Sunday Groucho

Trying not to duplicate other remarks of Groucho Marx published here, from A-Z Quotes:

“Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy.”

“Be open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out.”

“He may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you: he really is an idiot.”

“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.”

“I have had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”

“Before you speak, make certain you have something worthwhile to say.”

“A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running.”

“All people are born alike – except Republicans and Democrats.”

“I love to read. My education is self-inflicted.”

“The difference between a politician and a snail is that the snail leaves its slime behind.”

“[Mrs. Teasdale]: He’s had a change of heart. [Groucho]: A lot of good that’ll do him. He’s still got the same face.”

“I read in the newspapers they are going to have 30 minutes of intellectual stuff on television every Monday from 7:30 to 8 to educate America. They couldn’t educate America if they started at 6:30.”

#SundayGroucho

Are You A Doctor?

This past week I accompanied my wonderful wife to an appointment at the Mayo Clinic with the physician who helps her manage the severe arthritis in her knees and hips. He is not strictly an orthopedist, but a doctor who specializes in musculoskeletal medicine.

This was the second time I have gone with my wife to see this physician. The first time all I said to him was “Hello, nice to meet you” and “Bye-Bye.”

This time I was a little more talkative. I pointed out some things to my wife in the most recent X-Rays and discussed treatment options out loud with her and the doctor. At one point he said, “Are you a…are you…you’re not a doctor, are you?”

That is hardly the first time I have had something similar said to me by a doctor or physician’s assistant. In fact, that was the third time just since November. In my life, the number of times that has happened is easily in double digits.

The funniest such comment did not come in a funny situation. I had to be taken to the Emergency Room in December, 2022. When the doctor in charge of my case visited for the first time after a few minutes he said, “Confess, you’re one of us aren’t you.” My wonderful wife and I just laughed.

More than a few years ago my wife began to experience pain in one of her heels. I told her I thought it was Achilles Tendinitis and a bone spur and recommended she sleep with a compression sleeve on her foot. After trying it, she said it was just not comfortable.

As the pain continued for a few more months she decided to make an appointment with an orthopedist. I accompanied her. The doctor took a history and then said he needed to do some imaging.

Twenty minutes after my wife returned from the X-Ray the doctor stepped into the office. He said, “You have Achilles Tendinitis and a bone spur.” We both started laughing and the physician asked what was so funny. I said, “We’re only here because I can’t write scripts. I gave her the same diagnosis months ago.”

After taking Meloxicam (an NSAID, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug, similar to something like Ibuprofen) for a couple of months she finally agreed to sleep with a compression sleeve. After a few months the pain disappeared and has never returned.

I, in no way, think I know enough about medicine to ignore a physician’s advice or diagnosis. I can say, without fear of contradiction, that 99.99% of lay people know orders of magnitude less about medicine than a doctor.

However, I do believe it behooves everyone to realize that you are in charge of your health and that you become as knowledgeable as possible. That does NOT mean listening to advertisements for Helping Harry’s Healthy Pills. I think one of the worst decisions by the US government was to de-regulate supplements in 1994.

So, what would I advise as being important to good health? Don’t smoke (tobacco or marijuana), don’t drink alcohol and get regular exercise. None of that really costs money, just commitment and time.

Too many Americans are lazy. They want a magic pill, a magic diet or a magic surgery to make them healthy. Magic isn’t real; it’s an illusion. Being healthy takes effort.

Mayo Clinic Launches New AI- and Data-Driven Healthcare Platform

#AreYouADoctor?

#MayoClinic

More Cracks In The EV Delusion

Yep, same ole same ole. Sorry, but I am only human and have never pretended to be otherwise. I like to gloat from time to time.

Two “luxury” makes, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz, are backtracking from prior “commitments” to electric vehicles. At an event in Detroit in late April, Cadillac’s global VP–John Roth–said, “EVs and ICE [internal combustion engine], we want to be clear, will coexist for a number of years. We want to make sure that we have that luxury of choice in the marketplace, and both will have an opportunity to meet the customer needs as we look forward.” That doesn’t sound like Cadillac will be “all-electric” by 2030 as they have previously stated.

