Two tweets about

Infectious

disease.

Speculation on the state of the (medical) art by Cosh.

If, in the best reading of (the still moist) history, you believe Trump was brought to our planet to encourage government to pay attention to less-articulate and less-gifted people who are nonetheless deserving of grace and opportunity, you could well argue that his work isn't done. Those who despise him most deeply have taken no humility from his victory, let alone from these years which followed.

The best two recent articles about this are here (Atlantic) and here (McArdle/WaPo).

Even these are not entirely new insights... This stuff is starting to congeal into conventional wisdom. It certainly ought to.

And so it seems that Rush has lung cancer.

Now we may tell from reactions to this news just how mean - in the basest sense of that word - someone is.

I probably disagree with Tulsi Gabbard on most issues. But she's a decent human being.

I probably disagree with Tulsi Gabbard on most issues. But she's a decent human being.

I probably disagree with Tulsi Gabbard on most issues. But she's a decent human being.

I probably disagree with Tulsi Gabbard on most issues. But she's a decent human being.

Wow, I have no idea how that happened. Flaky network here today. My apologies.

Those who despise him most deeply have taken no humility from his victory, let alone from these years which followed.

Those whom the gods mean to destroy, they first drive mad. Those people are very mad. Frothing and foaming, even. Trump is not Nemesis. He seems to be her right hand man, tho.

https://twitter.com/exjon/status/1223800399624146945

"2020 Iowa" = "OK, Millenials...."

Does anyone remember how upset journalists became when, as their own careers floundered, they were offered the same advice which they'd smirked at factory line workers in the preceding years?

Suderman.

The worst part of learning to code? testing your code. More importantly, does it scale? It may work for you, on your device, at one point in time. Does it work for everyone, on a multitude of platforms, all attempting to submit their results within a relatively narrow window? on the order of 1700 respondents?

Or have we learned the value of paper ballots?

https://lidblog.com/day-music-died/

I have a lot of friends who did not go to college, or if they did, dropped out quickly. Having been raised in a rural area, I am quite comfortable with these people, who generally have a number of extremely practical skill sets that have usually been of far more immediate use to me, than my own law degree.
I love plumbers, electricians, gunsmiths and auto mechanics. Carpenters, cooks, and the UPS delivery guys. Truck drivers, and heavy equipment operators. Couldn’t live without them.

They virtually have all of Silicon Valley in their freaking pocket and they still couldn't make a decent app for this.

It's no wonder software and even includes Linux is starting to feel like a bloated, bug-infested mess.

And this is what bitterness looks like:

https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/1224722897383624706

> Or have we learned the
> value of paper ballots?

There's nothing so broadly confounding in American character that the resolute, metaphysical, neurologically-immutable certainty that election results need to be tallied instantaneously and therefore electronically.

This certitude exceedes the furies of mere eroticism and religious fervor; it is flatly *insane*. Post-grads and 8th-grade dropouts alike are just not very bright about this.




No electronics, no machinery.

Write it down on a piece of paper: Put a check mark beside the candidate's name. Drop these ballots into a big, dark box. Open it and count them afterward in a prompt but unhurried way... As long as it takes. Report the tally; secure the box for five years, then burn it.

I understand that this was a mere caucus. But yesterday's mundane incompetence might well have changed history. See also.

They virtually have all of Silicon Valley in their freaking pocket and they still couldn't make a decent app for this.

Edge conditions are the bane of programmers everywhere. The customers who want the programmers aid don't realize what they know that the programmer's don't. It is very hard to map out all the gotchas unless they've been written down before hand, and vetted as to completeness.

As for linux, some relief is coming. The VPN stack is about to become much, much slimmer. This stack is working on Mac and Windows, so a win for everyone.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/vpns-will-change-forever-with-the-arrival-of-wireguard-into-linux/

Lol, the name of the company in charge of the app was Shadow, Inc. You can't make this shit up.

No electronics, no machinery.

Ah, but you can still do that, if you like. Most living voting age people have filled out a scantron form at some point. While some voters may find filling in an oval a challenge, for the most part you end up with something that can be mechanically or manually counted.

