This was taken right before the election:
The stand is still there, but something interesting has happened in the rest of the area: most of the Trump signs are down. Even the trumpist crazies whose house-fronts were covered with banners, have taken down most of theirs. Maybe they are realizing, too late, that they are about to get what they bargained for.
I heard a depressing thing the other day, which is that some of the most popular google searches, recently, have been “how does a tariff work?” and “can citizens be deported?” The intertubes have plenty of video clips of people talking to trumpists about tariffs, and watching their reaction when they finally understand. Or, when they find out that ObamaCare is the medical insurance program that they have been depending on. It’s amusing when you imagine someone so ignorant that they saw off the tree branch they are sitting on, but when you magnify those prat-falls to the level of national policy, it looks like we decided to outdo the British at brexiting stupidity. When the failing New York Times described Hamas’ victory in the Gaza elections as “suicide voters” it was probably clever, but for the US, it may be literally true. The US medical/insurance collaboration is one of the huge forces of inflation that is waiting for the start-flag to launch itself into overdrive.
The enemy remains capitalism, and the democrats insist on blocking the appearance of a leftist party, while maintaining a waffly sort of centrism. I voted for Harris, of course, because the alternative was an empty skin-bag stuffed with rotting fish guts, but I was not consoled by the campaign’s failure to distance itself from Biden’s unswerving support for Israel. Well, Trump and Vance will be worse.
Midjourney AI and mjr: “two drunk men arguing over the remote control in a burning building”
From my perspective, it really does not matter. This is the first year where the global average temperature has been over the “red line” level of +1.5C. Not only did we not slow down, we continued to accelerate our global fossil fuel consumption. The US is, once again, a leader. All of this stuff, to me, seems like drunks fighting over who gets the remote control, while the building is burning down around them. It will be tough for the Melians, but that is how things have always been. I’m not saying it’s right – I’m saying it’s hugely likely.
I’ve found out that two of the people I used to talk to voted for Trump. So, the already small circle of my friends just contracted a bit more. That reminded me of the pandemic, and how I survived by hunkering down personally, financially, and in terms of social contacts. So, I took advantage of the recent pop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and got a bunch of cash from my portfolio, and I’ll probably buy a 3D printer or CNC machine and spend the next few years learning Blender and how to transform renderings into wax models that can be investment cast. I also decided (I think I have already mentioned this) to void my decision to not make man-killing blades (unless I am asked nicely). My last month and a half has been spent producing some truly horrific pieces designed to slice and rend and kill. It’s weird to catch myself smiling when I flip the blade over to polish it, and it draws blood from merely brushing my palm. I guess I’m making america great again, one blade at a time. When the food shortages start, I suppose swords will be fashionable again, in their long-term role as signifiers of social status.
By the way, if that topic interests you, you may wish to look at this book: which my father turned me on to, that is about exactly what the cover says. I won’t “spoiler” you unless you ask in the comments, but the sword on the cover, allegedly Charlemagne’s sword, is a really interesting story.
As you may have noticed, I am not blogging as much. There are a lot of reasons for that, including some things I have alluded to but not discussed at any length: I have some brain damage I did not know I had, which has significantly impaired some things but not others. Ironically, I have similar problems to one of the case studies I found particularly fascinating in my undergraduate neurology courses. Ha, ha, fuck you gods. It turns out that I started instinctively turning toward the kind of articles that I can write (you have probably noticed a lack of philosophy or historical analysis) I don’t particularly want to write a series of pseudo-noble “watch me do a swan dive” postings but that seems like the expected behavior. To tell you the truth, I would rather pursue The Path of The Badger and hide under the bed, brutally mauling anyone who reaches underneath to see how I am doing.
Besides, what is there to say? I feel like it’s just talking to one of the two drunks who is fighting over the remote control. “Hey, what do you think of the curvature on this katana blade?” We just saw an entire election that consisted of the electorate putting its fingers in its ears and saying “num num num num” I could not even break through by talking about pornography, for fuck’s sake. Now, there is a waypoint: I love the idea of writing something thoughtful and incisive (or at least, long) like I used to about the impact of AI on victimless crime, and what does that imply for pornography? But I don’t feel like I can generate that sort of material, anymore. Gods, it’s frustrating. I never thought I was a particularly good writer, but becoming a legitimately bad one makes me want to write MILSF and compete with John Ringo, with the help of my friend ChatGPT.