Two days ago at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said that Mercedes plans to sell combustion-powered vehicles as long as its customers want them. “We see sales of ICE-powered and hybrid vehicles continuing well into the next decade.” Again, so much for “all-electric” by 2030. In October of last year, Mercedes warned that the “brutal” EV market would have a seriously negative effect on profit margins.

I will write for the nth time that those in power who are pushing for an all battery-electric fleet of passenger vehicles do not really have the “environment” in mind. I imagine that some of them are dreaming of the day when no one owns their own car and government can track where everyone goes in their autonomous EVs for hire. One political party wants to de-fang the oil companies because they donate to candidates of the other party. (Again, why aren’t companies like Exxon-Mobil developing the capacity to produce synthetic, non-petroleum based fuels for use in ICEs?!)

Sorry, but it is a delusion to think that all of us HAVE to drive battery-electric vehicles. We will waste BILLIONS of dollars building infrastructure for vehicles that are not as good for the environment as their proponents claim. Again, the movement is simply a quest for control and punishment by smug, self-righteous and arrogant ideologues.

#DeathBeforeEV

******************

Have to custom order a T-shirt or two…here is an interesting picture:

Yes, that is my F-Type (oh, the wheels and tires I ordered in mid-February have finally arrived, but are not on the car yet) parked next to a 2021 Toyota Supra with all of 3,000 miles that I test-drove yesterday. In one word, WOW!

Although access and egress are difficult because the upper door sills (is that the right word?) are so low, leading me to bang my head on the driver side sill on the way in (and I’m not tall), the rest of the drive was fantastic. How about being able to break the rear wheels loose on a turn at about 50% throttle input?

The Supra was comfortable and has all of the modern bells and whistles. Perhaps it’s the light weight, but the car definitely felt to me like the engine has more horsepower and torque than the official rating. On one very lightly traveled street the car accelerated from 25 MPH to 65 in the blink of an eye.

Sadly, at almost $60,000 all in I seriously doubt I can justify buying this car right now. However, I am now more certain than ever that the new Supra will be the car I buy as a companion to the F-Type.

******************

I have often written that I am convinced life is a Monte Carlo simulation and only one event has a 100% probability. That leads to my strong belief that if the same person could live their life 50 times, it would not turn out the same way every time.

Well, the late genius Stephen Jay Gould felt the same way. “When we realize that the actual outcome did not have to be, that any alteration in any step along the way would have unleashed a cascade down a different channel, we grasp the causal power of individual events. We can argue, lament, or exult over each detail–because each holds the power of transformation. Contingency is the affirmation of control by immediate events over destiny, the kingdom lost for want of a horseshoe nail.”

I am not comparing myself to Gould, but it is heartening that someone with his intellect also believed that choices matter and that the same life or course of events has many different potential outcomes.

******************

Here are some links to pieces on the Internet:

This is a link to a Newsweek story about a Pew Research Center poll on American views of China. Not surprisingly, most of us (thankfully) do not trust the Chinese government.

This is a link to another Newsweek piece “confirming” that mainstream media is biased against Israel written by someone who has worked for NPR and CNN. Again, large institutions–including government–can be infiltrated.

“Two articles on campus unrest and who’s behind it” is from Why Evolution Is True. The second article mentioned is titled, “The People Setting America On Fire.”

I think US public universities should be barred from receiving donations from foreign governments and foreign entities. I don’t know if private universities can be subject to the same ban, but since even private institutions receive government aid in the form of research grants I don’t think many schools are 100% private.

Back to Newsweek, they recently published a piece with this title, “Russia Unable To Sustain Scale of Losses: ISW.” The ISW is the Institute for the Study of War and they concluded, based largely on satellite imagery, that the depletion of Russian military vehicles is unsustainable. One can only hope their conclusion is correct. Slava Ukraini!

******************

OK, so today’s post was not different in form or substance from most other posts. I am still hoping to change both form and substance, at least in some posts, but this is a work in progress.

Again, I would like to read your thoughts about the blog. I also, once again, ask that you share the blog with friends, that you submit thoughtful comments and that you click on any ad in which you have genuine interest. Thanks.

#MoreCracksInTheEVDelusion

#DeathBeforeEV

#ToyotaSupra

#SlavaUkraini!

Voices

No, I am not referring to the voices in my head (or in your head).

