tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158883072024-03-27T01:47:52.671-04:00The Phantom SoapboxThe Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.comBlogger2084125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-37112594508876684922024-03-19T15:29:00.001-04:002024-03-19T15:29:30.263-04:00US Federal judge rules -illegal- immigrants have gun rights.<div dir="ltr"><div><a href="https://blazingcatfur.ca/2024/03/19/gun-ban-for-illegal-immigrants-ruled-unconstitutional/#disqus_thread">Here's something I bet you didn't have on your 2024 Apocalypse Bingo card. </a></div><div><br></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Judge Coleman, a Barack Obama appointee, initially found the gun ban for illegal immigrants was constitutional back in April 2022. However, she agreed to reconsider the case in light of rulings from the federal appeals courts in the Third and Seventh Circuit that questioned whether those convicted of non-violent crimes could be permanently disarmed after the High Court handed down <em>Bruen</em> in June 2022. She concluded breaking misdemeanor immigration laws alone is not enough justification to strip somebody of their gun rights under the new test. <br></blockquote><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">"[C]arbajal-Flores has never been convicted of a felony, a violent crime, or a crime involving the use of a weapon. Even in the present case, Carbajal-Flores contends that he received and used the handgun solely for self-protection and protection of property during a time of documented civil unrest in the Spring of 2020," Judge Coleman wrote. "Additionally, Pretrial Service has confirmed that Carbajal-Flores has consistently adhered to and fulfilled all the stipulated conditions of his release, is gainfully employed, and has no new arrests or outstanding warrants."</blockquote> </div><div><br></div><div>Yes friends, a liberal judge, appointed by the Lightbringer himself, read the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and understood what it said. Yes, she ruled it is unconstitutional to bar a man from owning a firearm because of immigration status or because of a misdemeanor court conviction.</div><div><br></div><div>Because it IS unconstitutional, obviously. This is not rocket surgery. It says so right on the fucking paper. "...shall not be infringed..." is pretty final.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Now, do I think this judgement was arrived at honestly? Absolutely not. This is shenanigans, for sure. <br></div><div><br></div><div>But I don't care, because it will bring about the end of the DemocRat disarmament campaign, and their invasion plans as well. Because if an illegal immigrant has the right to have and carry a firearm, can the government say 'no' to legal immigrants and citizens? Uh uh. <br></div><div><br></div><div>And all those immigrants flooding the border, are they going to keep coming when shit starts to get real in places like NYC and Chicago? No they're not. Because the party will be over. They'll come to CANADA instead.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Going to be popcorn time watching the Shiny Pony crowd dealing with this. Guns are going to be -flooding- into Toronto. Flooding. Containers-full will arrive from the USA across the Indian reservations. Scumbags will be selling Fentanyl and Glocks on the street corner instead of just Fentanyl.<br></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-73869968074224171322024-03-15T11:29:00.001-04:002024-03-15T11:58:31.109-04:00Metro Toronto Police: huddle and cower, peasants.<div dir="ltr"><div>I am not making this up. Metro Toronto Police have issued a statement advising homeowners to "leave their car keys by the front door" so that car thieves can take them and go when they break in.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/ShaziGoalie/status/1768129765070819525">https://twitter.com/ShaziGoalie/status/1768129765070819525</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><font size="6">This is because there are car thieves armed with guns, kicking in people's front doors and SHOOTING THEM to get the car keys and steal the car in the driveway.</font></b></div><div><br /></div><div>To repeat, MTO suggests you leave the keys handy so the ARMED CRIMINALS won't kill you in your home. Because they would never stick around for a little rape-and-murder action if you give them the car, right? That could never happen, I'm sure.</div><div><br /></div><div>It isn't like the federal government has allowed over a million unvetted refugees from violent failed states into Canada over the last year or so, and it isn't like the cops function as catch-and-release fishermen these days. Oh, wait...</div><div><br /></div><div>In other news, suburban homes in and around Ancaster, sleepy town outside Hamilton, have begun sporting iron fences around the front yard, with gates across their driveways.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just wondering how long the Normies are going to be able to pretend everything is fine. I'm thinking the third time they get mugged/have their car stolen they'll probably wake up. Once is an accident, twice is happenstance, three times is enemy action, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Update: <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://phantomsoapbox.blogspot.com/2020/08/self-defense-now-illegal-in-canada.html">Anybody remember Peter Khill?</a></span> Supreme Court of Canada put him in jail after he was <span style="font-size: large;">acquitted</span> by a jury for the crime of shooting an Indian in self-defense.</div><div><br /></div><div>Uppitydate: <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/matt-gurney-after-two-years-judge-acquits-man-who-defended-himself-with-a-gun">Anybody remember Ian Thompson?</a> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Charged with two counts of "unsafe storage of a firearm" after running off FOUR armed men who were firebombing his house. </span><br /></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-65432266269625394922024-02-27T16:25:00.001-05:002024-02-27T16:30:16.928-05:00Apple cancels the Apple Car.<div dir="ltr"><div>The destruction of the electric car fad accelerates! This time, <a href="https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/02/27/195235/apple-cancels-work-on-electric-car">Apple has very quietly cancelled all work on its Apple electric car</a>.</div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4YL8HnCiL9I5DDhrSOCWwsgGA8T-JfrQEDwpvun8N0lyelQOXAS_buICgBWTMTgxtKrSV8deNOxBmM-ej16cNNA3SBbb8sAj80ugeHr9P_QamTd9NA48GQLYfm8rGwAs5KxS1TseFZEE7MMJrDNjKpYyGEXBCqQmeMt2RpWknH32GhLGRC8eqQ/s1170/apple-nwp-4-1170x658-1915638147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1170" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4YL8HnCiL9I5DDhrSOCWwsgGA8T-JfrQEDwpvun8N0lyelQOXAS_buICgBWTMTgxtKrSV8deNOxBmM-ej16cNNA3SBbb8sAj80ugeHr9P_QamTd9NA48GQLYfm8rGwAs5KxS1TseFZEE7MMJrDNjKpYyGEXBCqQmeMt2RpWknH32GhLGRC8eqQ/s320/apple-nwp-4-1170x658-1915638147.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's dead, Tim.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> The decision to ultimately wind down the project is a bombshell for the company, ending a multibillion-dollar effort that would have vaulted Apple into a whole new industry. The tech giant started working on a car around 2014, setting its sights on a fully autonomous electric vehicle with a limousine-like interior and voice-guided navigation. But the project struggled nearly from the start, with Apple changing the team's leadership and strategy several times. Lynch and Williams took over the undertaking a few years ago -- following the departure of Doug Field, now a senior executive at Ford Motor.</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Note that they mentioned Ford, which has stopped shipping the electric F-150, and a couple of weeks ago cancelled a $12 billion expansion into... electric cars. General Motors has also cut back hard on electric car plans recently. Toyota never had any electric plans, they dodged the whole thing and saved themselves a ton of money.</div><div><br /></div><div><font size="5">This good news of course makes me suspicious. Nothing good ever happens these days.</font><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Did all these guys look into their crystal balls and see a looming bankruptcy that was previously invisible? Did they all suddenly understand what power engineers, town planners, car guys, car dealerships, rental companies, and literally everybody with two functioning synapses to rub together, has been telling them since Tesla started? Really? All of them? Right now?</div><div><br /></div><div>What changed between February 2023 and February 2024? Last year it was full power forward on electrics and self-driving cars. Billions were being spent, billions more were being promised. There was going to be an EV in every driveway by 2035, baby. The Canadian government has gone so far as to -mandate- that there will be only EVs sold after 2035 here in Canuckistan. No more gas guzzlers for you, Great White North. Nothing about government rhetoric has changed. They are all-in on transition to EVs. It is a done-deal.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Except that all the big car companies bailed, and now Apple, literally the biggest tech company in the world, has bailed.</div><div><br /></div><div>It makes me wonder if the US government made a phone call and told them all that the discounts, tax breaks and special deals were off the table. That would explain it better than assuming all those companies suddenly understood that EVs suck. They knew that already. They were going ahead, knowing that nobody wants EVs, nobody likes EVs, and nobody is going to buy EVs. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Why would the US government make that phone call? Hmm?<br /></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-40699829124821080372024-02-14T18:01:00.001-05:002024-02-14T18:05:41.474-05:00No more roads for Canada.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8BVYm90hn7GD4A9Xow8BRBogSbE5cXGcXI6sVZX4EkQoUIrmTRs42PNff4s28XmrlRQTxhSfJU3pWMBFAHgUxjdnmMnmURWnb9pWCBDdlNHS_E53K-ozD0O9f1QxJrDRAHyZ1H5y5Jstb83er9K3JzzG0G-gP5Jlq-vi8YePf3JNCuWIoTnU-A/s640/peasants%20walking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="640" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8BVYm90hn7GD4A9Xow8BRBogSbE5cXGcXI6sVZX4EkQoUIrmTRs42PNff4s28XmrlRQTxhSfJU3pWMBFAHgUxjdnmMnmURWnb9pWCBDdlNHS_E53K-ozD0O9f1QxJrDRAHyZ1H5y5Jstb83er9K3JzzG0G-gP5Jlq-vi8YePf3JNCuWIoTnU-A/s320/peasants%20walking.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Environment Canada approved.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div dir="ltr"><br /><div> </div><div><a href="https://torontosun.com/news/national/feds-wont-fund-new-roads-existing-network-perfectly-adequate-guilbeault-says">Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says that you will enjoy your gridlock, or there will be trouble.</a></div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">"Our government has made the decision to stop investing in new road infrastructure," said Guilbeault, who represents the Quebec riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie. "Of course, we will continue to be there for cities, provinces and territories to maintain the existing network, but there will be no more envelopes from the federal government to enlarge the road network.<br />Article content<br /><br />"The analysis we have done is that the network is perfectly adequate to respond to the needs we have. And thanks to a mix of investment in active and public transit and in territorial planning and densification, we can very well achieve our goals of economic, social and human development without more enlargement of the road network."<br /><br />Guilbeault also said money spent on asphalt and concrete for road expansions would be better invested in projects that will help fight climate change and adapt to its impacts, the Gazette reported.