I would be interested if, in the comments, you can tell me if you have noticed anything different about me in the last, say, 2 years. Now that I have been hyper-analyzing myself, I notice a lot, but there are physical effects as well, that you cannot see.
Meanwhile, shall I talk about ninja swords (hint: there are no ninjas) or anti-bear swords? Or mega-daggers? Or how hot the tears of grief are as they run down your cheeks when you try to temper a katana blade and it snaps? Or shall I post about The Burner? I am trying to make a smelter capable of melting iron so I can produce my own steel, but it’s awkward because most of the things we’d make such a smelter out of are also steel? I have put a ton of design work into designing and building a burner system that is so scary that experienced blacksmiths back away when I describe it, and say, “are you trying to kill yourself?” Well, maybe. But I’d rather kill the other guy, first. Oh, that was not very liberal of me. Maybe should I do some book reviews about good books? Or – ugh – anything except politics. My feeling about politics is that collectively we tried to lead a horse to water, and the dumb thing went and drank a bunch of diesel fuel, instead and next we all know it’s going to be complaining and running up vet bills and we can’t just shoot the damn thing for being stupid. To me, that’s the problem with politics: we cannot sit aloof and laugh at the stupid masses because they’re our damn neighbors and if they get hungry they’ll come take my tomatoes. I was talking to my dad, the day after the election and he said he’s not too worried because at 93 he probably won’t get to see how this story ends. I said, “you remember the end of Candide? Il faut cultiver son jardin.” It was great to hear him laugh again. So, that last line means “one must tend one’s garden” implying (because Voltaire was a verbal minimalist except when he was not) one’s own garden. So, Candide and Dr Pangloss have these crazy and surreal adventures and end up with a suddenly stable retirement, with a vegetable garden. Pangloss and Candide agree that, no matter what other horrors and tribulations happen in the rest of the world, they still have to worry about their vegetables. Unstated is “… or else.” Voltaire, as always, is relevant beyond his years.
This was a really good one, honestly. I haven’t ready you long enough to see long term trends, and you are intentionally avoiding posts that expose what you know are problems. That is legitimate. I think language suffers the most in writing when you lose the fluidity and can’t tease it back into existence through editing. One simple, smooth expression – it works well.
I also would love to see you experiment with using AI to write, with all the caveats and carefulness you please, but I love that you aren’t one of the reactionary crowd on that tech. Can you figure out a way to cut through the buttigieg? Or will you embrace it, remix it, to produce very strange word art? Anything you do could be fun to behold.
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Also big agreement, nobody who can’t deal with the apoplexy should be writing politics. Fuck that shit entirely off. People badly need non-political content. Chop some heads off, kid.
I have noticed the reduction of the frequency of posts, and that has given me some concerns, but as far as the content goes you appear as lucid as ever.
For me, the take I have from Voltaire’s ending of Candide is that if everyone minded their own garden and didn’t concern themselves with the gardens of others, the world would be a much happier place. It’s less about tending your own garden (which is important), and more about leaving others to tend their own without your interference (or their interference in yours). While that seems to me to be a typical libertarian ideal, it would work if no inequality existed. Yet, that lesson was taken to heart by Putin we wouldn’t have the war in Ukraine. If that lesson was taken to heart by Netanyahu we wouldn’t have the war in Gaza. If that lesson was accepted by the USSC woman in the USA would still have rights control their own medical care. It’s also the message of the Peter Sellers movie, “Being there”, but every character in the movie seems to miss it.
I may have more thoughts later. But I’m tired from tending my own garden today. We had a group of people over for board gaming, and while there was the occasional wailing and gnashing of teeth about last Tuesday’s results, overall our guests enjoyed themselves. There was much good food, interesting games, and much laughter. The best revenge on your enemies is living life well.
Same as flex with noticing the reduction of posting, but what you have posted remains well stated. Your turns of phrase and analogy for this post are spot on. Perhaps those signs are down because because they won and there’s no stop the steal crap. I do worry that people at risk are not looking at effective defensiveness. Take a class and practice so you minimize your inactive reaction time. Learn gun safety so if you come into possession of a firearm, you can be intentional about shooting. I don’t care about the horses who steal diesel, especially as I’m not in the US.
I’ve noticed cognitive decline in myself. I don’t know if it’s because of an accident I was in 10 years ago or if I’m just lucky. It started before covid, so it’s not that. Reaching and not finding, loss of train of thought compounded by auto-correct. Since I’ve retired I don’t worry about it a much as blending in with a good line of small talk. Play to your strengths, enjoy your dad.