While the vast majority of music I consume is instrumental, I do occasionally listen to vocals. At present, I would have to say that my favorite singing voice, male or female, is Kristina Train’s.

My discovery of Ms. Train is yet another example that one should keep their eyes and ears open and have an open mind as well. I first became aware of her when her cover of Jackie Wilson’s “I’m Wanderin'” was used in a Lexus TV commercial. The ad itself was a bit strange, but the song and her voice were powerful.

I did an Internet search to find who sang the song in the ad and it took about ten seconds to unearth Kristina Train. I am a big believer in respecting property rights. I could have listened to the song via the minion of the Evil Empire, TouYube, as many times as I wanted for free. However, I chose to buy the song via iTunes. Gee, I think it cost me all of $1.29. Recently, I purchased two more songs of hers: “Waltz With Me Under The Sun” and her cover of the Youngbloods’ hit from 1967, “Get Together.”

One may think the following statement is strange (but consider the source), but for me the lyrics are of limited importance in my liking a vocal composition. To me, the number of potential topics for vocals is actually quite limited. The melody, the chord structure and the quality of the voice are more important than the lyrics.

As it turns out, Kristina Train (whom I believe was born Kristina Beaty) is quite accomplished. For example, she toured with legendary keyboard artist Herbie Hancock for two years as lead vocalist and violinist.

“I’m Wanderin'” was part of her collection called Dark Black. In its review of the “album” the Huffington Post (admittedly, not exactly a site I read) wrote, “If you aren’t in love with Train’s voice by the end…there is something seriously wrong with your ears.”

Again, since I respect property rights and think people should be paid for their creations, I am not going to embed an audio file of one of Train’s songs. If you want to hear an amazing voice, you can listen to part of any one of her songs via any number of platforms and then, hopefully, decide to buy what you like.

Común sin sentido: Kristina Train — Dark Black

#Voices

#KristinaTrain

I’m Back, I Guess

I began writing a post called “Sorry, I’m Done.” Obviously, the message to be expressed in that post would have been that I am done with blogging. I was going to liken my situation regarding blogging to a balloon that had burst. It is not possible to fill a balloon that has burst into countless pieces.

Many times during my hiatus I was “sure” that I would not return to blogging. I can say that my enthusiasm for writing this blog has diminished, probably permanently. For a long time, when I sat down at my desk to write I was filled with anticipation and happiness. That feeling doesn’t occur, anymore, at least not to the same degree.

Why did I return? Well, I am not committing to any given number of additional posts, any posting schedule or anything else. Whereas in the past I would write something because I felt obligated to do so, that will not happen in the future. Yes, I know that regular posting helps the blog in search engines, but at this point nothing I do is going to increase the number of readers. Near the end of its life as an automobile manufacturer, Studebaker management wrote a memo that they had decided they would simply live with the sales volume they had rather than hoping or trying to improve it. I find myself in that situation.

Still, I think I will be happier, even if just a little bit, if I blog than if I don’t. In a world where current events make me very unhappy, I need all the happiness I can get. So, 2,000 posts and 1,139,547 words down and who knows how many to go.

******************

I will almost certainly create more sports content (sorry, Dirty Dingus McGee). Remember that I worked in major league baseball for 20+ years. I wrote a book about football that was published by a large publishing company and that The Wall Street Journal called without a doubt the best book of its kind ever written. This will not become a sports blog per se, but I will write more about the topic, especially during football season.

Speaking of football season, it is likely I will refrain from writing during NFL Sundays. As I have mentioned before, those days have had the fewest number of views of any days with a post.

I do not want simply to return to the status quo ante–remember Einstein’s remark that insanity is repeating the same action over and over but expecting different results–but I also know the first rule of writing is to write what you know. In that vein, while I do not actually know much about music theory I will write more about music, which has also been an important part of my life for even longer than sports.

******************

Again, speaking of football, on this day in 1933 my favorite football player of all time–John Unitas–was born. He is (was?) universally considered one of the greatest quarterbacks and greatest players in NFL history.

In Vince Lombardi’s first year as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers (1959) the legendary coach said this about Unitas, “Without him, they’re [the Colts] just ordinary. With him, they’re great. He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever seen.”