My county uses such a ballot. An advantage is that you get immediate feedback as to under or over voting, as the "box" scans and checks the ballot for those problems, and will kick it back to you if it detects an issue, and you can correct the problem.

> It's no wonder software and
> even includes Linux is starting
> to feel like a bloated,
> bug-infested mess.

This is not meant as condescension, but you sincerely might be too young to remember— The promise and challenge of Linux was always that you'd be responsible for your own system, without expectation that some distant yet competent provider would serve your best interests, whatever his price.

And while of course there are such things, it's possible I couldn't even name a distro that's not free. Some packages of Red Hat, maybe?

Linux DID win the war... It's everywhere. But it's probably that many of the people feeding (bloating?) that codebase are unpaid weekend enthusiasts, saving their best focus for the work that feeds their families.

"Free as in beer," they used to say, challenging the listener to understand that what was offered carried no warranty.

> Shadow, Inc. You can't make
> this shit up.

Exactly- "Shadow" and "Acronym." For electoral politics.

> An advantage is that you
> get immediate feedback

Why is this an advantage? Why should people be permitted do-overs?

We could just blame the Russkies for the Great Iowa
Caucus Disaster.

https://twitter.com/SophNar0747/status/1224690585753268224

It is an advantage that other people don't try to discern the "voter's intent" and award votes accordingly. I would be perfectly fine to ignore those under/over votes for those candidates - that's what you get for half-assing your voting.

The Usual Suspects would come along and complain about racism or disenfranchisement.

looks like Nevada Democrats pulled the plug on Shadow, Inc's app.

https://www.businessinsider.com/nevada-caucus-shadow-app-democratic-party-caucus-2020-2

Why are you bitching about electronic voting?

When the Lottery goes off, Lottery officials know where every ticket was bought and where. To the second.

And there are more tickets than people.

The voting system is broken because some people WANT it broken.

The voting system is broken because some people WANT it broken.

Exactly.

And coincidentally it broke down the moment the results were projecting that the winner wasn't someone they wanted to win.

Right now there's a good chance they're in vote rigging mode and volunteers are busy "voting" for the right candidate.

This is what happened in Honduras where in the 2017 general elections the polls -paper ballot manually counted but the results were stored on a computer- were starting to show the clear winner wasn't favoring the dictator so coincidentally the lights went out in the building where the server was located and the problem persisted for days until the president "won" the election.

> It is an advantage that other
> people don't try to discern the
> "voter's intent" and award
> votes accordingly.

That's the point!: I don't think they should do that, either. Incorrectly completed ballots should be disregarded.

The root of the "hanging chad" madness was this insistence that tabulation happen quickly, and through technology.

No. Voting's a human process, and it will require time and attention.

> The Usual Suspects would come
> along and complain about
> racism or disenfranchisement.

WGAF? Will you get over it? Will their pettiness modulate your demand for honest results?

What is the fight you want to have?

> some people WANT it broken.

Let's wallow in infantile fatalism and give our adoration (and, paradoxically, our votes) to game show hosts! They have special smartphones, but we'll never know that!

This is not meant as condescension, but you sincerely might be too young to remember— The promise and challenge of Linux was always that you'd be responsible for your own system, without expectation that some distant yet competent provider would serve your best interests, whatever his price.

I am old enough to remember all the promise and how the Linux community shot itself on the foot -and still does- when it comes to Linux for the masses.

The 2000s was the decade where every time someone tried to make a Linux distro that was easy to use for the laymen was often met with snark and derision.

Thankfully after oh so many Year Of The Linux Desktop years things are better now. My bet is there's more than enough Linux fans who realized that teaching computer illiterate relatives to use sudo was a really bad idea.

These days my choices for old machines is either install Linux Mint because it's similar enough to Windows, or to tell them to get a cheap Chromebook.

Fantastic irony! The Bernie Mentality is already working for America.

Trump could play golf for the rest of the year and bring it home.

XKCD on Computerized voting:

https://twitter.com/DjangoWexler/status/1224561764659908608

A couple of things from Twitter that annoyed recently.