</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>To me, this says a few things. First, Mr. Guilbeault is a gentleman of questionable intellect. Not news, sadly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, the federal government might be having some money problems. Highways are expensive, and saying you're not building any more to save Mother Gaia is a great excuse to save the money. Or so a midwit apparently thinks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Third, a Federal cabinet minister saying something like that out loud indicates a certain desperation to display his virtue in the face of coming doom. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, this man thinks he and his fellow politicians are in charge of "economic, social and human development" in this country. They see all, they know all, they have set the goals and they shall achieve them. No need for new roads, peasants. Your betters have decided how everything is going to be. You will walk, and you will like it.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There used to be this guy in Germany who talked like that. Had a funny mustache, loved dogs.<br /></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-22881713287406119522024-01-25T13:40:00.000-05:002024-01-25T13:55:07.239-05:00Hugo schadenfreude, piping hot.<div dir="ltr"><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQQUKy7SWvWKevhJxnMQ_5vXDLFxYcf19Fv6RdUdxpXNZUQcAgXkpndPRhK68YYs6kNTLKAPOQNUJrEob4aTguwKxLoaczkqo9cGIF09ll8k-uLH56JysoSLL-Wu80gmR5Nv_yjIBTYtLjqTgejCTXzRaNmHotXq8MK0SDuT_24P9cHm22hUHNg/s474/monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="474" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQQUKy7SWvWKevhJxnMQ_5vXDLFxYcf19Fv6RdUdxpXNZUQcAgXkpndPRhK68YYs6kNTLKAPOQNUJrEob4aTguwKxLoaczkqo9cGIF09ll8k-uLH56JysoSLL-Wu80gmR5Nv_yjIBTYtLjqTgejCTXzRaNmHotXq8MK0SDuT_24P9cHm22hUHNg/s320/monkey.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Hugo mood today.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div> </div><div>They say revenge is best served cold, but I like my schadenfreude piping hot. <a href="https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/01/25/1530239/hugo-awards-under-fire-over-censorship-accusations">It seems that the WorldCon at Chengdu suffered some irregularities in the voting for the Hugo Award in 2023.</a> How shocking. [This is my shocked face. o_o ] <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The only reason I mention it is because this news made it to the greater world outside the tiny fish bowl of Science Fiction fan-wankery. The weenies at Slashdot noticed this one<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/24/science-fiction-awards-held-in-china-under-fire-for-excluding-authors"> because it was reported in The Guardian</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The actual crime committed here? <b>I don't care.</b> Seriously, I don't. I haven't read a book since 2019, I think. I just don't read anymore. Because they're awful. Horrendously depressing shite with questionable plots and characters dragged from a landfill.</div><div><br /></div><div>But for people who do care:</div><div><br /></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail-dcr-epamsi gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><a href="https://www.thehugoawards.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-Hugo-Award-Stats-Final.pdf">Recently released documents</a> showed that several works or authors – some with links to China – had been excluded from the ballot despite receiving enough nominations to be included on their respective shortlists. The excluded nominees include Kuang and Zhao, authors who were born in China but are now based in the west.</blockquote><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail-dcr-epamsi gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Concerns have been raised that the authors were targeted for political reasons, connected to the fact that the ruling Chinese Communist party exerts a tight control on all cultural events that take place inside its borders.</blockquote><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail-dcr-epamsi gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Dave McCarty, the head of the 2023 Hugo awards jury, wrote on Facebook: "Nobody has ordered me to do anything … There was no communication between the Hugo administration team and the Chinese government in any official manner."</blockquote><div><br /></div><div>If you look at the documents in question, (which I did, briefly,) it is quite obvious that people with more votes got dropped. There is no question. And there is no explanation forthcoming. Therefore one can only assume the Chinese government told them to drop those winners from the lists, and that WorldCon saluted and dropped them.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://phantomsoapbox.blogspot.com/2021/12/worldcon-get-woke-go-broke.html">Which we ALL predicted</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The last time I spoke about WorldCon was December 8th, 2021, on the occasion of Jon Del Arroz winning his defamation lawsuit against them. It cost the sons of bitches $100K to call him a racist. Also in that post I mentioned that Chengdu was most likely going to be the location for the 2023 WorldCon, that it would have been basically purchased outright by the Communist Party of China for the price of 800-some-odd supporting memberships, and that the Great SMOFS of WorldCon were going to take the money.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which they did. And now here we are, after-action report, some guys sold out their hobby for money, some fancy dinners, and maybe a little fun excitement time where maybe pictures got taken they wouldn't want everybody to see. Or maybe not, some of those tools would probably roll over just for a fancy dinner and a little flattery.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bottom line, Communist China got themselves a nice little propaganda coup here. On the one hand, famous guys like Neil Gaiman got a slap-down. They were all shown that if you don't play nice with the PRC, you don't get to play at all. All of Hollywood is seeing that message today, you better believe it.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4H4Ifd9sQVdBWdudSN-71j06gHqY8THH2r4PSka6gT0fa9vvvLG8w8G0qbcDKp-HcGEEnL2KL_li7bKbARAJoUWqaH34KP2HXPBh25JZXmtaIW_nZbOLY8KjRvD37PYqx1CmMAbhZcR-5z2_lL_XACGHNe5KjxdUT3hRbLTY4iQ11vVm2FkudQ/s480/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4H4Ifd9sQVdBWdudSN-71j06gHqY8THH2r4PSka6gT0fa9vvvLG8w8G0qbcDKp-HcGEEnL2KL_li7bKbARAJoUWqaH34KP2HXPBh25JZXmtaIW_nZbOLY8KjRvD37PYqx1CmMAbhZcR-5z2_lL_XACGHNe5KjxdUT3hRbLTY4iQ11vVm2FkudQ/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You know what she's saying.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And on the other hand, all the little "Middle Managers" and "Cultural Gatekeepers" of the publishing universe were just shown how sweet a deal it is to be friends with the PRC. You get a nice free trip to Chengdu, where they built a whole hotel and a whole event venue brand new, just for you. You get wined and dined by Important People. You get driven around town to see the sights. You maybe get some "company" for your stay if you are an "important" SMOF type, or maybe even just for asking. So many friendly people to pet you and make a fuss.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the Sad Puppies are the true enemies of life my friends. They're -still- going on about it.<br /></div> </div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-24266512501874166862023-12-31T17:39:00.001-05:002023-12-31T17:39:57.230-05:00Warren Kinsella: Credit where credit is due.<div dir="ltr"> <p>Something I never expected to see, and really something that is quite a shocking departure from history, <a href="https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/kinsella-ordinary-palestinian-citizens-aided-and-abetted-hamas-on-oct-7">Warren Kinsella the back-room Liberal fixer has just stood tall for the truth.</a></p><p>I must say, I am really quite amazed. Here's what he said.</p><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"> A few weeks ago, this writer was<a href="https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/kinsella-seeing-the-horror-of-hamas-slaughter-leaves-one-in-tears"> invited to the Israeli consulate in Toronto to see 42 minutes of raw video footage</a>. It was mostly taken from video recorders dead (and uniformed) Hamas terrorists brought with them on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023. <p>The uniformed Hamas killers wanted to keep a record of what they did in Israel that morning. They were proud of what they did: on the videos, they said so, over and over.</p>[snippage of the witnessed atrocities]<br><p>With the permission of the victim's families, some journalists and legislators have been allowed to see the video. To bear witness, the Israelis told us. </p><p>We bore witness to something else, however. Something that hasn't been written about nearly as much, but it is important.</p><p>It was easy to spot the Hamas men. As noted, they wore uniforms and looked like soldiers, even though they acted like animals – worse than animals, actually.</p><p>But here's something else we witnessed: people who weren't in uniforms, at all, flooding into Israel to participate in the barbarity of that dark Saturday.</p></blockquote><div>He goes on to mention atrocities committed by <u>civilians</u> from Gaza, caught on video. Not the "official" terrorists, but freelance murderers/rapists/etc. Private enterprise, as it were.<br><br></div><div>So, good on Mr. Kinsella for finding his backbone and standing up for human decency against the drift of the political wind. Even attending the Israeli consulate shows guts I frankly did not think he had, given his history. How nice, in these dark days, to find this strength in such an unlikely place.<br><br></div><div>So, we end 2023 on a high note. Kudos and blessings upon Mr. Kinsella, for saying the truth when very few will.<br></div> </div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-45274727892878211142023-12-20T22:57:00.001-05:002023-12-20T22:57:15.428-05:00I'm so proud.<div dir="ltr"><div><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/hamas-thanks-canada-for-backing-ceasefire/wcm/b1969aa9-de2c-4a53-a941-73544d2b05c0/amp/">Government of Canada's principled position on ceasefire in Gaza praised by HamAss</a>.</div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"> <span>"In addition to the other calls worldwide demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza strip — the last of which was a statement by Canada, Australia, and New Zealand backing sustainable ceasefire in Gaza — we welcome these developments and consider them in the right direction toward isolating the fascist Israeli government globally and ending the longest ever occupation in our modern time." - </span> Dr. Ghazi Hamad, a senior leader of the Palestinian terror group HamAss. </blockquote><div><br></div><div>On an unrelated note, does anyone else feel that the Hunger Games movies are starting to feel like a documentary? <br></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-46457842925988257342023-11-23T18:43:00.000-05:002023-11-23T18:43:26.270-05:00New Rules, Lefties. Because you insisted.<p> https://twitter.com/UAlberta/status/1725988052454326510</p><p> </p><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" style="text-overflow: unset;"></span></p><blockquote><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" style="text-overflow: unset;">Statement on the University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre </span></p><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" style="text-overflow: unset;">The recent improper and unauthorized use of the name of the University of Alberta’s Sexual Assault Centre in endorsing an open letter has raised understandable concerns from members of our community and the public. Effective immediately, the director of the centre is no longer employed by the university. The university has appointed a new interim director of the Sexual Assault Centre.</span></p></blockquote><p> </p><p>The open letter:</p><p> https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12763853/sarah-jama-susan-kim-university-alberta-hamas-rape.html</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"></p><blockquote><p class="mol-para-with-font">The director of a sexual assault center at
