jlc

I think that you are correct about attitude. There is a common theme in some adventure serials of the rich guy who imports victims to 'hunt' on some lonely island. The correct response is to turn and hunt the hunters. If you stop acting like a victim, you are as scary as hell - because you have the ability to step outside your assigned role. I think you are probably correct in the effect of your turning on the knife-wielders. Pity about the beer.

I like weapons in general (and unarmed combat too), and would love to be able to legally carry a sword cane, but it is a felony in CA. A regular cane is legal though, and I can wreak havoc with that.

Jan

I think that is the core of their decision. I was student teacher for a class on Parapsychology in college...and I know that the teacher got the class on the schedule by pointing out that it was a great vehicle to make statistics exciting to students.

Jan

Good roar, dino.

Jan

It seems so bizarre to me that all of these top politicos do not understand that the way out is to open the stopcocks of business. I am not an economic savant...I have to take off my shoes to count above 10, as a matter of fact...but even I can see that clearly.

Jan, of common sense

I enjoy reading about Trump and what he has said and what precious applecarts he has overturned. Yay!

But the man himself irritates me beyond words. I have watched him on a screen for probably less than 2 minutes total, and that is about all I can take. I may vote for him; I don't want to see or hear him.

Jan

Actually, my friends and I are quite concerned about the right to wear swords. The current CA law, which was written with the advice of an ex-narc agent (who happens to also be one of the worlds premier swordsmiths) lets one carry a sword as a non-concealable weapon as long as it is in the context of theatre or reenactment. So just be sure to have a doublet in your trunk too, and the swords are OK.

The non-concealable part is interesting. When you wear a 3 foot long broadsword, it is often invisible because you are wearing it under a full length greatcloak. But since a sword is defined as non-concealable, it does not matter - it is considered to be worn 'in the open' even if it is not in sight due to the cloak.

Jan

Plus for vomitorium.

Jan

There was a Gulcher who had a small hacienda in the wilds of Argentina, no? He was working up to the point of putting in solar panels, as I recall. The reason he liked/recommended Argentina was because it ignored the little guys out in the wide wide expanse of countryside.

Jan

It is my impression that the Army Corp of Engineers can, in a matter of hours, put up a temporary bridge that can carry tanks.

It seems to me that this is a case of we 'may' not repair this bridge rather than we 'can' not repair this bridge.

Jan

This is unfortunately true, but should not be. Employees should add something to the business (and it is well worth creating jobs for people who do this), something that a robot can not do. What the gov is doing is increasing the burden aspect of an employee, which means that the only employees you can keep are the ones who are superb.

This is interesting to contemplate. One of the things you look for in science is the concept of a 'baseline'. What is the normal situation? (This is what is wrong with many of the climate discussions - they lack an agreed-upon baseline, or any referent to baselines at all.) What we have here is the movement of a 'baseline' to advance the case of 'what a robot can provide'. A robot has a certain initial cost, maintenance cost, replacement interval; a human has wages, work habits, sickness or other time off. A human has personality, a robot has programmed responses, but a robot never goofs off or gets angry.

It is like one of those before-and-after pictures with the slider in the middle. Increased minimum wage moves the slider to the side that shows far more robots than humans.

Jan

It is what I would make for cold weather, though, not for summer (as much as we have 'cold' weather here, in Los Angeles. Stop laughing!). Maybe sprinkle a bit of grated cheddar on top after you take it out of the oven...

Jan

Agave maybe - will have to research it. I generally use honey (in my coffee) but only a little of it because honey is just 50% fructose + 50% sucrose + lots of trace thingies from the bees...so it engages the same sort of metabolism that cane sugar or corn sugar does.

But I bet it would taste great even without the sugar!

Jan

I agree. I am an optimistic person, but sometimes it is difficult - and a positive note like yours is welcome.

Jan

Philosophically, I agree that tax money should not go to NASA...but of all the extraneous agencies and uses to which my money is put, this is the one I least begrudge.

Jan

Thank you, Zero.

Jan

That sounds yummy. I will take out the sugar, though...

I make a good chili, but a baked version now...hmmm.

Paleo Jan

Yay us! And Yay U.S.!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cVOO...

Jan

If an alien spaceship ever openly approaches the Earth, all of the music stations all over the world need to play Beethoven's 9th. All. Of. Them.

Whilst the politicians dither, this can be the message of the People of Earth to the Cosmos - our brightest and best and most hopeful face turned outward.

Jan

Piece of family history:

Big John, my father's grandfather, was a tall man and known to be a good shot. He was too young to have fought in the Confederate Army, but after the war he did his part. He lived in the little town of Waterproof, LA and after the War, the Carpetbaggers came into town. One of them had a strain of 'inferior stock' of horses that he was trying to 'oblige' the townsfolk to buy. Big John told him to desist and when he did not, Big John shot his hat off.

The Carpetbagger took Big John before the town judge, saying, "This man tried to kill me!" Judge said, "We all know what a good shot Big John is. If he was trying to kill you, you wouldn't be here now. Case dismissed!"

Jan

There are some Mesopotamian finds of instances when the whole area between the Tigris and the Euprhatese Rivers was under water. "Noah" has its origins in Mesopotamian myth (Utnapishtem)- some of this biblical text is very close to the original in the Gilgamesh epic.

If you are interested, I can try to find out more precise details (had to look up Utnapishtem already!).

Jan

I beg your pardon? I found an example of modern (at least by my definition - printing press, gunpowder, banking) Christian armies committing wasteful slaughter. If you are going to definitionally eliminate the information I find, I will end this discussion.

Jan

That is absurd, AG. Christian armies are full of human people, who behave as well or as poorly as humans do under various circumstances. You have asked for an example - the massacre of the city of Magdeburg in 1631 provides an excellent example (per Wiki "Sack of Magdeburg"):

"After the city fell, the Imperial soldiers went out of control and started to massacre the inhabitants and set fire to the city. The invading soldiers had not received payment for their service and took the chance to loot everything in sight; they demanded valuables from every household that they encountered. Otto von Guericke, an inhabitant of Magdeburg, claimed that when civilians ran out of things to give the soldiers, "the misery really began. For then the soldiers began to beat, frighten, and threaten to shoot, skewer, hang, etc., the people." [7] It took only one day for all of this destruction and death to transpire. Of the 30,000 citizens, only 5,000 survived. For fourteen days, charred bodies were carried to the Elbe River to be dumped to prevent disease.

In a letter, Pappenheim wrote of the Sack:

I believe that over twenty thousand souls were lost. It is certain that no more terrible work and divine punishment has been seen since the Destruction of Jerusalem. All of our soldiers became rich. God with us.[8]

And history is full of such examples. I know of no major religion that is exempt. This does not make a religion right or wrong, it just makes it human.

Jan

Lentil soup is for Cold days, as far as I am concerned - not for warm weather. I actually made some lentil soup yesterday, because it was Raining in July...today it is hot and muggy, but we are promised more rain...But I also made the Balela because it had been so hot last week.

What's the weather going to be like tomorrow? Go figure.

Jan

Ha! Right.

I have made my first batch of Balela this weekend: The short version is to make Tabouli, but substitute garbanzo and black beans for the grain.

In a bit more detail:
chopped parsley, chopped tomato, chopped green onions, garlic, olive oil, chopped mint, pepper, balsamic vinegar, cooked garbanzos, cooked black beans

Combine all of these together. There should be about twice as many garbanzos as black beans and about half as many beans (combined) as the rest of the parsley/tomato/onion mix. (Except I ate a lot and then added more beans...)

Yum.

Jan