johnohara

In 2026, it is not wise to believe that almost all politicians are honest. It is better to be skeptical of their motivations and hope they are honest enough to do the right thing for the citizens they represent.

The Babylonian Collection was left to Yale by J.P. Morgan in 1913. His estate at the time was estimated to be worth about $68.3M ($1.59B in 2024 dollars).

When I read that on his wikipedia page I thought "is that all?" I know I'm probably missing a bunch of other considerations, but geez, the 500th spot on the 2024 Forbes World's Billionaires list was shared by multiple individuals worth approximately $5.8B.

I don't understand how nostalgia can be applied to Burning Man.

Outside of those few who dedicate themselves to the organization and administration of the event, each burning man is a unique assemblage of thousands of people, different in every way from one year to the next. Except perhaps the location.

Without the different human beings who show up each year, the event would be nothing more than a dust bowl waiting to become a mud pit.

The "soul," if there is one, is the sum total of the expressions those humans bring with them at any given point in time.

Change the humans and you change the expression. So exactly which "soul" does the author long for?

Back when I was running seriously I would occassionally turn my ankle on uneven surfaces. A local chiropractor "tested" my ankle alignment and concluded I needed orthotics to line up my hips. I purchased them but the delivered product weighed 3X the weight of my shoes and never fit properly.

After numerous visits to correct the orthotic problem, he referred me to another chiropractor who "specialized" in these kinds of things. That chiropractor's office smelled of incense and reminded me of a place I might use purchase a bong, four-hose houka, or Discwasher vinyl album cleaner.

He entered the "operatory" wearing a robe and proceeded to test my "neural strength" by having me create a loop with my thumb and index finger. His test involved trying to pull my fingers apart. He told me I was weak on the same side as the turned ankle. His solution was dietary and recommended a jar of yeast wafers. One a day while the ankle healed until finished.

Purchased them too.

In the meantime, I discovered an ancient remedy involving frozen water which I applied to the ankle with great effect. I also purchased a new pair of running shoes for a third of the price of an office visit and was able to continue running comfortably.

Better the basement than the attic.

In the upper midwest, daylight savings time generally gives way to tractor-mounted LED time as contracted harvesting companies switch into high production to beat the late-fall rain.

Butter. Yessir.

These kind of stories always make me chuckle. The Boston Dynamics videos always show the humanoid robots running through debris, dancing to the latest music, regaining balance after being assaulted, ever at the ready, ever the obedient servant.

Sort of "join the army see the world" kind of stuff.

The reality is however, pushing a parts cart to the other side of the factory, returning and doing it again. 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, with time-off to recharge or possibly re-oil.

I sincerely hope they're not sentient and unable to communicate it. It would certainly account for the blank stare coming from behind the tinted lenses.

Michael Swaine tried to restart a few years ago as well. Not easy being the same you 20+ years later.

Same skill, same desire, same willingness. But the same energy is difficult to find.

Operational efficiency and care for the elderly will never have mutually beneficial outcomes. Nor will the expectations of the participants on either side of the transaction be compatible.

I fear the objectives of both will always be mutually exclusive.

The Straight of Hormuz is open to any country willing to pay $2M per voyage. Any country except the U.S. and Israel.

The most important aspect of the "toll" is that Iran prefers payment in yuan, not dollars.

If Iran succeeds in nationalizing the Straight and is successful in enforcing the toll, it represents a very serious threat to the dominance of the U.S. Dollar as the world's reserve currency for trading energy.

Not mentioned but very important was the number of inbound telco lines installed. Equally important was making sure the local phone company properly configured the hunt group for those lines. Without a properly functioning hunt group it would be very difficult to optimize the allocation of telco connections to all the users connecting and disconnecting.

Also, it was unusual at the time for a local phone company to receive a request for 25 lines (or more) to be installed in the basement of a residence. They would generally push back thinking you were running a bookie operation or some such.

I'll give you props for studying the systems manuals and not the handmade Adventure maps drawn on green-bar paper and hidden behind the back of the last 3270 at the far end of the row of tape request consoles.

I was on the DEC side with an amber VT220 and always thought it was cool that the 3270 could scream "mount me now dammit!" in flashing red block letters while the operators weren't sure if they should drop the keys or pick up the lantern.