a Canadian university is coming under criticism for signing an open
letter denying women were raped during <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-9c351390-85ab-11ee-927f-e53d62c404d2" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span>' October 7 attack on <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-9c4c1e00-85ab-11ee-927f-e53d62c404d2" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Samantha Pearson, director of the University of Alberta's Sexual Assault Center, <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12761647/Goodbye-brave-daughter-Heartbroken-mother-weeps-coffin-Noa-Marciano-hostage-dead-hospital-complex-Israel-searching-Hamas-HQ.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">was among those to sign in support of the letter written by two local politicians.</a></span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Sarah
Jama, a member of Ontario's provincial parliament, and Susan Kim, a
city councillor in Victoria, British Columbia, authored the letter to
all members of <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/canada/index.html" id="mol-60a6d410-85a8-11ee-89bc-f706c46a1e19" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Canada</a></span>'s parliament.</p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><blockquote>We, the undersigned, residing in so-called Canada, urge Canadian political leaders to end their complicity in the ongoing massacres and genocide in Gaza, Occupied Palestine,' they wrote.<br /><br />The letter - entitled 'Stand with Palestine: Call on Political Leaders to End Their Complicity in Genocide!' - called on the MPs to resign after the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, refused to demand a ceasefire.<br /><br />And the signatories criticized opposition leader Jagmeet Singh for having 'repeated the unverified accusation that Palestinians were guilty of sexual violence.' </blockquote></blockquote><br /><p></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"></p><div class="connatix-wrapper" style="height: 420px; width: 600px;"><div class="connatix-placeholder" id="ias-5d27ca7c-0954-46e4-8503-c28477103876"><br /></div></div><p></p><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" style="text-overflow: unset;"></span></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-70191602562042203582023-11-23T18:42:00.000-05:002023-11-23T18:43:06.935-05:00You do not despise the media enough.<div dir="ltr"><div>Media coverage of Israel continues.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/RabbiWolpe/status/1727683461136122272">https://twitter.com/RabbiWolpe/status/1727683461136122272</a></div><div><br></div><div>You see them do it, and you can't believe they'd really say that, but there it is.<br></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-87612578780661277622023-10-30T15:10:00.001-04:002023-10-30T15:16:38.462-04:00Shani Louk, RIP.<div dir="ltr"><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyn6nzSdTsLQyCtM__ljzXYUf4kW9nUPzgtNFxQqhxktQ3EXPNv44Q1DCQK7lWynmcDJMJTCkCb4xk3WAir5TXCuqUw6dOpdgDEhLQd_LTcCPMpB2W-eHKdTn7uBHoB9w8W4xvu16Tu-XFMbYI98DB2TDl5OfqcW34qJusm3OVLB32O4TYwNU1eQ/s1280/Shani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1017" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyn6nzSdTsLQyCtM__ljzXYUf4kW9nUPzgtNFxQqhxktQ3EXPNv44Q1DCQK7lWynmcDJMJTCkCb4xk3WAir5TXCuqUw6dOpdgDEhLQd_LTcCPMpB2W-eHKdTn7uBHoB9w8W4xvu16Tu-XFMbYI98DB2TDl5OfqcW34qJusm3OVLB32O4TYwNU1eQ/s320/Shani.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shani Louk<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>We finally have confirmation that Shani Louk has passed. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/german-israeli-shani-louk-seen-paraded-by-terrorists-in-gaza-confirmed-dead/">https://www.timesofisrael.com/german-israeli-shani-louk-seen-paraded-by-terrorists-in-gaza-confirmed-dead/</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1718946200307593261">https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1718946200307593261</a></div><div><br /></div><div>My condolences to her family who lost their daughter, and who were made to suffer for so many days.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rest in peace, Shani. <a href="https://twitter.com/thatjimmytr/status/1718979031536910489">A video from happier times.</a></div><div> </div><div> <br /></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-42345058825693902282023-10-19T20:36:00.001-04:002023-10-19T20:36:44.850-04:00Free will itself now under assault.<div dir="ltr"><div>A while ago I created an imaginary alien civilization for my current book. I needed bad guys so evil that readers would cheer when the hero blew them up, so I created a civilization that told its citizens that nothing existed and nothing mattered. They did that so they could treat individual citizens as consumables. Like Communists, but worse. To my mind, that type of thing deserves a hearty blowing up.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Imagine my surprise to find some guy one-upped me, and my book isn't even published yet.</div><div><br></div><div>Dr. Robert Saplosky, not content with Postmodernism which states that the world doesn't objectively exist and that "reality" is created by human speech, has now decided that is not far enough. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/stanford-scientist-after-decades-of-study-concludes-we-dont-have-free-will/ar-AA1ilx0v">He has decreed that humans are nothing but meat robots.</a> Every action a human takes is determined by heredity, environment and neurology. We decide nothing. And going even further, can therefore be blamed for nothing, no matter how heinous the act. "He din do nuffin" is now an existential truth.<br></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><p>After more than 40 years studying humans and other primates, [Stanford University neurobiologist <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/robert-sapolsky" target="_blank">Robert Sapolsky</a>. has reached the conclusion that virtually <i>all</i> human behavior is as far beyond our conscious control as the convulsions of a seizure, the division of cells or the beating of our hearts.</p><p>This means accepting that a man who shoots into a crowd has no more control over his fate than the victims who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It means treating drunk drivers who barrel into pedestrians just like drivers who suffer a sudden heart attack and veer out of their lane.</p></blockquote><div>Yeah. Thomas Hobbes, with a new coat of paint. I'm rolling my eyes pretty hard.</div><div><br></div><div>But the extent to which this guy is full of shit doesn't become fully evident until you get alllll the way to the last bit at the bottom.</div><div><br></div><div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">We are machines, Sapolsky argues, exceptional in our ability to perceive our own experiences and feel emotions about them. It is pointless to hate a machine for its failures.<p>There is only one last thread he can't resolve.</p><p>"It is logically indefensible, ludicrous, meaningless to believe that something 'good' can happen to a machine," he writes. "Nonetheless, I am certain that it is good if people feel less pain and more happiness."</p></blockquote><div>It's completely self-refuting. The ability to perceive -anything- requires consciousness. Without it, there is mere response to stimulus. That is what a toilet does when you flush it, the mechanism performs its designed motions when you push down on the lever. The toilet perceives nothing. A completely determined creature would also feel, perceive, nothing. Stimulus, response. That's it.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Consciousness is not mechanistic. Can't be. The human being knows himself, observes and perceives himself, and in the knowing, chooses his actions. That's why he thinks it is better for people to feel happiness than pain. Because he knows they FEEL it, which means they exist and are not mere robots acting out stimulus/response programs.</div><div><br></div><div>But he wrote the book anyway, because he appears to be some form of appalling asshole.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Another day, another socialist Ivory Tower dickhead paid with government money, chipping away at Western civilization.<br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div> </div> </div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-16393372654911884492023-10-12T00:01:00.003-04:002023-10-12T00:01:51.847-04:00Requested walking stick pictures.<p> As requested at <a href="https://accordingtohoyt.com/2023/10/11/misunderstandings-by-david-bock/#comment-942634">According To Hoyt</a> today, a couple pictures of the walking sticks.</p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQDsBIVkEYOrXmlYYEKVHtloXiHfa7EcxdSg81CCkTmgP1BFdznIQ7_ZWC15NgOkDGSBbGoKUEhYZ25hwwiiq1hXtSXRhwM4HZQYDa8WQ_OgvOp_LAZv_FUtskRD1sHftb6bWGajeJPpvSHDgCSdkLfyiowVoz2upi6OBMTdD4SlRhyphenhypheni2nbNRUw/s4000/walking_sticks_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQDsBIVkEYOrXmlYYEKVHtloXiHfa7EcxdSg81CCkTmgP1BFdznIQ7_ZWC15NgOkDGSBbGoKUEhYZ25hwwiiq1hXtSXRhwM4HZQYDa8WQ_OgvOp_LAZv_FUtskRD1sHftb6bWGajeJPpvSHDgCSdkLfyiowVoz2upi6OBMTdD4SlRhyphenhypheni2nbNRUw/s320/walking_sticks_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half finished walnut stick with test piece above<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXeffVc1XmjKzjlY7dDyxk34X9CSUMHoJ9_Kp49_Xb7OIs06TI4bGhuEEV8XrTidJvw3llohuYMlEl2s6J_q8dcRwwgHO4zyjPOtvh5Sf6sPHltsQXKZbSDpF3fmmY5S0b6bRqvLC62Dxmkk0Tq_2ek295pdeDRTWjwSfU0AcfP8vcSukuJhpnw/s4000/walking_sticks_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXeffVc1XmjKzjlY7dDyxk34X9CSUMHoJ9_Kp49_Xb7OIs06TI4bGhuEEV8XrTidJvw3llohuYMlEl2s6J_q8dcRwwgHO4zyjPOtvh5Sf6sPHltsQXKZbSDpF3fmmY5S0b6bRqvLC62Dxmkk0Tq_2ek295pdeDRTWjwSfU0AcfP8vcSukuJhpnw/s320/walking_sticks_2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of walnut stick joinery and lamination<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWRaI-daIdlpvx0sYRnbSeJHCEt5lCA4H7pRHme1i4UgJRHFRb-KrutgyyGoF6Tr8sbhaRPu7YTI1hV-ZMijl6hyphenhyphenW9cMipdVweHcFxeaOUEN4NH5kZpt-CuapKi85lW8SraX9AcCxZgYTRn3AaaZg5NXaiDl7Gb85SdF3HYOdo6UmbsU4-B8NaA/s4000/walking_sticks_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWRaI-daIdlpvx0sYRnbSeJHCEt5lCA4H7pRHme1i4UgJRHFRb-KrutgyyGoF6Tr8sbhaRPu7YTI1hV-ZMijl6hyphenhyphenW9cMipdVweHcFxeaOUEN4NH5kZpt-CuapKi85lW8SraX9AcCxZgYTRn3AaaZg5NXaiDl7Gb85SdF3HYOdo6UmbsU4-B8NaA/s320/walking_sticks_.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Test piece showing handle to shaft joinery<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1ojdq1ldDq1Jli9CTxXoxkvi4mk4myuhEWWSwgTHLVlxh0ewF_sR7ma3eW-5Y-JuxWI2Ok_ysrbdkMuElTo4Xm2e3G8th_fRnk2lK-S4D_D1VFsG_32TWkGyrKqpVinKvbY-9oezt62jXo7UH7eA-xWsUr-q58XxYPdcY7JC18KJ0ct58hvu8w/s320/Outdoor_table_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little pine outdoor table I'm making a YouTube video of.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Keeping busy out in the shop, keeping my mind off what's brewing up overseas.<br /></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-25456138418274705322023-10-08T14:44:00.000-04:002023-10-08T14:44:23.185-04:00The cost of doing business.<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe88ooqLjdFe7P7k85moAcBh7EcX6shqH8xNOFMX8XWu6XYzq1HOe44nQXcvDEeBcy9IZ0rtmkRBvfpfy9XN_jZ910bnbIShwEfBzLJd_bnUKRLrWbGRqrDx5gKPBUb-Yc-rzcjFod1IJ9LoiCU7xWVoiZPZYC7dRkUw5rsAC0nv4gTo9cYx8ieg/s1309/TELEMMGLPICT000352454706_16967617022500_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqiYGscw6F4nsM8xFB3aubmtSF9ZuPaHs6NwOYCW3saGw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1309" data-original-width="817" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe88ooqLjdFe7P7k85moAcBh7EcX6shqH8xNOFMX8XWu6XYzq1HOe44nQXcvDEeBcy9IZ0rtmkRBvfpfy9XN_jZ910bnbIShwEfBzLJd_bnUKRLrWbGRqrDx5gKPBUb-Yc-rzcjFod1IJ9LoiCU7xWVoiZPZYC7dRkUw5rsAC0nv4gTo9cYx8ieg/s320/TELEMMGLPICT000352454706_16967617022500_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqiYGscw6F4nsM8xFB3aubmtSF9ZuPaHs6NwOYCW3saGw.