Another victim of wokeness

 

News of the Obscure

 Just deleted my Twitter account.

Stopped using Facebook long ago, and the only reason I don't ditch Blogger is that I'm not quite ready to completely give up the blog, but the alternatives I know of all are all for pay. I see no reason to shell out $$$ for a non-monetized blog as, well, obscure as this one. (Or even ¢¢¢.)

Unfortunately, if you want a smart phone these days, you options are to get involved with one of two evil Commifornia Big Tech outfits. 

Somebody -- Kevin Baker at Gun Blogger Rendezvous, maybe -- had a t-shirt that was lamenting to the effect of having been a science fiction fan all his life, and getting the dark dystopian future of his teen aged years.

Heinlein's Crazy Years aren't even fully launched yet, and I'm already tired of them.

Flash Back!

A little way into the Korean Basic, once we had gotten to the point that we could manage more advanced grammar, we had a lesson in which "Dad" came home from work to find his sons brawling, and yelled "POK DONG AH! SSA-OOH JI MA!"; colloquially translated, "What is this riot?! Stop fighting!" 

Only we thought he was calling one of his sons "Pok Dong" -- riot or civil disturbance -- and did not quite grasp yet the nuances of Korean grammar; in this case, the imperative forms indicated by the "AH/MA" verbs endings.

(Confession digression: I are grammaring goodly in English, written or spoken, but if you require me to diagram a sentence, I'm heading for the door. I still have a hard time telling the difference between an adverb and an adjective, and I'm not clear on what a gerund is.)

So several years later I'm in Korea on my second tour, my first at the Second Infantry Division, and one weekend I scored a day pass to head down to Seoul. Maybe I was Christmas shopping, I don't recall, but I don't remember it as being particularly cold, so may not. 

Anyway, the bus route went by several universities, including Yeon Sei Dae Hak ("tae hak" = university; commonly referred to as "Yeon Dae", which, confusingly, is also the word for "regiment".)

The student body was participating in their favorite intramural activity, loudly proclaiming their opinions on various and sundry matters of great concern, featuring a variety of special effects and training aids by both said student body and their critics, to wit: bricks, rocks, fire bombs, and tear gas.

In other words, rioting.*

I caught a whiff of said tear gas, leaving me a bit hoarse for a day or two. When a Korean acquaintance asked if I was well, I explained that I had gotten too close to the "pok dong" near Yeon Dai.

And was promptly corrected: "Not a pok dong, it was a demo!"

And that, boys and girls was my first exposure to the concept that, if the cause is exalted enough, any amount of riotous, destructive, behavior can be excused by the simple process of designating it a "demonstration" or "peaceful protest."

*See P.J. O'Rourke's hilarious essay "Seoul Man" from Rolling Stone, reproduced in his collection Holidays in Hell.

 

Pandemic Panic Ponders

Haven't posted as much as I might, for a variety of reasons.

For one thing Bobbi and the guys at Powerline are tracking my thoughts pretty closely, and probably more eloquently than I could.

When it comes to science, I have found Spin, Strangeness, Charm and Watts Up With That? to be excellent sources; the former, especially, posts daily (if not more often) on news reports put of Europe, translated into English, with clear explanations of the science and medicine involved, with a minimum of hysteria.


OldNFO published this meme yesterday:

There is a lot we still don't know about SARS-CoV2 and COVID19. A lot of that gets lost in the squabbling surrounding it.

How virulent is it? What simple countermeasures are effective? Are the asymptomatic contagious? are there risk factors beyond the obvious?

If you find yourself hoping people die because they identify it as coming from China, then you're an idiot and I don't care for your opinion. If you screeched because the president shut down air travel from China and then kept screeching that he was overreacting, and pivoted immediately to he wasn't doing enough then you're an idiot and I don't care what your opinion is.

It is my opinion that after a 2 or 3 week lockdown we could have started re-opening with precautions, and we would be a lot better off, because people would still be working, the economy wouldn't be tanking, and, based on the experience in certain places that did not go full "Stay in your homes or else" mode, the disease "profile" would look little different.

I am not an epidemiologist. I admit I could be wrong. But when you look into the backgrounds of the "experts", there's a lot to question there.

The Brit that claimed the USA would have 2,000,000 deaths  was not only grossly mistaken, but he was responsible for several past public health related over-reactions on the part of Her Majesty's Government. (Not to mention having his married lover visit him from across town after publicly scolding Brits to stay indoors...)

Several years ago Dr Fauci responded to legislation banning certain virological research by funneling money to... a Chinese lab in Wuhan China. (I can actually follow the reasoning here. The research involved testing certain mutations to viruses to study responses. and treatments, so the research was important. But...)

As for government reaction...

Releasing felons from prison and arresting law abiding citizens for going outside? No wonder they want 100% mail-in ballots!

This is getting old...

1/2 I can't wait for this to be over:
*We need to get people back to work. The longer the economy is on hold, the longer it will take to fix.
*I despise politicians that tell l Americans what they can and can't do.

— Drang (@DWDrang) March 31, 2020

2/2 I can't wait for this to be over:
*I despise Americans that dime out their neighbors for "unauthorized assembly's" and "conducting non-critical business."
*I need a haircut. I am not a hippie! Open the barber shops already!