I never actually got to see Unitas play in the prime of his career. The first season I followed the NFL was 1968. (Yes, I am old.) Unitas missed most of that year recovering from a serious elbow injury. He was not the same when he returned the next season.

While 1966 and 1967 were not the best seasons of Unitas’ career (he was already past 30 and nowhere near as much was known then about nutrition and training as we know now), he was still a much more proficient passer then than in the two seasons after the elbow injury. To wit:

	ATT	COMP PCT	YDS/COMP	YDS/ATT	PCT INT	PASSER RATING
1966-67	784	57.4%	13.7	7.88	5.1%	79.4
1969-70	648	53.1%	13.3	7.03	5.9%	64.6

By the way, the league average passer rating in 1966-67 was 67.0 and 68.0 in 1969-70. How good was Unitas in his prime? Take a look at this simpler chart from my football book:

Note what was written in the text, that for the 17 seasons Unitas played for the Colts they had the best record in the NFL. Hard to argue with that level of success.

classic nfl pictures - Google Search | Johnny unitas, Nfl colts, Baltimore colts

Unitas died on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. As such, I think his death got lost in the news that day. Football fandom, such as it is, is not immune from the plague of temporal arrogance afflicting the world and that has led, in my opinion, to Unitas’ stature not close to being what it should be.

He absolutely must be considered one of the very best quarterbacks in NFL history. For example, his passer rating (a very significant statistic because it correlates very well with winning) was 30+ percent above the league average in more seasons than Joe Montana’s. To paraphrase Shakespeare, there is nothing good or bad but context makes it so.

To John Unitas!

******************

While part of me wasn’t sure I would ever return to blogging, another part of me must have thought I would write again as I saved links to various articles from around the Internet. Here is a large link dump.

“Screams Before Silence”: Sheryl Sandberg’s gripping film on the sexual violence of October 7

~~Hamas~~ is evil. Israel is fighting evil. That is the unvarnished truth.

An indictment of DEI for being “prescriptively racist”

By the way, MIT–hardly a conservative institution in a red state–has formally banned DEI statements from the employment process.

The Tech Bros Who Banned Politics From The Office

Federal Regulator finds Tesla Autopilot has ‘critical safety gap’ linked to hundreds of collisions

Here is a link to a sports story about ongoing negotiations to settle the lawsuits filed against the NCAA over Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) that could result in the formal adoption of pay-for-play in college sports. Again, if the University of Georgia can sign its head football coach to a 10-year, $130 million contract (which they just did) then the players can get paid something, too.

******************

You didn’t think the first post after the hiatus would be short, did you? Did you know that I actually once made a deal to buy a car like this?

When my Z06 was in the shop for almost half of 2022 I decided I would not drive it again after the repairs were complete. Before the car was completely ready I made a deal to buy a used Toyota Supra (like the car shown above). The dealer knew the Z06 was not quite done, but agreed to the deal. I would take possession of the car when they received the Z06.

The repairs took much longer than expected and the dealer backed out WITHOUT formally notifying me. I found out when I saw the car I had “purchased” back online. It was then that I decided to buy the 2022 Mustang GT. Haste makes waste.

The upshot of all of this is that while doing a general car search a couple of Supras were among the vehicles listed. I said to myself, “Of course, a Supra.”

The exterior design is not for everyone, but I love it. It was an awesome car to drive. At 3,300 pounds it is 400 pounds lighter than the new Nissan Z and 600 pounds lighter than the Lexus RC F. The engine output is understated by Toyota (BMW) as countless dyno sheets prove.

Yes, the car is basically a BMW. My friend Lon Babby, long-time sports executive and attorney, is Jewish and drives a BMW. Life is difficult enough without adding arbitrary rules and restrictions. Oh, which European country has had the largest percentage increase in its Jewish population since 2000? Yep, Germany.

Of course, I might change my mind, but I am fairly certain that when the time comes to pull the trigger a 2021-22 Supra will be the target. I have no idea when that might be, however.

#I’mBackIGuess

#JohnUnitas

#IStandWithIsrael!

#ToyotaSupra

2000 Posts And A Break

This is published post number 2,000 and I will, indeed, be taking a break from blogging. The length of that break, what form the blog will take if I return to any type of regular posting, etc. are undetermined.