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shani Louk, 23.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Rest in peace, dear girl.<br /></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-3851663374779697292023-09-27T10:38:00.003-04:002023-09-27T10:38:14.139-04:00Reposting so it doesn't fall down the memory hole...<p> soldiers in our streets</p><p>https://twitter.com/Leftc0aster/status/1704221089080209540<br /></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-83321648197264634652023-09-02T04:29:00.002-04:002023-09-02T04:29:37.014-04:00New release day! Alice Haddison!<p>Special for September 1st, a new Short Story from Edward Thomas (aka me!) called <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CH4D6FTC">Alice Haddison's Busy Day.</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirPkTfZT361diL0RAXg8Zh3C9L-wM-OI2XsJuHpJQMG6TqOIUIcA9XRddCs3XfSHDMHQ_bjdwTZkNgyr7xjonT382gEKF8wCtK_p5larjxnT7p0_Q3zSVx4aoMBrSFTCHsnMqwsqx8korwFnJ09s38m9vmlwvo8l-y0wwrwL_O8TmbWT112drGqQ/s2560/Alice_rifle_AS-50_comic_filter_full_cover_02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirPkTfZT361diL0RAXg8Zh3C9L-wM-OI2XsJuHpJQMG6TqOIUIcA9XRddCs3XfSHDMHQ_bjdwTZkNgyr7xjonT382gEKF8wCtK_p5larjxnT7p0_Q3zSVx4aoMBrSFTCHsnMqwsqx8korwFnJ09s38m9vmlwvo8l-y0wwrwL_O8TmbWT112drGqQ/s320/Alice_rifle_AS-50_comic_filter_full_cover_02.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p>Alice, to put it bluntly, is a shit magnet. Anything bad, wrong,weird or messed up in a hundred miles will come right to her. It used to only be criminals and crazy people, but now she sees monsters. The kind that don't stay down when you shoot them.</p><p>Alice's new hobby is finding those things and killing them. Its not a great hobby, but it is hers. She's becoming quite good at it, due to all the practice she's been getting.<br /></p><p>The police of course have a big problem with Alice, they arrest her all the time. She'd be in jail forever, but she has "friends" in high places, people who want her out, running around and attracting monsters.</p><p>Follow Alice on her hectic day of monster hunting and having lunch with the police, followed by dinner and a zombie.<br /></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-15801860777210407692023-08-25T17:12:00.001-04:002023-08-25T17:16:44.936-04:00New book from The Phantom!<div dir="ltr"><div>Yes, I finally pulled the trigger last night and published my samurai story.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CGKQZCJ5">https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CGKQZCJ5</a></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0TsqadPXbtlc4fiIx0giH7Kxzzp8xbpiiKXguo00in3sykmHZ3oSOn0oCDdUCx0SHmtpjdPkUV3CZizDiQFx997G7yBheCs3xgJoUmW7P18RZhln7Z-zsBoEANRxFDo7NyWDhz1BCCMZrJlYeSGOSRWbgiGtTGYh0r9Ovhb_wvKS0sXYbW5MTw/s2560/The_Crossroads_and_the_Oni_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0TsqadPXbtlc4fiIx0giH7Kxzzp8xbpiiKXguo00in3sykmHZ3oSOn0oCDdUCx0SHmtpjdPkUV3CZizDiQFx997G7yBheCs3xgJoUmW7P18RZhln7Z-zsBoEANRxFDo7NyWDhz1BCCMZrJlYeSGOSRWbgiGtTGYh0r9Ovhb_wvKS0sXYbW5MTw/s320/The_Crossroads_and_the_Oni_3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's a novella, 25,000 words, pretty quick read. It concerns a young samurai found dying at a crossroads by a very strange and very ugly old lady. The old girl takes a liking to him and offers to sew up his wounds in return for his hand in marriage. He thinks she might be an oni, an evil spirit, but his life is fading fast.</div><div><br /></div><div>Should our hero take her up on the marriage proposal? Well, you'll have to read it to find out! ~:D<br /></div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-40005703532028171662023-08-02T11:37:00.004-04:002023-08-02T11:37:55.532-04:00Shiny Pony, average guy. <p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBFPxUdeSxUwGJZSeB3uddm3zjej4uSojZyv7esRKvPRrwxg4pp31hzhfr6f4oonHwKo8szHkiXARWOHkdOM__7FWzQLfUXkUUFBNXzw6nuZ4jK1NZ84GFd7noSJTZoochcyEAhmb6t8QiwDuZZfuoLI6ai7tdq72-1gNgTcmJPy3cUz8JQCQcg/s760/191016-kimg-jong-sacred-mountain-mc-9282_4252a818e31b16f4cb03dde961c4b6ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="760" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBFPxUdeSxUwGJZSeB3uddm3zjej4uSojZyv7esRKvPRrwxg4pp31hzhfr6f4oonHwKo8szHkiXARWOHkdOM__7FWzQLfUXkUUFBNXzw6nuZ4jK1NZ84GFd7noSJTZoochcyEAhmb6t8QiwDuZZfuoLI6ai7tdq72-1gNgTcmJPy3cUz8JQCQcg/s320/191016-kimg-jong-sacred-mountain-mc-9282_4252a818e31b16f4cb03dde961c4b6ed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Their propaganda.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwSGHNhJtWolAzeIurrbisC0glAuBOxae3OG5fkWAiUd62kDeZGRQx9YT8vdXXmIjIT_imt0KKrq5v_pGuCxqg11JHclsO_UhlK7M8oBAYpXz6F-14cdPUtgL9JzHguOIPkJ1hpz_AOm70cTzf4PUipeYSFVewdL_qRAIUG2oDOfqMEUOou7BPg/s749/Shiny%20Pony%20average%20guy-.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="749" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwSGHNhJtWolAzeIurrbisC0glAuBOxae3OG5fkWAiUd62kDeZGRQx9YT8vdXXmIjIT_imt0KKrq5v_pGuCxqg11JHclsO_UhlK7M8oBAYpXz6F-14cdPUtgL9JzHguOIPkJ1hpz_AOm70cTzf4PUipeYSFVewdL_qRAIUG2oDOfqMEUOou7BPg/s320/Shiny%20Pony%20average%20guy-.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our propaganda.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-70831436822800416692023-07-13T15:24:00.001-04:002023-07-13T16:35:13.518-04:00Bearings make the world go 'round.<div dir="ltr"><div>It occurred in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-hermanville-wind-farm-losing-money-1.6903903">a blog post at Small Dead Animals regarding windmills and why so many of them seem to be broken</a>, that people generally don't understand how basic machinery works.</div><div> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://i.cbc.ca/1.6903916.1689111422!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/hermanville-wind-farm.jpg" height="180" src="https://i.cbc.ca/1.6903916.1689111422!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/hermanville-wind-farm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dead windmill in PEI. See that brown crap on there? We're going to talk about that later.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>This is entirely expected. Education, in my Boomer generation and ever since, does not talk about machinery. At all. I believe this to be part of the hidden class-warfare against the Commoners in our society, the sort of pervasive disdain for plumbers, carpenters, mechanics and workmen of all sorts that permeates the media and Academia, but that is a topic for another day.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's topic is bearings.</div><div> </div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XAYekgFyn4r9_IQtf-NTCMKfgp26DL7gGxkDxx-w3p5ZRwur0bOCEPdA0KGvWa2-udc8m2_kDELJsbnNI76b876VVEx_xTyUua05Ud3gsfa8w2YQfBDXHIV_rmAIW6oSu2RHGxjzZxzBx1Ez5FtZujXdKKA29JXZSQ7kB856FcTP31jyluQyBg/s710/liebherr-einreihige-kegelrollenlager-einbau-windkraftanlage_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="710" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XAYekgFyn4r9_IQtf-NTCMKfgp26DL7gGxkDxx-w3p5ZRwur0bOCEPdA0KGvWa2-udc8m2_kDELJsbnNI76b876VVEx_xTyUua05Ud3gsfa8w2YQfBDXHIV_rmAIW6oSu2RHGxjzZxzBx1Ez5FtZujXdKKA29JXZSQ7kB856FcTP31jyluQyBg/s320/liebherr-einreihige-kegelrollenlager-einbau-windkraftanlage_96dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many bearings.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ten thousand years ago, some guy in ancient Sumeria got sick and tired of pulling a big bag of wheat behind him on a travois. That's two sticks tied at one end and pulled along, dragging on the ground. </div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnSz3XvZXKgZFPWXo016EVJaphit2UCVeTMbkrFE8XtAt_d7PcC1n5aJ1hqFDr6ozSpeMpGplZy6hdBQoP90jWTCvmQjaYAMvW0HTTmFKWTm7S9JtdsLf3IOZZX8A0speXYRREalkF9awWoFtI6r0L_Xx6VFBJgUoPL0B-acPGscJi4HdlYscdA/s650/Untitled-01-2-e1607971140524-1706890555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnSz3XvZXKgZFPWXo016EVJaphit2UCVeTMbkrFE8XtAt_d7PcC1n5aJ1hqFDr6ozSpeMpGplZy6hdBQoP90jWTCvmQjaYAMvW0HTTmFKWTm7S9JtdsLf3IOZZX8A0speXYRREalkF9awWoFtI6r0L_Xx6VFBJgUoPL0B-acPGscJi4HdlYscdA/s320/Untitled-01-2-e1607971140524-1706890555.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The noble travois, in use.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div> </div><div>That un-recorded genius decided to put something that ROLLS on the end of his travois. So he whittled a piece of wood round, put a hole in it, and invented the wheel. He also invented the axle and the bearing, but nobody talks about that.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUjZLCr3qxl5n7Mc05V2JRcTJ1RlZEceF2ZP7BXO4uYvGYKx_-5_OiKxSidVzi8SvRLtxvbEMFGHOTdM224UJH5fgAwJqjgXbJTtFUQ-6xmm2S9xAaapfeCesQ6Su9cVKrvwXWhaHOys4hklip4dhjTGId8cAzRdUaETyKh2bGsM9yCH33ioFiA/s800/3905f457905d116c3fe50a651147b33b-3067514531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUjZLCr3qxl5n7Mc05V2JRcTJ1RlZEceF2ZP7BXO4uYvGYKx_-5_OiKxSidVzi8SvRLtxvbEMFGHOTdM224UJH5fgAwJqjgXbJTtFUQ-6xmm2S9xAaapfeCesQ6Su9cVKrvwXWhaHOys4hklip4dhjTGId8cAzRdUaETyKh2bGsM9yCH33ioFiA/s320/3905f457905d116c3fe50a651147b33b-3067514531.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's oldest surviving wooden wheel. New meaning to the phrase "I got a flat."<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And then, after a little while of enjoying the beauty of reduced friction that the wheel brings to our lives, he discovered that his wheel had worn the axle in half because his bearing really sucked. His next invention was probably grease. Remember that, it's important.</div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWrhORBQIGZ9CCegWIaQSgmd6fbbg1hrMl0J_LBvsQtMlLOjFIp9wuUDpHAdOksAOJa6fgcgZRQHdYid9PWzPifS4Vyb7xJtJNhiQ_az6oVsXnqQvZKiJh2rPpf3dhRgru3pIA2aTlcsEKCB0SQyFSOJ78kgU2Ex_xPJ1yTne0YrfvAQ7uj65iTw/s1856/01abf3_ee8b3100fa154f9da75f23b0d44b148b-1682655807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="1856" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWrhORBQIGZ9CCegWIaQSgmd6fbbg1hrMl0J_LBvsQtMlLOjFIp9wuUDpHAdOksAOJa6fgcgZRQHdYid9PWzPifS4Vyb7xJtJNhiQ_az6oVsXnqQvZKiJh2rPpf3dhRgru3pIA2aTlcsEKCB0SQyFSOJ78kgU2Ex_xPJ1yTne0YrfvAQ7uj65iTw/s320/01abf3_ee8b3100fa154f9da75f23b0d44b148b-1682655807.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Travois, hipster version.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(Truthfully the first wheels were probably potter's wheels, but bear with me, I'm on a roll.)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It took a long time for his idea to take hold, but eventually animals and people pulling carts became the way of the world. Humans got really good at wheels, axles and bearings. They made them out of special harder wood, and eventually out of bronze and even iron. And they used grease too.</div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipoJkhpHA78f9sSBfUFlmbaQtH6HkUtUFjwgfei_o-8y63BVK5fI1RUrytiIuMgTciYRXGNPRZnJ029cm_fPXofcqGpLVeg4h8zqxvc8zsIh4WCA5bhSvCjipVelr9NY52GD7apbikbjrFbTt2xSw7LzA8ZAGFMtzaIasZ7GcSA0e5cwtv_rIJg/s3264/Greasing-Bearing-Ball-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2176" data-original-width="3264" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipoJkhpHA78f9sSBfUFlmbaQtH6HkUtUFjwgfei_o-8y63BVK5fI1RUrytiIuMgTciYRXGNPRZnJ029cm_fPXofcqGpLVeg4h8zqxvc8zsIh4WCA5bhSvCjipVelr9NY52GD7apbikbjrFbTt2xSw7LzA8ZAGFMtzaIasZ7GcSA0e5cwtv_rIJg/w200-h133/Greasing-Bearing-Ball-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not just for hair.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Fast forward a pretty long time, and we find the Egyptians using logs to move huge blocks of stone. Everybody knows this, right? Of interest here is that everybody spends a great deal of time focusing on the logs. Nobody seems to realize the log is only half the story. The other, and more important half is the ROAD they're pulling the block along. That can't be a dirt track. You get a ten ton rock and try to pull it across your backyard, the first thing that happens is the logs dig into the dirt. Those roads in ancient Egypt had to be <b>smooth</b>, they had to be <b>flat</b>, and they had to be <b>hard</b>. They also had to be <b>cheap</b> to make and maintain. That's important as well.