainly do not act--nor should we--as if we believe we have no choice in modifying any predisposed behavior. We punish a criminal not his parents, for a somewhat trite example.
No, what I believe is black America's problem isn't one of genetics. It isn't one of economics--I will put my childhood up against the poorest of any American and mine will be worse, guaranteed. It is, pure and simply a cultured laziness.
I have read stories of newly-freed black slaves searching the land, far and wide, looking to be reunited with their families after the Civil War. I have heard stories of immense courage that black American men and women showed to keep their family and individual dignities together in the face of true hate. I have seen black Americans respond with aplomb and God-given grace in the face of what must have been an unending racist storm. I have heard of black Americans fervently seeking education despite the certain knowledge of instant and painful death upon discovery.
So what happened?
The liberals did. I believe that it started with the best of intentions: in a drive to assuage their consciences--sometimes wrought by their very Christianity--these fine folk decided to bend over backwards to give the so-called black community a hand up, to help gain standing in America (something which did not happen anywhere else on earth, by the way). Along the way, it became corrupted; co-opted by people like Barack Obama and the Kennedys and the LBJs of the world, it led to a widespread dependency by what was once a proud people on the purse and largesse of the government. In yet another unnoticed irony, this is exactly what slavery at its heart is about.
Here's the thing: you do this for any group of people and you will get the same results. Black, yellow, white, blue it doesn't matter. You give unending handouts and people will become lazy and stop "struggling." Since I've become quite the gym meathead, I can tell you that an apt analogy is muscle atrophy. You don't use your muscles--and by use I mean punish them, subject them to load, stress, shear--and they will atrophy.
Here's my measly contribution to the national conversation on race: start shaming people. All people. Certain civilizational standards exist. When people don't meet those standards, shame them. It is shameful to bring a bastard into the world. It is shameful to go to prison. It is shameful not to be able to pay your bills. It is shameful to be lazy. It is shameful to be dull in school (I like this term, by the way. Just as a dull knife can be made sharp by pressure and persistence, a dull child can attain mental sharpness and acuity.) It is shameful to be a one-parent household by choice. It is shameful for a black--or any other color--girl to sleep with as many thugs as she gets the vagina tingles for. It is shameful to impregnate as many woman as you want and then run away. It is shameful to shirk one's responsibilities. It is shameful to expect then come to demand handouts of any sort. It is shameful to display mental laziness in picking a candidate simply because of his color. It is all shameful. But people, being social animals, will only feel shame if we as a society start vociferously shaming.
It is not a racist act to shame. It is, in fact, an empowering act. You are calling another human being who has slipped back on to the sanity platform. It is allowing that they are adults capable for realizing shame and also, more importantly, mentally, psychologically and physically capable of changing behavior. Raise the standards, demand they be followed, and people will respond.
That or continue thinking black Americans are pets to be assuaged with goodies.