My instincts tell me I need to do this and reaching 2,000 posts seems to be as good a stopping point as any. My instincts are usually, but not always, right so I must heed them in this instance.

I wish I had something profound to write. A few months ago a very good friend asked me if I was angry because he said my posts seemed angry. I told him I am angry.

Far too many people seem to be on the side of evil and no, that’s not a matter of opinion. Too many people on the Right in this country support a would-be tyrant while too many on the Left support terrorists and the usurpation of individual freedom.

Some hold the view that the media and politicians are far more polarized than the general public. Even if that were true, and I don’t think it is, it is government that makes policy and it is media that shapes the public’s viewpoint.

See you on the flip side, I hope.

#2000PostsAndABreak

#IWeepForTheFuture

Penultimate Post

Penultimate simply means next to last or last but one. (I couldn’t resist the alliteration. What a surprise! Not…) Let me add that this is not the next-to-last post in the history of this blog, but is published post number 1,999, the next to last one before I take a break from blogging.

However, even though the probability is low, it is possible that the next post–post number 2,000–will be the next to last post ever for Disaffected Musings. I don’t know what I will decide about the future of this blog while I am on hiatus.

******************

The Second Holocaust has begun. I am reluctant to write this, but it is time for American Jews to arm themselves and to be hyper-vigilant. At least for now, Jews are not under attack by government (not directly), but by hateful, ignorant scum in the population.

******************

“A university is a community of scholars. It is not a kindergarten; it is not a club; it is not a reform school; it is not a political party; it is not an agency of propaganda. A university is a community of scholars.”

– Robert Hutchins, former President of the University of Chicago

******************

From Andrew Sullivan via Why Evolution Is True:

“The point I have been trying to make for years now is that ~~wokeness~~ [my mark] is not some racier version of liberalism, merely seeking to be kinder and more inclusive. It is, in fact, directly hostile to liberal values; it subordinates truth to ideology; it judges people not by their ability but by their identity [emphasis mine]; and it regards ideological diversity as a mere dog-whistle for bigotry. Maher [Katherine, new CEO of NPR] has publicly and repeatedly avowed support for this very illiberalism. If people with these views run liberal institutions, the institutions will not — cannot — remain liberal for very long. And they haven’t. Elite universities are turning into madrassas, and media is turning into propaganda.”

AMEN!

******************

“Avoid crazy at all cost. Crazy is more common than you think.”

– Charlie Munger

******************

The 2024 NFL Draft begins on Thursday. I know many sports fans read this blog even though this has never been a “sports blog” per se. Although the piece is long, this article on NFL.com that provides an in-depth look at the top 20 quarterbacks in the draft is a very good read, if you are interested in the topic.

The quarterback whom I have called “The Magician” will be the first player selected on Thursday. That, of course, is Caleb Williams. By virtue of trading last year’s overall number one pick to the Carolina Panthers, who selected quarterback Bryce Young, the Chicago Bears have what would have been Carolina’s first-round pick this year. Since the Panthers finished 2-15, the worst record in the league, the Bears will pick first.

In their long and storied history, the Bears have really had only one elite quarterback: Sid Luckman. He played for the Bears for 12 seasons (1939-1950) and led them to four NFL championships.

In a sadly ironic twist, Luckman was Jewish and attended Columbia University. Of course, that institution of so-called higher learning has become a haven for anti-semitism.

******************

A recent trip to the nearest Dodge dealer to inquire about the new Charger–ICE-powered version, of course–led to the possibility of my being able to test-drive this car, perhaps as early as this week.

This is a 2024 Nissan Z in Rosewood Metallic. It is not new and has about 7,000 miles. No, I don’t like the wheel color, but the probability I buy this particular car asymptotically approaches zero. I am on a fact-finding mission.

As I see my potential selections, a Lexus RC F or a Nissan Z (I have excluded the Lexus LC, for now, due to price), it is a choice between a better looking car (the Z) and a better sounding car (the RC F). Both cars have good power-to-weight ratios, although there is something about a V-8 like the one in the RC F that, to me, gives it another advantage over the twin-turbo V-6 in the Z.

Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett are indirectly responsible for this development. The Dodge dealer is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the company run by Buffett and Munger from its founding in 1965 until Munger’s death last November, and so is the local Nissan dealer that currently has the Z in inventory. The salesperson who helped us said he could transfer any local car under the Berkshire umbrella to his dealership.

#PenultimatePost

#LongLiveTheJews!

#CharlieMunger

#2024NFLDraft

#NissanZ

Saturday Saunter

Saunter: verb; to wander or walk about idly and in a leisurely manner.

Beginning the saunter is this remark by Bill James, father of modern baseball analysis and who should be enshrined in the Baseball Hall Of Fame:

“The problem with ideology–left or right–is that in order to exist, it has to pretend that questionable propositions are solid rocks upon which extensive belief systems may be constructed.”

******************

Some humor from this Archon’s Den post:

My biggest fear with self-driving cars is….
…. if I died on my way to work, the car would still deliver me there.

Life is like a box of chocolates….
…. It doesn’t last long if you’re fat.

Fake quotes will ruin the internet….
…. Benjamin Franklin

I’m inconsistent….
…. but not all the time.

If all is not lost….
…. then where the heck is it?

******************

In the 1819 Supreme Court decision in McCulloch v. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “The power to tax is the power to destroy.” Far too many of our current “representatives” in government think they have first dibs on what we have earned. John Marshall was right, though.

******************

Supposedly, although I maintain no one can know for sure, on this day in 1611, the first known performance of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth happened at the Globe Theatre in London. My favorite lines from that play are actually part of a larger “speech” by Macbeth himself:

“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”

******************

Albert Einstein is an anagram for “ten elite brains.” Sounds about right to me.

******************

Speaking of Einstein and science, on this day in 2004 NASA launched Gravity Probe B to test his general theory of relativity. Specifically, the aim of the mission was to measure spacetime curvature near Earth, and thereby the stress–energy tensor (which is related to the distribution and the motion of matter in space) in and near Earth. This provided a test of general relativity, gravito-magnetism and related models.

Analysis by NASA and later by a group based at Stanford showed that the data collected by Gravity Probe B confirmed the two predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Einstein’s theories of relativity, special and general, were beyond revolutionary.

******************

This recent Hagerty article is titled, “Dreaming of Summer: 7 Convertibles for Less than $30k.” When the Cadillac XLR and Allante were under consideration for my next car purchase, meaning another convertible was on the table, one of these cars–listed in the Hagerty piece–was also under consideration.

Yellow Chevrolet Corvette Convertible

While Hagerty specifically mentions a 2012 Corvette, with a #3 (Good) value of $22,000, I would have considered any C6 convertible from 2008 through the end of the generation run in 2013. I have decided not to buy anything older than ten years and am not buying another convertible.

If I own two cars then I want them to have some significant differences from each other. Of course, that’s just my wish and other people can buy what they want. I am intrigued enough by the current Nissan Z model to test-drive one of them in the next week or so, if I can find one locally.

How many of you who do not currently own a convertible think about buying one? The F-Type is my fourth ragtop; well, maybe my third since one of my convertibles was a hardtop convertible. As I have written, Arizona is a place where one can drive with the top down in literally every month.

#SaturdaySaunter

#AlbertEinstein

#TwoPostsToGo

#IStandWithIsrael!

Frightening Friday

Originally, today’s post was going to be titled “Put Your Mind In Your Pocket.” That is the name of an obscure R&B song from the early 1970s by Midnight Movers Unlimited, who were Wilson Pickett’s “backup” band. I was going to complain about Apple’s tightening grip over the music libraries of people who use iTunes, but praise them for adding such songs to their catalog.

However, world events just made such a post seem beyond frivolous. The world seems to have lost its way in violence, incivility and the seemingly complete disappearance of common sense. This piece is titled, “~~Hamas~~ [my mark] has a secret weapon no one talks about: Western stupidity.”

This Why Evolution Is True post is titled, “All hell breaks loose at Columbia University.” If you don’t know what the subject is, the school has finally decided to crack down on “pro-Palestinian” demonstrators engaged in illegal protests by getting the NYPD to arrest them by the dozen.

Those of you who think government is a panacea (IT’S NOT!), here are two notes from this Free Press article:

“Meanwhile, the Biden administration had Congress put $7.5 billion into building charging stations for America and two years later. . . not a single government charging station has been built. I’ve noted that before, but it’s always worth returning to.”