Fighting a bear with a sword seems like a bad idea
Can’t say ive noticed a drop in quality of your posts. And it’s totally fine to just decide that you have nothing useful to add. You dont have to keep blogging if you dont want to
I don’t understand. If the skin-bag is full of rotting fish guts, then it is not empty‽
Speaking of Charlemagne, I found this article on Alexander the Great.
Ancient Tunic in Greek Tomb Belonged to Alexander the Great, Controversial Study Claims
@7: Archaeological efforts like that tend to make assumptions. Here is a cautionary tale.
DNA shows Pompeii’s dead aren’t who we thought they were
You don’t seem very different to me – you still sound like you, if that makes sense. You are not writing as frequently, and seem more direct in what you say, but you still are Marcus.
That’s interesting that so many flags and banners for the Fanta Menace have come down, disappeared, whatever. One thing I’ve noticed is that just like THAT, we are suddenly not hearing about voter fraud from the Rs anymore. Weird. It’s almost like they knew they were lying the whole time.
I had interpreted part of an earlier posting here (and subsequent blog-silence) as implying our esteemed host had chosen to react to contemporary events by hammering hard on multiple pieces of hot metal for artistic and (mostly) therapeutic purposes.
Guess I wasn’t too far wrong.
For what my opinion is worth, having followed your writing for more than a few years. I’ve noticed a drop in frequency and a change in topics – less history/philosophy and analytics. I wouldn’t say that your writing appears to be worse or less fluent though.
Sorry to hear about the brain damage – that’s rough.
As someone who works with fire a lot (though still hasn’t gotten around to smithing), I would love to hear about The Burner. One of my shorter term plans is working through a 3d-printing to investment cast metal process, so I’d be quite interested in the results of your research and design. Incidentally, if you haven’t encountered it already – Nobox7 on youtube does some very interesting and unconventional burners in an advanced redneck engineering style.
@ kestrel: They can take their signs down, but I’m not forgetting. Or forgiving.
I noticed less content, but I’ve also had less content or time to read and write. Have fun making swords. I’m taking all the good times I can still get. I’m sorry for my children, though, and apologised to them for bringing them into this world.
I also noticed the less frequent posting and assumed it was from the TIA and/or getting lost in projects as means of self-care. Brains are weird things. Severe depression in the 2010~2013 time frame means I have zero reliable memories of personal interactions in those years, although I can recall certain technical details of projects I was working on. It almost completely broke my ability to form any long-term memories during that bout/period and I’m still not the same as before then.
Although I am not a fan of the long nozzle+heatbreak design, I really love the Prusa Mk4 we have at work. Super easy to use, rarely fails if proper setup is followed, fast, and quiet. I mostly use carbon-filled PETG for anything structural and various cheap PLAs for models and TPU/TPE for vibration dampers/bushings. The original brass nozzle eroded pretty quickly with the carbon-filled filaments and the E3D hardened nozzle has clogged twice in the year or so we’ve had it, but other than the annoyance of fixing those clogs in the super long nozzle+heatbreak it works well. Super large area prints might need glue stick treatment and very slow first layers depending on the filament and bed surface, but once the first three or so layers of a full bed print are good it will only fail if the nozzle is getting clogged (will hear the extruder start skipping/clicking).
Had attempted a few aluminum castings from printed models, but my mold setup skills are garbage. There are some specialty filaments for a workflow much closer to lost wax casting, but those are really only needed for very complex and highly detailed models where you absolutely cannot make a multi-part mold. Filament printers for large, strong, cheap, low-detail parts (lots of filler and sanding to get really nice surface finish); resin printers for smaller, high-detail parts with little surface finishing.
I have had much better luck with making mostly hollow parts and filling them with black aluminum oxide abrasive and epoxy blend to give them heft and structural rigidity. Recently started experimenting with copper plating prints for trying to make small mirrors and better shielded electronics enclosures. Nothing production worthy yet with the plain copper sulfate root killer bath and lack of automatic part turner/agitation, but have had lots of other higher priority projects to deal with at work.
The last week has been extremely unpleasant, but I was honestly surprised that I lived to 30 and it has been boggling my mind that I might actually make it to 40 (a bit after the next mid-terms if we have them). No dependents or investments and the job is all that really keeps me going, so likely to use up my savings in the next couple weeks/months on my version of apocalypse survival prep that I had been putting off as “I won’t really need it” (custom workshop trailer plus ~4kW solar and batteries).