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xTTPMjcF1C944jYhlhKCxyFBBDTZvO5ArOv8rLGfDjf_lIzlscmQGOXkUopo_XtOZW8mf8iH-d3iLPim9nbUDee9CXefmeibcnO64zAzubZ9_ozLtU0btw4H2kYgnB2bQKo64qlF9j53wPLd66V6XOBZjRdtKeBi62HWxTCrpAU_MwOv0v4sZg/s600/gd-0057-281729539.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xTTPMjcF1C944jYhlhKCxyFBBDTZvO5ArOv8rLGfDjf_lIzlscmQGOXkUopo_XtOZW8mf8iH-d3iLPim9nbUDee9CXefmeibcnO64zAzubZ9_ozLtU0btw4H2kYgnB2bQKo64qlF9j53wPLd66V6XOBZjRdtKeBi62HWxTCrpAU_MwOv0v4sZg/s320/gd-0057-281729539.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how they don't mention the freakin' road?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Fast forward a little farther, and we find that the Romans got really good at roads. Whatever the Egyptians did to pull off their moonshot, building the Pyramids, the Romans copied it and conquered Europe with it. </div><div> </div><div>Probably not coincidentally we find the first use of ball bearings that we know of. ~40BC, in a luxury ship recovered from Lake Nemi in Italy. Used to make a rotating table, of all things. Probably fantastically expensive, because both the ball and the track that it runs in must be <b>smooth </b>and <b>hard </b>and <b>flat</b>. You really can't get a round track flat and smooth without some pretty special tools, and the fitment has to be just-so. Not too tight, not too loose. The balls were metal, the tracks were wood. Super expensive custom work.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tjFUfo8ZEoNxNvoUsPKUtn_ZSXDAndJbe6Nj66nwPqUxgh0r37MEtNuAgmOOEz3BWw7BjcgSvnY9bZe9DRTGgDPKRI1EPqNoexcJRtLL2H22CT_RtBJscSKhX2jeyE4ZIpTMk2_nbg8ZRBhdo9YNKRQ0553AnnO6oTr19QWspJMnjZW_oWaL0Q/s281/1-2810292x9-1997853990.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="281" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tjFUfo8ZEoNxNvoUsPKUtn_ZSXDAndJbe6Nj66nwPqUxgh0r37MEtNuAgmOOEz3BWw7BjcgSvnY9bZe9DRTGgDPKRI1EPqNoexcJRtLL2H22CT_RtBJscSKhX2jeyE4ZIpTMk2_nbg8ZRBhdo9YNKRQ0553AnnO6oTr19QWspJMnjZW_oWaL0Q/s1600/1-2810292x9-1997853990.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman ball bearing<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii902g6vbjesoEvw5Qb5Qto4kNhYLKbo9-t5MnuMwroOqijbRNXYOVrm5GQKWE_dIIMdQWAOvoSRP-r1Zzf8miIaXp7Jy__hJOG4zqb-iQS4pkspIKApDt82I93mv7g5_cDL5SHjtWJG7F9dd5-iIDUpdq4ao5FGkYSB1g1YgUuQs6zEmmnv9jA/s502/The-first-two-ball-bearings-in-the-remained-wood-frame-Figure-5_Q640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii902g6vbjesoEvw5Qb5Qto4kNhYLKbo9-t5MnuMwroOqijbRNXYOVrm5GQKWE_dIIMdQWAOvoSRP-r1Zzf8miIaXp7Jy__hJOG4zqb-iQS4pkspIKApDt82I93mv7g5_cDL5SHjtWJG7F9dd5-iIDUpdq4ao5FGkYSB1g1YgUuQs6zEmmnv9jA/s320/The-first-two-ball-bearings-in-the-remained-wood-frame-Figure-5_Q640.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman ball bearings in use..<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHEgqTJCXBzAiFRP-5p2YXaKg_ideXNcR3gbqSF_3s7pER2nPyNaGgPly199woOl6BS_l7_705YSl6c1BsgDFf2px13VO0wGU9FNlddHt-oa_02KGl1Zm5i7Ez366E0FoUMVdC2-5RJ8ps4_03p2PPYKVDjt_abZD1Ht_5t1sfR5vyLgl8CglKw/s640/Nemibearings_zps2f23e78a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="640" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHEgqTJCXBzAiFRP-5p2YXaKg_ideXNcR3gbqSF_3s7pER2nPyNaGgPly199woOl6BS_l7_705YSl6c1BsgDFf2px13VO0wGU9FNlddHt-oa_02KGl1Zm5i7Ez366E0FoUMVdC2-5RJ8ps4_03p2PPYKVDjt_abZD1Ht_5t1sfR5vyLgl8CglKw/s320/Nemibearings_zps2f23e78a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reproduction of the rotating table, without the bearing race.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Fast forward some more, we find detailed drawings of ball bearings and bearing races from Leonardo DaVinci and Galileo. Their designs were wooden, and Leonardo included spacers between his bearings. </div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NKBmRVzPV4lZWDEhR6UySMSRzeN7cHR3uGxWTC-sYpW366-kP348Tyl05IIueIUrQr8375jTjec7VWlfNLgPIT8N5mXZ-qs99Dmm9j7PYVoLWvaGPBY8vgjgBqeYns3EvW-nVQ527O71L1Km6It6QomPl8hAjnTG0MYT7Pa5vrANfmmhYKoxDw/s768/bearing-history-17-768x216-1151878046.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="768" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NKBmRVzPV4lZWDEhR6UySMSRzeN7cHR3uGxWTC-sYpW366-kP348Tyl05IIueIUrQr8375jTjec7VWlfNLgPIT8N5mXZ-qs99Dmm9j7PYVoLWvaGPBY8vgjgBqeYns3EvW-nVQ527O71L1Km6It6QomPl8hAjnTG0MYT7Pa5vrANfmmhYKoxDw/s320/bearing-history-17-768x216-1151878046.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leonardo. Show-off.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div> </div><div>John Harrison invented the caged roller bearing in 1740. <span class="gmail-hs_cos_wrapper gmail-hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field gmail-hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text" id="gmail-hs_cos_wrapper_post_body">Philip Vaughan </span>patented the first ball bearing system in 1794, for trains. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of note is Isaac Babbitt of Massachusets, who developed his famous Babbitt Metal for use in poured machine bearings in 1839. The majority of industrial machinery and trains, boats etc. used poured bushings in their moving parts because that was the only way they could get enough precision at an affordable cost. Pre-1940s cars all have Babbitt bearings throughout, except for wheel bearings. Babbitt won the race for a long time not because it was the best, or the longest lasting, but because it was <b>Good Enough</b> and it was <b><u>cheaper</u></b>.<br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE2qzPSifmqapCgPBwVpPKhOB1Zd5f6mdjwvehN5MbqM2A2O-eH1ZeTIuUOxulTysyGYw7Nw1w4kmmjMnyuUqsIcV8uOBHimgYBGdnrz37_42Zp_QQETmrbYibOAB6FBgzu8ZGx2owVtsw05V8JrEWPghHCUHqQef4A0_u4At4y7_GXNgXip3Uw/s899/DSC05122-900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="899" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE2qzPSifmqapCgPBwVpPKhOB1Zd5f6mdjwvehN5MbqM2A2O-eH1ZeTIuUOxulTysyGYw7Nw1w4kmmjMnyuUqsIcV8uOBHimgYBGdnrz37_42Zp_QQETmrbYibOAB6FBgzu8ZGx2owVtsw05V8JrEWPghHCUHqQef4A0_u4At4y7_GXNgXip3Uw/s320/DSC05122-900.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babbitt bearing. Note cracking and piece that fell out.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>After that, FAG began precision grinding bearing balls in 1883. In 1898 Henry Timken received a patent for the tapered roller bearing. In 1907 Sven Wingquist patented the self-aligning spherical ball bearing and race. After that, everything switched to ball and roller bearing because Babbitt wasn't cheaper anymore, and also because roller and ball bearings were better. So much better.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6_e6PmFJOyTqSjnhNSbl-gfqcz19ppnjxRMX3S-sJkJKrmSQAQr6ahquIfZnK51Ta7xPjEkT1SEhfSMMGuVnaQXQPtOShVFlc1chfpK4TQ1ldeoYuWRDXhxyUX-0k_DFadACNNIQAu_qGPqn06MmT6Rv-qb_UPb40L8kNc-_xokfbBce1AIMHg/s710/liebherr-einreihige-kegelrollenlager-als-hauptlager_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="710" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6_e6PmFJOyTqSjnhNSbl-gfqcz19ppnjxRMX3S-sJkJKrmSQAQr6ahquIfZnK51Ta7xPjEkT1SEhfSMMGuVnaQXQPtOShVFlc1chfpK4TQ1ldeoYuWRDXhxyUX-0k_DFadACNNIQAu_qGPqn06MmT6Rv-qb_UPb40L8kNc-_xokfbBce1AIMHg/s320/liebherr-einreihige-kegelrollenlager-als-hauptlager_96dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapered roller bearing, extra beefy.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>So here we are, 2023, and the windmill industry, of all things one would never expect, represents the bleeding edge of bearing design and manufacture. The loads on the blade, the shaft and the generators inside those huge windmills are immense, intermittent, and unpredictable. Inside the guts of that huge bird chopper are <a href="https://www.liebherr.com/en/usa/products/components/slewing-bearings-and-slew-drives/main-bearings-for-wind-turbines/main-bearings-for-wind-turbines.html">roller bearings as big around as your thigh, running in races the diameter of your living room</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now we come to some of the limitations that bearings have exhibited over the years. Remember how the Egyptian roads had to be smooth, flat and hard? Well, the bearing race for a windmill faces exactly the same problems. The link above goes to Liebherr in Germany, the same guys who make the huge cranes. It's no mystery how they do any of this stuff, they use forgings, metal lathes, milling machines and surface grinders. Really, really, <b><u>BIG </u></b>ones. Machines that can achieve amazingly fine tolerances of less than 1/1000th of an inch over 20 foot diameters, all day long, every day. The precision and consistency of manufacture is near-miraculous.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinb_R-cS3GfkQJ_1Wyujxh6nTD3ue_xTueB7ZRncS5n-WxslPjYRFTBa0o6zgHYbtRaOtF4GByLj2bWFkBo8rqQpzcVOs-LcV6Br7ciuUHa3OI1U9gH1W9KhvY91PmeH_RUenaz8m5YKl7ACQjvTOagwXeujgcS9madBAtVmtf2A8qI-f0WNfAew/s1265/liebherr-large-diameter-bearings-segmented-bearing-people-1265x456-483538093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="1265" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinb_R-cS3GfkQJ_1Wyujxh6nTD3ue_xTueB7ZRncS5n-WxslPjYRFTBa0o6zgHYbtRaOtF4GByLj2bWFkBo8rqQpzcVOs-LcV6Br7ciuUHa3OI1U9gH1W9KhvY91PmeH_RUenaz8m5YKl7ACQjvTOagwXeujgcS9madBAtVmtf2A8qI-f0WNfAew/s320/liebherr-large-diameter-bearings-segmented-bearing-people-1265x456-483538093.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My living room is smaller, as it happens.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>It's fantastically expensive. Affordable only because they make many, many units. But as one might imagine, you do not want to have to change out that bearing. It's meant to last the lifetime of the machine.</div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSFuiLRnPvH3hs1WfBEhubHsOZJGhNVBjM8iIU3ohoAjqbx6FvQizme9at173YbPVNgw4wr65WBXMmHUOrgy1X8Qrv9XV-gzeWQ9cqaLu_pKDUUl-gz7J_GZ2W8ogNamSF3htcZB0S1m83Zkmu1_nB2nOMWkSEh8QGFd_fQmigLOyKUYaU-TgVA/s960/liebherr-main-bearing-double-row-tapered-roller-bearing-1920x1300_imgxlcampaignslider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="960" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSFuiLRnPvH3hs1WfBEhubHsOZJGhNVBjM8iIU3ohoAjqbx6FvQizme9at173YbPVNgw4wr65WBXMmHUOrgy1X8Qrv9XV-gzeWQ9cqaLu_pKDUUl-gz7J_GZ2W8ogNamSF3htcZB0S1m83Zkmu1_nB2nOMWkSEh8QGFd_fQmigLOyKUYaU-TgVA/s320/liebherr-main-bearing-double-row-tapered-roller-bearing-1920x1300_imgxlcampaignslider.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagine trying to move this thing. It goes on top of a 200 foot tall tower.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Which inevitably leads us to all those idle windmills around the country, and the reason they are idle. <b><font size="6">Brinelling</font></b>. Named after <b>August Brinell, </b>the creator of the Brinell Hardness Scale. Long story short, Brinell tested hardness by pushing a metal ball of known hardness into a metal surface with a known amount of force, then measured the diameter of the dent it made. The harder the metal, the smaller the dent. </div><div> </div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZLiN5P0-vqYg9Mya4nvdIQLnamtWcqQHH_UYy16wHJpotGc7eqp576q7qwysQ_RRSeaBQHbv3D1RQiFt29mbyTKZ2X-I65-V6K3VOgFrSzjdKF-Diykbtc2VkwEJjcUOtSE1lGrN8Gwc_nzlEuLmjYqfrJ7JSM5f2Xj6wYx79EwDAsiMASuRAQ/s923/800px-BrinellHardness.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZLiN5P0-vqYg9Mya4nvdIQLnamtWcqQHH_UYy16wHJpotGc7eqp576q7qwysQ_RRSeaBQHbv3D1RQiFt29mbyTKZ2X-I65-V6K3VOgFrSzjdKF-Diykbtc2VkwEJjcUOtSE1lGrN8Gwc_nzlEuLmjYqfrJ7JSM5f2Xj6wYx79EwDAsiMASuRAQ/s320/800px-BrinellHardness.svg.png" width="277" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scientific divot.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out that if you load a ball bearing or roller bearing with a static weight, the balls or rollers will make a dent in the races just like a hardness tester. Particularly if you bang on it, or vibrate it. That's Brinelling.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Gi-tyWdccK34QCHILvpfQK7Tbhwv4w8kbqWIVzNd6YI7m8VT7sekgtkfP8VB7DLB21TuPcQAkc4ARkXJl8arsWOR3B8FAO3S2UERgy_Y_N5z_7o20-xECgrRpzqDfOXlEVCVu_DpuxjIxthQjaARuR4xdWYjmeoaulhW5Xfn-1AfDi1MCEtmlQ/s971/True-brinelling-370916591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="971" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Gi-tyWdccK34QCHILvpfQK7Tbhwv4w8kbqWIVzNd6YI7m8VT7sekgtkfP8VB7DLB21TuPcQAkc4ARkXJl8arsWOR3B8FAO3S2UERgy_Y_N5z_7o20-xECgrRpzqDfOXlEVCVu_DpuxjIxthQjaARuR4xdWYjmeoaulhW5Xfn-1AfDi1MCEtmlQ/s320/True-brinelling-370916591.