— Drang (@DWDrang) March 31, 2020

It's doesn't help that my job is a critical one, and I still have to go to work. I can telework, but that means that means I simply do my regular duties with different furniture, including cats. Not a lot of sitting back and watching movies, reading, social media, binge-watching trashy shows on Netflix, day drinking...

Have You Kippled Lately?

Kipling Society homepage

Anent my second most recent post:
Poems - The Sons of Martha

The Sons of Martha

THE Sons of Mary seldom bother, for they have inherited that good part;
But the Sons of Martha favour their Mother of the careful soul and the troubled heart.
And because she lost her temper once, and because she was rude to the Lord her Guest,
Her Sons must wait upon Mary's Sons, world without end, reprieve, or rest.

It is their care in all the ages to take the buffet and cushion the shock.
It is their care that the gear engages; it is their care that the switches lock.
It is their care that the wheels run truly; it is their care to embark and entrain,
Tally, transport, and deliver duly the Sons of Mary by land and main.

They say to mountains, " Be ye removèd" They say to the lesser floods " Be dry."
Under their rods are the rocks reprovèd - they are not afraid of that which is high.
Then do the hill tops shake to the summit - then is the bed of the deep laid bare,
That the Sons of Mary may overcome it, pleasantly sleeping and unaware.

 The rest of the poem, as well as notes on the text, sources, references, etc.,  at the link.

This one is a perennial favorite in some corners of the blogosphere: Poems - 'The Gods of the Copybook Headings'

Elections -- The Good, The Bad...

Today is the Presidential Primary in Washington State

The Good: Washington is 100% Paper Ballot.¹

The Bad: Washington is 100%¹ mail-in ballot, which degrades the integrity and security of paper ballots.

Neutral: In a Presidential Primary only the Democratic and Republican candidates appear.

The Ugly: Washington requires you to declare which party you're voting for²...

The Loathsome: ...on the outside of the mailing envelope. (Check a box and sign it, on the outside for all the world to see.)

1. It is possible to request an account to vote electronically. I have no idea how many have availed themselves of this.
2. We are not registered as members of that party, simply declaring on the primary ballot who we're voting for. 

Now, the Republican Party of Washington is fine with doing away with the declaration, and failing with their attempt to eliminate it, to make it a private thing.

The Democratic Party of Washington refused -- and the Democrats have solid control of Olympia.

The Secretary of State announced she would not be voting "due to privacy concerns."

And, since the ballots are printed with the list of candidates the party designates in early January or February, it may well be inaccurate by March. In the case of the Democratic roster this year, it still included all those candidates no one ever heard of, as well as the three who are still in the race.

Three? Why, yes, Hawaii's Tusli Gabbard has not dropped out yet. (Unless I missed a very recent development.)

And yet, all the DNC Mandarins and the Mainstream Media (but I repeat myself) are wailing because of the sexism which resulted in Elizabeth "Fauxcahontas" Warren, who couldn't even win her own home state, dropping out.

Do they hate Tulsi because she's young? Because she's a veteran? Because she's a Pacific Islander...?

PSA

"I'm walkin' heah!"

About a year ago I started making a concerted effort to "get my steps in" every day.

Fun fact: "10,000 steps a day" is marketing, not supported by scientific/medical research. (Not directly, that is. No research says "10,000 steps a day is the key to health!" Or any other count.)

So it turns out that, as of my last visit to the doc (for what turned out to be the flu, a month or so ago) I had lost 30 pounds in a year. Which isn't a lot, but as long as I keep moving, and watching what I eat, is also not likely to reappear...

Anyway. I have figured out how to get those 10,000 steps in while at work -- if I can, I simply do two "tours" of the Salt Mines, but if it comes down to it, I know how often I need to make a quick tour of the closest sections.

I have an app on the smartphone, and last year for my birthday Mrs. Drang got me a smartwatch, so I track my steps, and heart rate, that way.

So I was off yesterday, and decided to go for a walk on one of the local walking trails. (It's named for a major local power company, and the trail runs along the course of some high tension lines.) (Imagine my flabbergastedenss -- I'm telling you, my gast is downright flabbered! -- to learn that the BPA Trail has a Wikipedia page...)

Anyhoo.

I was walking over to the start of the trail.  Now, I have to cross a major 4-lane surface street to get to the trail, and there are three places I can do so conveniently; one is the intersection at the end of my street, one is a couple blocks down in front of the library (the site of a modern, American take on a  Belisha Beacon) and another is down the street further, a major intersection, the site of an apartment complex, and commercial development across the street.

Mrs. Drang swears that the only safe place to make the crossing is down by the shops -- Safeway, among others -- so I headed down, got to the intersection, and hit the button to let the traffic lights know that there was a pedestrian waiting to cross...

...and the lights changed, I started across, and some little old lady in a Caddy plowed right through the intersection, taking a left and passing within a foot or so of me.

This, by the way, is not only extremely unsafe, but also (and therefore) illegal.

Here in the 9-8-double-ought-3 it will come as little surprise, but up in Seattle I'm sure it would come as a shock to learn that the 9mm in my holster didn't even think about jumping out of it's holster and teaching her a lesson.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Map

Coronavirus 2019-nCoV

As of right now, 34,963 cases "confirmed", 34,620 of which are in Communist China.
725 deaths, in China.

Assuming you believe the Communist Chinese government, of course.