I did read about the spike of searches for “how do tariffs work” after the election and I facepalmed so hard that I nearly concussed myself. In the comments on YouTube under videos about these issues I noticed multiple people who bemoaned that their acquaintances voted for the orange turd “because of the economy” and were completely ignorant of how tariffs work and were stumped when told that they will increase prices.
One of the worst things in the contemporary USA, and one that it unfortunately exports at large, is pride in one’s own ignorance and disdain for knowledge and the knowledgeable. The MAGA could as well have a second abbreviated slogan – SAPAI – Stupid And Proud About It. Whoever said that thing about people thinking that their own ignorance is just as valid as someone’s else knowledge?
Creationism, flat-earthism, Q-anon, antivaxers – even those that have originated outside the USA got their current strength and influence worldwide in there.
I did not notice any drop in quality of your articles, although I must admit I am completely dis-interested in anything AI related. Your political articles are just as insightful as always.
Reginald Selkirk@#6:
I don’t understand. If the skin-bag is full of rotting fish guts, then it is not empty‽
Someone had an empty skin bag, and stuffed it full of rotting fish guts. It’s hyperbole, not intended to be a statement of literal truth.
kestrel@#9:
One thing I’ve noticed is that just like THAT, we are suddenly not hearing about voter fraud from the Rs anymore. Weird. It’s almost like they knew they were lying the whole time.
Yes, that was noticeable by its absence. I did a small movie that I posted on instagram and youtube about it. Unfortunately youtube now tries to drive everything into “shorts” that can’t be embedded, but it is here:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_v7xNoQKx8I
dangerousbeans@#5:
Fighting a bear with a sword seems like a bad idea
Definitely. But sometimes you have no choice. And running with a sword is dangerous ;)
Can’t say ive noticed a drop in quality of your posts. And it’s totally fine to just decide that you have nothing useful to add.
Good to know. I struggle now and it takes me almost twice as long to produce a posting. But that’s my internal problem.
Also, there is a lot to what you say. “Nothing useful to add” is a great summary. The recent election has done a lot to make me simply not want to talk to anyone, anymore. Out here in Pennsylvania it was not out of the question to hear someone speaking seriously (not “someone” – “a neighbor”) about how schools in California require litter boxes. Completely crazy batshit stuff. But when you realize that the opposition has so thoroughly propagandized their targets, there really is nothing useful to add. Trying to get people to do a bit of back-and-forth thinking (eg: “well, if it was true that Harris was a socialist, wouldn’t she be pushing a socialist agenda?”) I actually considered taking out a full page ad in the local newspaper, which would contain gems such as: “when they tell you so-and-so will grab all your guns, ask yourself if any American politician has ever tried anything even close to that” but it’s just a waste of time. It’s as if the most preposterous lie makes them the proudest to believe in.
Great American Satan@#1:
I also would love to see you experiment with using AI to write, with all the caveats and carefulness you please
Oh, be careful what you ask for…
I provided some Evil Inputs(tm) to a project one of my friends did, to entirely write a book on computer security using AI (which arguably knows nothing or everything about computer security) I’ll see if I can share a few pages but mostly I can describe the process because I know Ron won’t go through all that, again.
Pierce R. Butler@#10:
I had interpreted part of an earlier posting here (and subsequent blog-silence) as implying our esteemed host had chosen to react to contemporary events by hammering hard on multiple pieces of hot metal for artistic and (mostly) therapeutic purposes.
It doesn’t affect my output so much as the form of my output. Instead of trying to make elegant and useful cooking knives, I make daggers and sword blades designed to rend and maim. Then, I feel ashamed of them. Then I feel secretly pleased. Then I feel ashamed, then I whack a melon with one and go “damn” and feel secretly pleased. Etc.
flex@#3:
For me, the take I have from Voltaire’s ending of Candide is that if everyone minded their own garden and didn’t concern themselves with the gardens of others, the world would be a much happier place. It’s less about tending your own garden (which is important), and more about leaving others to tend their own without your interference (or their interference in yours). While that seems to me to be a typical libertarian ideal, it would work if no inequality existed.
