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Tuesday, January 23, 2018

You Don't Know Rosie

This is not Rosie.

Rosie the Riveter, and the perpetuated myth about who she was and what she stands for, is an example of "collective misconception," the phenomena known as the Mandela Effect. 

This is Rosie.

The Mandela Effect is a societal phenomenon where a group of  people repeat a false thing so many times, others pick it up and keep repeating it, and then eventually the false thing "becomes true." It is kind of terrifying.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Throwback Thursday: 2016

TRUMP:....Look, Putin...

WALLACE: Wait, but...

TRUMP: ... from everything I see, has no respect for this person.

CLINTON: Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States.

TRUMP: No puppet. No puppet.

CLINTON: And it's pretty clear...

TRUMP: You're the puppet!

CLINTON: It's pretty clear you won't admit...

TRUMP: No, you're the puppet.

CLINTON: ... that the Russians have engaged in cyberattacks against the United States of America, that you encouraged espionage against our people, that you are willing to spout the Putin line, sign up for his wish list, break up NATO, do whatever he wants to do, and that you continue to get help from him, because he has a very clear favorite in this race.

So I think that this is such an unprecedented situation. We've never had a foreign government trying to interfere in our election. We have 17 -- 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin and they are designed to influence our election. I find that deeply disturbing.

WALLACE: Secretary Clinton...

CLINTON: And I think it's time you take a stand...

TRUMP: She has no idea whether it's Russia, China, or anybody else.

CLINTON: I am not quoting myself.

TRUMP: She has no idea.

CLINTON: I am quoting 17...

TRUMP: Hillary, you have no idea.

CLINTON: ... 17 intelligence -- do you doubt 17 military and civilian...

TRUMP: And our country has no idea.

CLINTON: ... agencies.

TRUMP: Yeah, I doubt it. I doubt it.

CLINTON: Well, he'd rather believe Vladimir Putin than the military and civilian intelligence professionals who are sworn to protect us. I find that just absolutely...

TRUMP: She doesn't like Putin because Putin has outsmarted her at every step of the way.

WALLACE: Mr. Trump...

TRUMP: Excuse me. Putin has outsmarted her in Syria.

WALLACE: Mr. Trump...

TRUMP: He's outsmarted her every step of the way.

WALLACE: I do get to ask some questions.

TRUMP: Yes, that's fine.

WALLACE: And I would like to ask you this direct question. The top national security officials of this country do believe that Russia has been behind these hacks. Even if you don't know for sure whether they are, do you condemn any interference by Russia in the American election?

TRUMP: By Russia or anybody else.

WALLACE: You condemn their interference?

TRUMP: Of course I condemn. Of course I -- I don't know Putin. I have no idea.

WALLACE: I'm not asking -- I'm asking do you condemn?

TRUMP: I never met Putin. This is not my best friend. But if the United States got along with Russia, wouldn't be so bad. 😈

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Phone Is Not The Problem

This week is when I try to figure out what makes sense about 
people, 
who have bought a product, 
criticizing the company that makes the product, 
because people are getting too much use out of the product they bought. 
What chapter of The Modern Capitalism Handbook deals with this?


"What Is She Talking About?"

If your kid is addicted to her iPhone, doesn't that seem like a problem that would be solved not by the iPhone's maker, but by you, their actual parents? To my ears, the crazy is busting out with this aggressive blaming, specifically of the device, and the company. In the BLOGCAST video I talk about my mom limiting my TV, but same goes true for the phone. Like when I was twelve and called all those "story lines" and then my mom got a huge big phone bill and so I was banned from the phone when she wasn't home. I certainly didn't get my own phone. I couldn't be trusted, no phone for me. Now, with this "study" that they're demanding of Apple. What do we expect the data will show, hmmmm? I'd expect the results will start off showing phone use across OX, how many hours a day, using what platforms, which apps, and it'll show the geo-locations of all these children. Here's my question: shouldn't every mom and dad already be in control of knowing all that stuff about their own actual kid's phone use, especially the fallout, which is: should they be using the phone this much? When we were kids, "the phone" was just a phone, but the approximate analog version of this whole conversation would have been, "I don't want you watching that goddamn General Hospital! And no Atari until you finish your homework! And no calling Colleen until after 7, for fuck's sake! Go outside! And stay where I can see you." Or is Apple now in charge of all that pesky stuff. "Parental controls," are you freakin' kidding me.

Further Reading

If you are concerned about the increasingly negative impact of technology (which is really no laughing matter, despite my laughing about this "Apple is ruining our kids" iPhone story) then I recommend you check out an online publication called The Technoskeptic. They take a serious look at our dependence on tech of all kinds, and what you can personally do to avoid the pitfalls of  "too much technology." There are articles and a podcast. Please donate if you can.