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't want to see this in a bearing.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Brinelling occurs in windmills if they stand still. This is because although the roller is large, the part that is touching the race is very small. Just like the log digging into your lawn, the roller will dig into the race. Think of a knife pushing down on a piece of cheese. You don't have to push very hard, because the knife is thin. The cheese will hold up your finger, but not the knife.</div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5aYw9-1EgbKbrxr5nB8iBItZW1ze4VWUqtP25WCfNNhZ3Ud1P16gI0FFjIY3QPL0lTOXbdygEwq6YzmEyaUr9e3rASddYHHrz1SVZFd52nEI9MzVnfJFO2HwzWHaF6oMuN5rEzKYQPsmexa7kFV2wkSpTgQy4256GAZsXRH8cYYnuMRSI6fd3w/s300/damaged-u-joints-004-300x225-3744801671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5aYw9-1EgbKbrxr5nB8iBItZW1ze4VWUqtP25WCfNNhZ3Ud1P16gI0FFjIY3QPL0lTOXbdygEwq6YzmEyaUr9e3rASddYHHrz1SVZFd52nEI9MzVnfJFO2HwzWHaF6oMuN5rEzKYQPsmexa7kFV2wkSpTgQy4256GAZsXRH8cYYnuMRSI6fd3w/s1600/damaged-u-joints-004-300x225-3744801671.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brinelling, turbo-nitrous version.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Under the types of loads common in the largest windmills, hardened steel will behave like cheese. It'll bulge, flatten, dent, bend, do all the sorts of things you don't want it to do. This problem is solved the same way our ancient Sumerian fixed his problem, grease. In the windmills they use oil pressure to keep everything rolling nicely and keep the bearings from digging into the races. If the windmill has to sit still for a while and be buffeted by the wind, it can survive if the oil pressure is kept up. </div><div> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="https://i.cbc.ca/1.6903916.1689111422!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/hermanville-wind-farm.jpg" src="https://i.cbc.ca/1.6903916.1689111422!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/hermanville-wind-farm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember this? That brown stuff is not rust. That is oil. Oopsie.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>But if the reason it is sitting still is because the oil pressure failed? Oh, that's bad. Because now your 20 foot diameter main bearing race has divots in it, and your six-inch rollers are all flat-spotted, and she ain't going to roll no more.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwCnkqxPaMJxeKMYaDqXvQqhKeoS6zGLeKS7EAfP7Oovlv7eP4lFwC204mcvOiXjLP-GIfUvmeCgm0TwFZjl1hfOxF0ekv98-_orEUmF_w-H414oZkuuy9zIp16vdwcY-JgBcOMQVONrfWpgYIY3eu5z6O2dWVvqrQQOve5W1yKWlbwwrtC9h7w/s1189/DSC_0007a-892287100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1189" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwCnkqxPaMJxeKMYaDqXvQqhKeoS6zGLeKS7EAfP7Oovlv7eP4lFwC204mcvOiXjLP-GIfUvmeCgm0TwFZjl1hfOxF0ekv98-_orEUmF_w-H414oZkuuy9zIp16vdwcY-JgBcOMQVONrfWpgYIY3eu5z6O2dWVvqrQQOve5W1yKWlbwwrtC9h7w/s320/DSC_0007a-892287100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The more things change, the more they remain the same.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div><br /></div><div>According to the CBC article we were talking about way back at the beginning, six out of ten windmills installed at a Prince Edward Island wind power facility in 2014 are now defunct. Busted. Not turning. No word on why from the Powers That Be. The CBC is mystified. What could it be?</div><div><br /></div><div>Brinelling. That's what.<br /></div></div><br /><br /> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-54674841983891194952023-07-04T20:00:00.001-04:002023-07-04T20:09:33.792-04:00Why the Metric System sucks.<div dir="ltr"><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JDuANxkLaELnVommjWVimx8gIte3qd_WN62TkGoSWBv4GPv3_iIyAVKFgVMsf_HbZOhWSn03HrAilox63rY0n1avChGB1DghQFHqYpcibAd4jSnKlqvNvUTehyOcI3df6Ah-eIB1feQhnf_NLoM6v66KVcJ9py3YxRtdxt0pe5J55xLNnip4JQ/s960/banana-3064014710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JDuANxkLaELnVommjWVimx8gIte3qd_WN62TkGoSWBv4GPv3_iIyAVKFgVMsf_HbZOhWSn03HrAilox63rY0n1avChGB1DghQFHqYpcibAd4jSnKlqvNvUTehyOcI3df6Ah-eIB1feQhnf_NLoM6v66KVcJ9py3YxRtdxt0pe5J55xLNnip4JQ/s320/banana-3064014710.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One metric banana in length.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div> </div><div>I've said, since Canada adopted the metric system in the 1970s, that it sucks. It is a <u>stupid</u> French utopian idea, and I hate it. </div><div><br /></div><div>At a very basic level, metric doesn't mean anything to me. How big is a centimeter? I have to check every single time. It has no meaning, it's an arbitrary thing.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Imperial is based on real things. How big is an inch? My thumb, pretty much. My foot is about a foot. My stride is about six feet. Close enough to get me in the ballpark, anyway. Weights and measures are the same thing. An ounce, a quart, a pint, these are every-day amounts of things you use in food etc. A pound is roughly how much bacon you want for family breakfast. A kilogram is 2.2 times as much as you want, which is stupid.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>How much is a milliliter? Um, who cares? I'm not a doctor, I don't titrate drugs in exact amounts. I'm not a machinist, 1/64th" is about the finest measurement I ever need. If I need to do better I get out the micrometer and do things in thousandths. Which is decimal not fraction, just like metric right? The only difference is 1/1000 of something I know instead of 1/100 of something I don't.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But I am constantly told I am a troglodyte and I must get with the Modern Age. Because... well no reason, really. Just because. Shut up, old man.</div><div><br /></div><div>So now, to my vast enjoyment,<a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/why-human-societies-still-use-arms-feet-and-other-body-parts-measure-things"> here is a study showing that I am right</a> and all the stupid French Revolution utopian bastards were wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><p>If you had to estimate the dimensions of a room without the benefit of a tape measure, you might walk its perimeter heel to toe, counting your steps. To estimate the height of a wall, you might count hand spans from floor to ceiling. In doing so, you'd join a long human tradition. <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf1936?adobe_mc=MCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1688506262">Most human societies around the word—perhaps all—have employed similar body-based measurement strategies</a>, according to a first-of-its-kind study published today in <cite>Science</cite>. And these informal body-based systems can persist for centuries after a culture has introduced standardized units of measure because, the authors argue, they often lead to more ergonomic designs of tools, clothing, and other personalized items.</p><p>"Nobody has ever done this kind of systematic, cross-cultural study of body-based measurement before," says Stephen Chrisomalis, an anthropologist of mathematics at Wayne State University who penned <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi2352?adobe_mc=MCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1688506262">an editorial accompanying the new paper</a>. "It brings together a huge amount of data that [show] not just how common they are, but that they tend to fall along certain patterns. That is actually an extraordinarily important finding."</p></blockquote><div>Everybody, all over the world, throughout history, used the hand, the foot, the span, the yard, etc. Only the French were so ridiculous to invent a system that relates to <u>nothing</u>. The meter is the length that it is because some guy said so, and for no other reason (and he made it that way because it wasn't a yard.) A yard at least started as the distance from the king's nose to his outstretched index finger, which is something.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you are making any object for use by human beings, be it a chair, a spoon, a car, the human body dictates the design. The proportions of the body also dictate artistic sensibility. If the proportions conform roughly to those of the human body the thing will be appealing. If they do not, it will be <u>ugly</u>. Which makes a yard or a foot useful information. A yard is how far your arm can reach. A shoe is a foot long.</div><div><br /></div><div>That this is news to the academic world, an "extraordinarily important finding" quoth the authors, seems to me to represent an <font size="4"><b>abject failure</b></font> of the education system as a whole. </div><div><br /></div><div>It seems as if none of these people studying these things has ever made anything with their hands. If they had, they'd know you don't proceed to make a thing by manufacturing all the parts to a listed tolerance. You start with what the thing is for. From there you decide how big the parts are. Then you proceed in logical fashion from the most awkward part to the easiest. </div><div><br /></div><div>Chair seat first, then the holes for the legs, trim the legs to fit the holes (because it is EASIER to trim the leg than to trim the hole), then the leg braces, then the back, then the arms, etc. Each piece is measured from the previous piece, or from the body of the person who is going to sit on it. <br /></div><div>Tables, chairs, boats, all made the same way, each one unique. Because <b><font size="4">it doesn't matter</font></b> if no two are the same. It only matters if it fits the person it was made for.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Making a standardized object in a factory out of standardized, interchangeable parts is a profoundly unnatural process and only began in the 19th Century. Such a process requires all kinds of things that had never been required before. Two of those things were accuracy and precision of physical dimensions. The tapered pin that goes into the tapered hole must be accurate to within a few thousandths of an inch for diameter, roundness, taper and length. In the 18th century such things could not even be measured. In the 19th they were commonly being produced in lots of ten thousand. The Singer sewing machine, patented in 1851, is an example of a device that would have been impossible to make at all 100 years before. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But no one in Academia these days seems to appreciate what that means. Even the notion of measuring by rule of thumb does not occur to them, apparently. What did they do when they built those sailing ships to cross the Atlantic the first few times? Inch, foot, yard, fathom. That's what. We're humans. That's how we do it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Except the French, whose one driving need throughout history is that they have to be different.<br /></div> </div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-33224787536716783972023-06-10T19:50:00.002-04:002023-06-10T19:50:38.138-04:00NYC air quality taday<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLIoc3x2TnG1n5L2usfouK1lEN_0-G2TATTTQ0PMH9WfA44qqudZAItvZ5cz6GI96nec4PzEVr3ZGoPCXpeTocIIPldwijzgLN1dXpJ1rs5OaPAQCjFROXjt9Voy0BAVmLbqkzCuAblfbN2aUVPBrVauflnuBFtCIkv1GkgBiHxyDbIALxUw/s960/New_York_City_skyline_with_smoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLIoc3x2TnG1n5L2usfouK1lEN_0-G2TATTTQ0PMH9WfA44qqudZAItvZ5cz6GI96nec4PzEVr3ZGoPCXpeTocIIPldwijzgLN1dXpJ1rs5OaPAQCjFROXjt9Voy0BAVmLbqkzCuAblfbN2aUVPBrVauflnuBFtCIkv1GkgBiHxyDbIALxUw/s16000/New_York_City_skyline_with_smoke.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-599661530106319552023-06-02T14:23:00.001-04:002023-06-02T14:23:29.753-04:00Wooden. Satelite.<p> Coming to us from Japan,<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/space/japan-wood-satellite-launch-2024-b2349551.html"> a satellite made of Magnolia wood</a>.</p><p></p><blockquote><p>A satellite made of wood could be launched into <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/space">space</a> in 2024.</p><p>The high durability of wood in space was recently tested and confirmed at the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/international-space-station">International Space Station</a> (ISS) by an international group of scientists led by those from <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/kyoto-university">Kyoto University</a>.</p><p>Their