"And coincidentally it broke down the moment the results were projecting that the winner wasn't someone they wanted to win."

The irony is, said projected winner is the one who most reverently believes in the policies that the Democrat base wants -- but he's too open and up-front about it.

✓ Sixclaws at February 4, 2020 12:02 PM

Tweets—

Relevant.

Snarky.

Will their pettiness modulate your demand for honest results?

No, but then I'd tell them to stick a sock in it. That, and don't half-ass your vote. But many of the of the people running the voting process across the country agree with them, not any of us.

> But many of the of the people
> running the voting process
> across the country agree with
> them, not any of us.

This is WEIRD... As is Raddy's "some people WANT it broken."

Here's how it goes on this planet:

Others are GOING to disagree with you. And you can patiently make your case and provide evidence that you regard as iron-clad and dispositive, but they won't change their minds. Others are GOING to disagree with you.

But the only way forward is to keep doing testing your experience and making your case.

Your vibe of quitter's despair is unfathomable. It's exactly why we hate the wokies... Because whenever anything is at all unpleasant or unflattering, they childishly assume that something is wrong… And that authorities should fix it, at no cost to themselves, permanently. And they're prepared to live within auras of resentful, defeatist irresponsibility to sustain this assumption.



We will always have to carefully observe the counting of ballots, taking as much time as necessary… That's the cost we'll pay for every election worth voting in. That others want to distract us with whining or machinery is irrelevant.

How many of you have refused to use the voting system provided? Have you ever even complained?

I can't personally think of anyone.

It seems unlikely that most voters are pushing for electronic polling. My guess is that reporters annoy the old folks running the elections for free, so the old folk bought newer faster machines to calm down the press. But I don't know.

Anyone actually worked with a county to replace their machines? How is the sausage really made?

It wasn't 'Americans!' who demanded x-ray nudie scanners in our airports. It was politicians with friends who wanted to sell x-ray nudie scanners. Is it the same deal on Diebold?

This COULD be a joke. But...

"The World's Ultimate Event for Women"

"Make Women Great Again"

https://22convention.com/

It will(?) be in Orlando, in May.

Excerpts:

"A full price ticket to The 22 Convention is $1,999.00 USD. Early bird tickets come at a steep discount, starting at $999 and bring a friend free. The earlier you buy, the more you save. A limited run VIP upgrade may be available later to paid ticket holders."

(That does not include hotel or travel expenses.)

"Our speakers will teach you the skills to get wifed up, knocked up, and have as many babies as your heart desires with the time and fertility you have left, and how to bounce back to amazing health and wellness without extreme diets or stress. The clock is ticking and your babies are soon to be kicking!"

"EXPERIENCE a miraculous three day (and night) event with iconic 100% pure male speakers gathered from the worldwide manosphere community to help you dramatically improve your life as a woman and total femininity."

"The 22 Convention: Make Women Great Again is brought to you by 21 Studios and the 1st President of the Manosphere, Anthony Dream Johnson."

"Destined to be the Mansplaining Event of the Century"

So who is among the speakers?

From Wikipedia:

"Stefan Basil Molyneux (born September 24, 1966) is a far-right, white nationalist Canadian podcaster and YouTuber who is known for his promotion of scientific racism and white supremacist views."

(I don't recognize any of the other speakers - and I know quite a few MRA names by now. But then, the speakers look quite a bit younger than those MRAs, so maybe they're new to the scene.)

Oh, and near the bottom, there's a photo with a caption: "Men Prefer Debt-Free Virgins Without Tatoos."

Women also prefer debt-free men. Guess what? It often takes men and women alike until age 30 or later to pay off college loans! Even people who didn't go to college can't necessarily afford to start a family before age 30, for that matter.

And anyone who has never done more than kiss another human being (of either sex) by age 30 is commonly assumed to be asexual or just plain very unpopular. Who wants to marry anyone like that?

Finally: I don't know how many women will actually buy those tickets, but you'd think, with that price, they'd rather just look up those speakers on YouTube and/or get MRA books from inter-library loan.