Agreed, that is definitely one of the messages from Candide. And (for all that he invested in slave-trading companies) Voltaire was concerned with what would straddle the line between libertarian and libertine, with a bit of liberal, too. As you say, inequality is the problem, and it seems it always will: it does not matter how peaceful and humanistic your intentions are, if your neighbor is the United States of America and you have oil. That seems to me to be the problem liberals always wrestle with: it’s easy for us to say “of course I want equality” but the guy next door does not – he covets your ${whatever} or would just enjoy dominance. Again, Voltaire’s observation in Candide is really good – take care of your garden and I suppose that if Hitler wants your vegetables, Hitler will have your vegetables and you’re in the hands of fate. The part that has always bothered me about this dynamic is that I am willing to work hard on my blade-making or cultivating my garden, but the dictator next door is willing to have his minions work even harder to fuck me up. Even if I was able to go out with my bear-killing sword and make it costly for them, I’m wasting all my time swordfighting endless waves of orcs instead of cultivating my own garden. How do we deal with that? Well, we form an alliance and … suddenly we are re-inventing the state.
I’m busy worrying about my own cognitive decline but I reckon you are still OK.
Marcus wrote, #21,
Heh. That’s where I think Voltaire, and Marx, and a lot of libertarian thinkers get it wrong. I think human beings naturally form social groups which then develop into states. But when the states get so big that they encompass multiple social groups it becomes easy to ignore the less fortunate groups, as well as envy the more fortunate groups.
For Voltaire to say that we should tend our own garden and allow others to tend theirs is to posit a host of underlying assumptions, the most basic of which is that property laws exist and everyone agrees to abide by them, including the state.
Voltaire may say that we are all the tools of fate, we are all Forest Gump, and there is little we can do to avoid this. But Voltaire could make this claim because the fates were kind to him. Voltaire lived in the best of all possible worlds for him. I am not saying that he didn’t work at his living, but he was also famous in his own time and pampered by kings. Most people are not so favored by fate.
Orwell writes about how revolutions from the working class never succeed, the only successful revolutions come from the middle classes upset about their treatment by the upper class and they sucker the working class into joining them by promising lollypops. In Orwell’s view, the working class generally accepts the idea that Fate prevents a great amount of change in their lot, but can get excited about the possibility if riled up by class warfare among the high level classes. But the middle classes are educated enough to realize that the restrictions applied by the state, and the upper class which controls the state, do not have to apply to them.
Marcus at #20 wrote,
Which only shows that you truly are human. As long as you refrain from using those blades on your family and neighbors, I don’t see anything odd about getting joy from those fantasies. They may be more manifestations of power rather than control, but our ego needs an occasional feeding of power in order to stay healthy, and many of us have had our egos beaten down by recent events. I’ve started drinking more, and I know I shouldn’t be doing it, but I do like a good martini. Beating plowshares into swords is a lot better therapy than my drinking. So don’t sweat it, get it out of your system.
And show us the results. We would all love to see them.
@Marcus,
If you’re back into weapon-making, have you got any spears in your catalog? When I did mixed weapons HEMA, a spearman was almost always more effective than a swordsman given the same relative skill level. If I have to face off with a chud with a bladed weapon, I’d prefer to have it out on the end of a stick.
Plus there are some beautifully elegant spear designs in traditional japanese weaponry. The Naginata in particular has always been far more aesthetically pleasing to me than the Katana.
The Path of the Badger does sound like an appropriate response to the utter madness of whatever is happening because stupid people are so FORKING stupid! Is there any room under there for another angry badger?
I don’t want to be mauled though, so I have refrained from pestering you to ask if you are okay.
It would especially suck as a b-day gift. Now, even the fools that voted for face eating are suddenly realizing that they are stupid misanthropic people, so the signs disappeared as it sinks in that they chose poorly.
As to your question, I maintain that you are way too hard on yourself for suffering a brain injury. We all age. We all decline. IMO, Marcus with a brain injury is still much smarter and more erudite than large swathes of the general populace.
I’ve been trying to distract my mind from existential anxiety by watching “The Good Place”. Who knew that the Trolley Problem could be brilliant comedy?
It also led me to Judith Shklar and Ordinary Vices, which I find quite relevant to trying to understand why people choose harm and cruelty. She starts with this quote.
There are multiple relevant passages that I was going to quote, but argh, writing on an IPhone is an exercise in frustration and I can’t copy/paste from the source. The first paragraphs on cruelty, misanthropy, the pit of despair and mass murder are available here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=DBYjjiVsG5oC&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false