This Labor Day, it isn’t the best of times or the worst of times, it’s simply the only times we have
Whatever you personally believe about the state of the world or our prospects for the future, humans simply don’t get to choose. You are here and will remain here until you aren’t whether you like it or not. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Charles Dickens began his immortal A…
Rosie the three-legged dragon and the munchkin invasion, part three
After mommy wrongfully punished her for playing with the munchkin, banishing her to the inside of the lair for the second time that same day, Rosie planned to run away from home until deciding it would be a good idea to eat first. This is the third part of Rosie’s latest adventure. You can catch…
The datacenter delusion
They used to say country over party. Perhaps, we should put the future over politics, and rather than behaving like craven fools politicians should lead. If you’ve been looking for an issue that finally unites Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives alike, opposition to so-called AI datacenters might be it. As the Associated Press characterized…
Rush’s “The Trees” and the life and death battle happening in your backyard
While many have claimed the classic song is anti-union and anti-socialist and some of have argued the opposite, to my knowledge, no one has attempted to interpret it literally, as in this is what trees and other plants actually do and have done for hundreds of millions of years. On the surface, Rush’s classic “The…
Rosie the three-legged dragon and the munchkin invasion, part two
When we last left Rosie and Carlitos, they were stuck in the lair by mommy’s decree, barred from joining a party in the enchanted forest, where adult humans and munchkins frolicked. Rosie might not have been interested in that, but the food commanded her attention, causing her to come up with a plan. This is…
The quality of life canard and the irresistible appeal of nostalgia
Though some might claim otherwise, I was there and few would really want to go back to a time when our lives were shorter, far less convenient, far less mobile, and far more of a pain in the ass in almost every measurable way. Over the past several weeks, more than one person has mentioned…
Iran: Do we need or want a deal at this point?
After both of our previous attempts failed largely because Iran has proven completely unable to stop firing missiles for no seemingly sane reason, it appears to be a good time to reconsider our options. Before we begin, I should come clean: Throughout the conflict with Iran I have consistently advocated to make an even less…
Academia, the publishing industry, Jason Arday, bullshit artists, and the 80s cult classic About Last Night
Some of us know the type. Like Bernie Litgo in the movie adapted from David Mamet’s play, they spin wild tales for our amusement, but in academia and publishing, fact is supposed to be far more important than fiction, and processes are said to be in place to ensure only facts get published. In the…
Rosie the three-legged dragon and the munchkin invasion, part one
If Rosie thought her human servants were strange, they were nothing compared to the smaller, far more energetic and unruly versions that invaded her lair from time to time. These little ones, she could make no sense of at all. If Rosie the Three-legged Dragon thought her human servants were strange, they were nothing compared…
The problem of plenty, the genius of Henry James, and the sad truth that we’re all Isabel Archer now
If young people today face a problem totally unique to their generation, it’s one of plenty itself. Simply put, they have too many choices about everything and anything in life, but not enough money or time to possibly have or do it all. The 19th century novelist Henry James once claimed his works were centered…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 