experiments showed wood samples tested at the ISS for durability
underwent minimal deterioration and maintained good stability.</p><div id="article-im-prompt"></div><div class="sc-cvxyxr-5 gfoOWP desktop-only teads"><div class="sc-1y9ieyw-0 fRWDuY"><div class="sc-1pfx6hk-0 joXxki"><div data-ad-unit-path="/71347885/_partner_independent/in_space/in_main/video/thirdparty01" data-is-video="false" data-mpu="true" data-refresh-check="false" data-size-key="THIRD_PARTY_ARTICLE_BODY_DESKTOP" data-tile-name="thirdparty01"></div></div></div></div><p>Preliminary
inspection, including strength tests and crystal structural analyses,
of the wood samples was also done once they were brought back to Earth
from the ISS by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.</p></blockquote><p>We all know (or bloody well should know) that the Mosquito bomber of WWII was made of plywood, and very successful as well. </p><p> It turns out from a quickie interwebz search that the<a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/the-first-wooden-spacecraft/"> Ranger moon probes of the 1960s had an "impact limiter sphere" made of plywood.</a></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxyUntlRT2Y4nJ5YwRmw71HxLkppzb9S0mzmH2u2L-MD1XHP8kiWdbBUML2QLXaEeGAjXNPSywNDsOuBp4E3Sk4iYxITFslVSxh6Kfk6Q4AtVR7SlmLRfsDQkEbQJUyBusnfPOpl3w18NqQ3W6ayD6kHY_aZCzGVtQGEZRqkAJxNOkXN-EGU/s700/ranger_impact_limiter(1).webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="700" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxyUntlRT2Y4nJ5YwRmw71HxLkppzb9S0mzmH2u2L-MD1XHP8kiWdbBUML2QLXaEeGAjXNPSywNDsOuBp4E3Sk4iYxITFslVSxh6Kfk6Q4AtVR7SlmLRfsDQkEbQJUyBusnfPOpl3w18NqQ3W6ayD6kHY_aZCzGVtQGEZRqkAJxNOkXN-EGU/s320/ranger_impact_limiter(1).webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wooden sphere held by NASA Systems Design secretary Pat McKibben.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>They really knew how to do things back in the 1960s, eh? Get the fabulous secretary to pose with the exotic spacecraft part as if it was a Holly carburetor in a hot-rod magazine.<br /></p><p>One of the reasons for trying to make spacecraft parts out of wood, <a href="https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/japan-constructing-first-ever-wooden-satellites-to-cut-space-junk-will-launch-by-2023.html">mentioned in this article</a>, is space junk. More specifically, powdered aluminum raining down on the Earth as satellites and rockets inevitably fall out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere. </p><p>I must say that I don't really share the concerns of the people mentioned in the articles, but on the other hand we really don't know what the long-term effect of vaporized metals in the atmosphere will be. At a guess, it probably won't help anything.</p><p>Therefore, it couldn't hurt to make things out of wood, if this can be done. Using wood as an aerospace material also has the advantages of hugely reduced cost of materials, impressive strength-to-weight ratios, and ease of fabrication.</p><p>Something else to consider, for the future, is the possibility of deliberately growing trees and shrubs into desired shapes.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rFHvVdW9c9WunydTB3HNHGh912YL3_zW19G61yxxLgvbn3TVyDc7v6y1jZdD0SuW8dMihXjHTo8JpcgyO3VUVqJCjIjPdbvFG8u54xG9kCNnrMdEOh9iIp35cVvRtyDavtEmkOlXKjiEt2sWnJIOTzE08i8oY9Ricna-eMV8KB2YJFfuJsM/s1024/grown-walking-stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rFHvVdW9c9WunydTB3HNHGh912YL3_zW19G61yxxLgvbn3TVyDc7v6y1jZdD0SuW8dMihXjHTo8JpcgyO3VUVqJCjIjPdbvFG8u54xG9kCNnrMdEOh9iIp35cVvRtyDavtEmkOlXKjiEt2sWnJIOTzE08i8oY9Ricna-eMV8KB2YJFfuJsM/s320/grown-walking-stick.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grown from a sapling, not bent.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AC8TNHDEq_e1Tt9ysPdKJ1LJ3sEaXdyKHkT1sGaiu4NVbbE7C7sNCrgQMR3nsXA4BB0Ds5q30diRGUT5f2IUQsk_-Bptu2U7d1E1Z808Ang-dyGqg7BR0pDW_xliC74FaLyh3sG8uHitSea9bIGmH_9CkkA_5AmDVMbIHALz6uTR7WtDoQI/s940/Crooked-Forest-Poland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="940" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AC8TNHDEq_e1Tt9ysPdKJ1LJ3sEaXdyKHkT1sGaiu4NVbbE7C7sNCrgQMR3nsXA4BB0Ds5q30diRGUT5f2IUQsk_-Bptu2U7d1E1Z808Ang-dyGqg7BR0pDW_xliC74FaLyh3sG8uHitSea9bIGmH_9CkkA_5AmDVMbIHALz6uTR7WtDoQI/s320/Crooked-Forest-Poland.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Industrial scale version in pine, from Poland.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>This could be an exciting application of vat-grown vegetation, you put the shape you want into the tank as a form, and the wood grows into it. </p><p>Makes me wonder how vat-grown bone would do as a space material. You could probably get it to grow much faster than wood. Cows grow to full size in a couple of years, right?<br /></p><p></p><p></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-12946033273829754592023-05-19T13:25:00.001-04:002023-05-19T13:25:16.351-04:00Woke medicine 2023: racial apartheid is de rigueur again.<div dir="ltr"><div>You know how I always say the medical journals are not to be trusted, that they are full of shit and act as propaganda organs for the Left? <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2212866">This is why I say it</a>.</div><div><br></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><h1 class="gmail-m-article-header__title gmail-f-h18"><span class="gmail-title_default">Racial Affinity Group Caucusing in Medical Education — A Key Supplement to Antiracism Curricula <br></span></h1><h1 class="gmail-m-article-header__title gmail-f-h18"><span class="gmail-title_default"></span><font size="2"><a href="https://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/388/17?query=article_issue_link">April 27, 2023</a><br>N Engl J Med 2023; 388:1542-1545<br> DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2212866 </font></h1></blockquote><div>That's the title. Here's the begining:</div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div>As academic medicine begins to recognize and examine racism as the root cause of racially disparate health outcomes, we need curricula for training physicians to dismantle the systems that perpetuate these inequities. Since traditional approaches to medical education are themselves founded in inequitable systems, new approaches are essential. </div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Yes my friends, the existing hospital and medical school "systems" are hopelessly racist and need to be "dismantled." Here's their suggestion to replace everything:</div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div> Racial affinity group caucuses (RAGCs) </div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Hmm. Interesting bafflegab, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10476210.2018.1512092">what does that mean in English?</a></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><h1><span class="gmail-NLM_article-title gmail-hlFld-title">Cultivating sacred spaces: a racial affinity group approach to support critical educators of color</span> </h1><div class="gmail-sectionInfo gmail-abstractSectionHeading"><div class="gmail-sectionHeading">ABSTRACT</div></div><div class="gmail-abstractSection gmail-abstractInFull"><p>Despite repeated pleas for diversifying the U.S. teacher force, teachers of color who are committed to social justice are often unsupported and even pushed out via structural, interpersonal, and pedagogical obstacles within the profession. In response to neoliberal, colorblind, and apolitical approaches to teacher development and support, educators and organizers have reclaimed and reframed their pedagogies through critical professional development and grassroots activism to center healing from the impacts of oppression in its myriad forms . The ethnographic case study in this article examines how, over the course of three years, a grassroots racial affinity group became an important space for learning and healing for its members. I explain how the group explicitly centered twelve members' voices, needs, and collective knowledge, and in so doing: (a) collectively cultivated a critical, humanizing, and healing space for their sustainability; and (b) navigated various positions within socially toxic education institutions and organizations. I conclude by discussing how and why critical racial affinity spaces for educators of color are necessary in order to support their personal, political, relational, and pedagogical growth, which has implications on their retention and leadership within the field.</p></div> </blockquote><div>Ohhh, I see. It means this:</div><div><br></div><div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><ol><li class="gmail-module--definitions__definition">An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.</li><li class="gmail-module--definitions__definition">A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups.</li><li class="gmail-module--definitions__definition">The condition of being separated from others; segregation.</li></ol></blockquote><div>Apartheid. Except chaged up to discriminate against Whites.</div><div><br></div><div>Capital W on White, by the way, from the article. <br></div><div> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><p class="gmail-f-body">Founded on legacies of colonialism and racism, medical education has historically centered <span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><b><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">White learners</span></b></span> and continues to perpetuate structural racism.<sup><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2212866#">4</a></sup> Pedagogical approaches often center<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><b> White learners</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> </span>and ignore the differential impact of content on BIPOC learners (Black, Indigenous, or people of color) with personal experiences of racism that are nuanced and have been informed by interactions and observations over their lifetimes. Immersion in the existing medical education system can therefore be retraumatizing, resulting in imposter syndrome, heightened anxiety, and a reduced sense of belonging. Especially as we seek to recruit more medical students who are BIPOC, we need to recognize this harm and encourage pedagogical approaches that support the needs of BIPOC learners.</p><p class="gmail-f-body">RAGCs have been studied in a range of settings, including K–12 education, undergraduate education, and workplace environments, but have not yet been well studied in medical education.<sup><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2212866#">1,3</a></sup> Some BIPOC people have been socialized to care for the egos of <b><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">White people</span></b>, to express their emotions only in ways that are palatable to <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>White audiences</b></span>, and to tread lightly around <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>"White fragility"</b></span> (<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>White people's</b></span> discomfort and defensiveness regarding their legacy of racism and complicity in systems of inequality) in order to maintain their relationships, professional status, and safety.<sup><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2212866#">5</a></sup> <font style="color:rgb(255,0,0)" size="6"><b> In a space without White people</b></font>, BIPOC participants can bring their whole selves, heal from racial trauma together, and identify strategies for addressing structural racism.<sup><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2212866#">1,2,5</a></sup></p></blockquote><div> Yeah. Just kick Whitey out of class, and everything will be way better, and all the non-White kids won't have to tread lightly around all that White fragility.