Lenona, do not attend. We'll take up a collection to get you a visit to SeaWorld or something if you just need to get out of the house.

Debt-free: Not a big deal so long as everything's under control.

Tattoos: Fashion is always with us, and women with lots of them aren't going out with old guys anyway.

Virgins: Need not apply.

A tweet about a conference on women's issues.

"They have special smartphones, but we'll never know that!"

Your obsessions cloud your mind and prevent real progress. There are billionaires, however they obtained their fortune, who are simply not like you regardless of your opinion of them.

For the peanut gallery: I once pointed out that it would be reasonable for a wealthy man to have the best in smartphone security, and that of necessity the public not only would not learn anything meaningful about the provision, they don't have the right to know. This was in response to a report that Mr. Trump was allowed to have his personal phone with him while acting as President.

Whatever causes Crid to object to this, it's not reason. Again.

Coronavirus Live Update Thread Feb 4th, 2020 (Agenda Free TV)

Yes, lenona, I'm pretty sure that the MRA movement just jumped the shark.

I have an outlandish proposal for these men: how about letting your women do what they want, whether it's staying at home raising kids, or engaging in a rewarding, equally productive career. As long as they're not doing harm to other people, that should be OK.

> Your obsessions cloud your mind
> and prevent real progress.

Well, to be clear, you were the one who repeatedly offered the special smartphone / we'll never know combo, unbidden. And you aren't done:

> There are billionaires, however
> they obtained their fortune, who
> are simply not like you regardless
> of your opinion of them.

This is inane... It's just impossible to decode what you're trying to get at.

One gets the sense that you spend a lot of time thinking about billionaires, as if —in the ways that mean the most to you— they're unlike other people.

Do you happen to recall Hemingway's retort?

> I'm pretty sure that the MRA
> movement just jumped the shark.

Well, across this longish lifetime, our shared public space has been a shimmering pageant of novel ideas and dynamic projects… So I seem to have missed the glory days of the 'MRA movement,' those times in which lives were changed and improved.

Can someone say what it was like?

You're right about a lack of lives being "changed and improved," Crid.

Leaving aside a handful of men who made money as professional MRAs or joined MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way).

That is, at least they're making it clear to women that if the women want marriage OR babies, they'd better darn well look for other men. Sounds like a win-win of sorts; the women don't have babies with the wrong men, and the men get to be childfree, not childless!

Except...as anti-MRA blogger/humorist David Futrelle pointed out (prompted by someone else on Reddit), members of MGTOW don't seem to be able to stop talking about women anyway.

http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/05/04/redditor-asks-mgtows-why-theyre-not-talking-about-their-cool-hobbies-they-throw-a-fit/

Futrelle: "If these guys really are all enjoying their awesome bachelor lifestyles, unburdened by the demands of marriage and parenthood and all of that, you might expect them to share some of the details with their MGTOW pals: Here I am rock climbing in Colorado. Here I am meeting rescued Orangutans in Borneo. Here’s the backyard roller coaster I built with my own hands. Here’s my podcast about Elvis impersonators. Here’s my model train set. I dunno, something. Anything.

"Nope! Oh sure, once in a long while one of the regulars will make a post about his motorcycle. But roughly 99% of the posts in r/MGTOW are complaints about women."

Btw, Stefan Molyneux got mentioned recently at Futrelle's blog - because Molyneux said "'Fat acceptance' is mostly about reducing fertility."

Futrelle said:

Molyneux has not (yet) elaborated on this suggestive tweet, but presumably the, er, “logic” behind it is that

obesity can lower fertility
nefarious cultural marxists want to lower the white birth rate because reasons
fat acceptance leads to more obesity
therefore the fat acceptance movement is a plot by these nefarious cultural marxists to lower fertility

"Edge conditions are the bane of programmers everywhere"

What happened in Iowa wasn't about arcane edge conditions. Those who've seen the source code say it looks like someone took a template and googled how to add features to it, then copied and pasted. The organization that produced it was more activist organization than tech business.

"Those people are very mad. Frothing and foaming, even."

Best commentary I saw on Trump's 2016 victory: "Let the great triggering begin!"