</div><div><br></div><div>Haven't we seen that before though? I mean, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964">didn't we address this shit in the 1960s?</a> Oh that's right, we did. Equality under the law is a thing in every nation in Western civilization now. Even South Africa.</div><div><br></div><div>But these guys say that's not good enough anymore. They don't want to be equal. They want a special deal. They want to make all the White kids and the White teachers go to the White school, so the BIPOC people can... relax? I guess? Because that forcible seperation thing worked out so well in South Africa, you know. <br></div><div><br></div><div>There's a name for this type of thing. I think it starts with an R, or maybe an N. Some guy with this weird mustache started it, I'm trying to think where I've heard it before....<br></div> </div> </div></div><div> </div> </div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-14936487646937072932023-05-13T16:55:00.000-04:002023-05-19T18:53:13.400-04:00Speed of light violated, spooky action at a distance confirmed.<div dir="ltr"><div><font size="4"><a href="https://science.slashdot.org/story/23/05/13/0254215/qbits-30-meters-apart-maintain-entanglement-across-refrigeration-systems">This is some very interesting news</a>.</font></div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div> <font size="4"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05885-0">The experiment</a> wasn't the first to show that local realism isn't how the Universe works — it's not even the first to do so with qubits. But it's the first to separate the qubits by enough distance to ensure that light isn't fast enough to travel between them while measurements are made. And it did so by cooling a 30-meter-long aluminum wire to just a few milliKelvin. Because the qubits are so easy to control, the experiment provides a new precision to these sorts of measurements. </font></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><font size="4"><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/05/qubits-used-to-confirm-that-the-universe-doesnt-keep-reality-local/">The Ars Technica article. <br /></a></font></div><div><br /></div><div><font size="4">So, long story short, quantum entanglement DOES transmit information faster than light. <br /></font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div><font size="4">In practice, this meant giving the entire assembly built to keep the wire cool access to the liquid helium refrigeration systems that housed the qubits at each end—and building a separate refrigeration system at the center point of the 30-meter tube. The system also needed flexible internal connections and exterior supports because the whole thing contracts significantly as it cools down.<br /><br />Still, it all worked impressively well. Because of the performance of the qubits, the researchers could perform over a million individual trials in only 20 minutes. The resulting correlations ended up being above the limit set by Bell's equations by a staggering 22 standard deviations. Put in different terms, the p value of the result was below 10-108.</font></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><font size="4">The distance traveled by the speed of light in a nanosecond is roughly a foot. Computers easily run at speeds that are measured in nanoseconds, making it possible to see the resulting measurements made of entanglement connecting one chip to the other faster than the speed of light. One chip reacts to the other sooner than light can travel 30 meters. By the look of that 10^-108, a hell of a lot faster.<br /></font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font></div><div><font size="4">So there you go, you -can- transmit information faster than the speed of light. Somewhere, Albert must be grumbling about it.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br /></font> </div><div><font size="4">Update: Welcome Small Dead Animals! Thanks for the linkage, Kate!<br /></font> </div></div> The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-59734739806254011642023-05-02T11:57:00.001-04:002023-05-02T11:57:12.877-04:00We're gonna Dieeeeeee!!!<p> Reposting this comment I made at <a href="https://accordingtohoyt.com/2023/05/01/its-the-end-of-the-world/#comment-916519">According To Hoyt.</a></p><p>Yes, we’re all doomed. All going to die, the end is nigh, hasta la
vista, baby. Doom and destruction all over TV, radio, streaming. Films,
music, books. Yer gonna die.</p>
<p>Well, unless you listen to Korean pop idols. K-Pop is making HUGE
AMOUNTS OF MONEY internationally by being sweet bubbly candy with cute
girls and fun dancing that kids can actually -do- while they sing along.
Lots of blown kisses and making your hands into heart symbols.</p>
<p>Leaving aside the fan armies and social media dramatics of K-Pop, their business model is to sell entertainment to kids.</p>
<p>No one (that I know of) is doing this in the USA/Britain/Canada right
now. The closest you get is Trance, where there’s no singing and you
just zone-out while moving your feet. There’s no “Positive Message” in
Western music right now, the best you can hope for is “never mind, just
drop some molly and dance until you puke.”</p>
<p>Being a geezer I can’t pretend to an encyclopedic knowledge of trendy
trends for 2023, but if you look at the -wasteland- of modern
entertainment the only shiny spots are in Asia. Japan, Korea, and
weirdly, China.</p>
<p>That, my friends, smacks of an Arrangement.</p>
<p>We know for sure, given Sad Puppies, that dead-tree publishing is
rigged to favor grimdark grey goo. Books, comics, all the same. Goo.</p>
<p>We know for sure it isn’t selling because bookstores (the few that
are still open) are filled with manga now. Western SF/F, one bookcase.
Manga, three -aisles- of book cases.</p>
<p>So they are deliberately doing what they KNOW doesn’t work. They know
it. For sure. The proof is in the sales numbers. But there they are,
persisting. So wtf are they doing?</p>
<p>Well, where else do we see this? Gun control, one example. I know
-for sure- it doesn’t work to accomplish the stated purpose of reducing
violent crime. Everybody knows it doesn’t work. It is exquisitely
obvious that it doesn’t work. But they still do it.</p>
<p>Renewable energy, another example. Windmills and solar can’t supply
the electrical grid with reliable power. Everyone knows this. Self
evidently, solar doesn’t make power when the sun goes down. Windmills
don’t make power when there’s no wind. But what are they doing? Putting
up windmills and solar. Which don’t work. For sure.</p>
<p>There are many other examples like recycling, veganism, electric
cars, carbon taxes, paper masks for the flu etc. Waste motion, all of
it.</p>
<p>So I look at all that, the steady diet of grimdark, the waste of
resources, the oppression of individuals at every turn, and it occurs to
me I don’t really care any more why they’re doing it. It doesn’t matter
why, even if I knew it wouldn’t help.</p>
<p>I’m pretty well done trying to figure out their motivation, and I’m
done trying to convince by sweet reason. Where I’m at now is actively
subverting their actions by simply saying the truth.</p>
<p>Recycling, sacred cow of Enviros, is a lie. Gun control, sacred cow
of the Perennially Concerned and Caring, is a lie. Renewable energy,
lie.</p>
<p>Grimdark literature, sacred cow of the Cognoscenti, is worse than a
mere lie. It is a mind poison aimed at harming the people who read it.</p>
<p>K-Pop. Manga. Anime. That’s the thing.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ak490-PtOuU" width="320" youtube-src-id="ak490-PtOuU"></iframe></div><br /> <p></p><p></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15888307.post-90020409270758350742023-04-21T12:09:00.001-04:002023-04-21T12:13:00.839-04:00Regarding a recent disturbance of sacred cows.<p>Recently some <a href="https://monsterhunternation.com/2023/04/18/a-letter-to-epic-fantasy-readers-i-know-rothfuss-and-martin-hurt-you-but-its-time-to-get-over-it-and-move-on/">sacred cows were gored by Larry Correia</a>. Sick of people leaving two-star reviews on <u>his</u> books because George Martin, David Gerrold and Patrick Rothfuss couldn't be bothered to finish their epic fantasies, Larry told their disapointed fans to suck it up and move on. Epically, as he usually does. </p><p>But then, Chinese bot farmers decided that the Sacred Pillars of Fandom had been defiled and they needed to smear Larry. Again.<br /></p><p><a href="https://monsterhunternation.com/2023/04/20/so-the-cancerous-tumor-on-the-prolapsed-anus-of-fandom-is-upset-with-my-letter-about-george-martins-laziness-fucking-over-a-generation-of-new-writers-oh-well/">This rant is what my brain would do if it could. ~:D </a></p><p>In the middle of said rant, regarding Rothfuss, Martin and Gerrold, Larry asks a question:<br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">“How much did these vapid fucks screw over
their own industry?” </span></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://madgeniusclub.com/2023/04/20/trad-vs-indie-author-earnings/#more-43262">It may interest one and all to know that there is a number for that.</a> The
number is $8600.00. </p><p> </p><p><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">$8600 is the -median- (not the average, but the most common) annual
income from writing in Britain. The bulge in the bell curve, as it were.
Which means that Dead Tree published authors, generally, are not making
any money. </span></p><p>Their books, to put it plainly, are not selling. At all. (All
those Hugo-beloved tomes? Nope. Not selling.) </p><p>Which is not at all surprising, given the collapse of the retail book
business. Which collapse was inevitable given the Woke TM garbage that
passes for science fiction/adventure/fantasy these days. </p><p>You guys know what the TOP SELLER is in comics these days? Manga. From
Japan, you know. In translation, no less. Because why? Because Marvel
and DC are all-Woke, all the time. Same for novels, but we don’t have
sales numbers for those, because shenanigans. </p><p>But you can tell, because
authors are flipping burgers instead of writing. </p><p>Now, is all this George Martin, David Gerrold and Patrick Rothfuss’s
fault? Like, personally theirs? No. Clearly not. This is a
publishing-wide phenomenon. </p><p>But did they contribute to this decline? Oh yeah. That’s three BIG
selling series that they just couldn’t be assed to finish, leaving BIG
fandoms disappointed and pissed off to the point where they just stopped
buying SF/F books. </p><p>Look at it this way. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unfair-Advantage-Troubles-George-McIntyre-ebook/dp/B0848PX3TC">My book</a> sold hundreds of copies. Best case scenario,
there are people waiting for the next one. (Its coming, I
SWEAR.) If I were to crap out for some reason, those people would be
mildly disappointed. </p><p>GRRM has -millions- of fans. (I can’t understand why, but he does.)
-Millions- of people are disappointed that he’s promised another volume
and not delivered. </p><p>That’s a pretty big deal. That level of
disappointment has had an impact on the sales of other people’s books.
Readers just gave up. </p><p>And now the median author income is $8600 a year. Meaning the next
Tolkien/Rowling/Correia is FLIPPING BURGERS so he/she can eat, instead
of writing. Because time spent writing does not make any money. </p><p>So, to quantify how full of shit China Mike and the Viletones are,
they’re $8600 bucks worth full of it. That’s a lot of horseshit right
there. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5XzPn0qdoFPDkWeAlkeVIJZSRluSAU72UMLPbIzYz0JBRul431CpxacP-4wQa7B8tCqlKe3xXyXN6d0lS9JPVCPucHfVwJTjNmSskKPv2sDttdIVUJl-gT-0bPk_OB_g6Vp8GEIYCIMGNjaXoUJTBCFcYL31zhDbiZ9mR7Nvh1jW5KIdAAM/s492/laughing_horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="492" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5XzPn0qdoFPDkWeAlkeVIJZSRluSAU72UMLPbIzYz0JBRul431CpxacP-4wQa7B8tCqlKe3xXyXN6d0lS9JPVCPucHfVwJTjNmSskKPv2sDttdIVUJl-gT-0bPk_OB_g6Vp8GEIYCIMGNjaXoUJTBCFcYL31zhDbiZ9mR7Nvh1jW5KIdAAM/s320/laughing_horse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>The Phantomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10159748429049446398noreply@blogger.com3