“California hired an auditor to assess how it had done with all that funding to tackle homelessness. Welp: State taxpayers spent $24 billion on addressing homelessness over the last five years and the number of homeless has. . . drumroll. . . grown. And also, no one actually kept track of where the money went. A lot of records just don’t exist. Or folks receiving “services” have names like Mickey Mouse.”

Again, my belief is that the only solution for the US is dissolution. “When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…”

******************

I actually feel a little better having gotten that off my chest. Yes, I am counting down to post number 2,000; this is number 1,997. Someone from India who had never read my blog before went “crazy” reading and liking more than a dozen posts yesterday. That action played a role in generating a decent day for blog views.

Of course, as I prepare to take a break from blogging the number of views and visitors for April is, so far, easily the best for any month in 2024. Again, I wonder if people are curious about what I’ll write as I approach the 2,000th post.

******************

Speaking of the beginning to the Declaration of Independence, on this day in 1775 (which, of course, was before the Declaration of Independence) the American Revolutionary War began with a battle between British soldiers and American revolutionaries at Concord and Lexington in Massachusetts. The so-called “shot heard round the world” is a line from “Concord Hymn,” a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.”

******************

On this day in 1979, Chevrolet produced its first front-wheel drive car (as a 1980 model year vehicle), the Citation. It was built on the General Motors’ X-Body platform used to introduce front-wheel drive to the masses, to those who didn’t buy the upmarket Oldsmobile Toronado (introduced for the 1966 model year) or Cadillac Eldorado (1967 introduction). By the early 1990s, front-wheel drive was the most common platform for American cars.

For all of the subsequent issues with rust and other quality problems, people have forgotten just how popular the Citation was upon its launch. Granting it had an extra-long debut year, but Chevrolet produced 811,540 Citations for the 1980 model year, easily making it the best-selling car in the US. Those problems, however, led to an incredible 89 percent decline in production just three years later and the car was discontinued after the 1985 model year as were all X-Body vehicles. Guess I have to show a picture of one of these; sorry, Dirty Dingus McGee. By the way, the Citation was the Motor Trend Car of the Year for 1980.

About 100,000 of those first-year Citations were in the “sporty” X-11 spec. For the first year, the X-11 package had only handling and styling differences from the base model. For 1981, it was given an engine with higher output, all of 135 HP/165 LB-FT of torque.

This Hagerty article calls the X-Car “one of the malaziest cars of all time” as in coming from the Malaise Era of American automobiles. From the Hagerty piece:

“The X-cars were GM’s bid to build a modern front-wheel-drive compact. To the extent that any are remembered at all, the Chevrolet Citation comes to mind, although the automotive fossil record does contain the Pontiac Phoenix as well as the Oldsmobile Omega and Buick Skylark. Built from 1980 to 1985, the X-cars did enormous damage to GM’s reputation, putting together a most unenviable record for recalls and poor quality control.”

For a company that has had so much success in its 100+ year history, General Motors has shot itself in the foot on many occasions. Although I think GM management has finally regained a little sanity regarding (B)EVs, its “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” approach to Battery-Electric vehicles is another bullet in a body part.

#FrighteningFriday

#Don’tTreadOnMe

#ChevroletCitation

#IStandWithIsrael!

Dreams And Schemes

I cannot remember the details of last night’s dream that led to today’s post title other than I kept devising and trying to implement “get rich quick” schemes that always failed. Even though my wonderful wife and I are far from poor, the fact that we balked at the initial estimate for the gate upgrade may have been a reason for the dream.

I suppose some people in this neighborhood can pay almost any price for anything they want. While I think money is really only useful when it’s spent, I don’t think you should spend yourself into bankruptcy unless you are 100% certain you will soon be on the wrong side of the grass. However, no one without a genuine legal claim has any right to tell anyone else how to spend money they have legally acquired.

I very briefly considered calling this post “An Intolerable Disparity,” which is the beginning of something written by the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, and something I have written more than once in this blog. In its entirety Ignatius Loyola wrote, “An intolerable disparity between the hugeness of their desire and the smallness of reality.”

******************

Uri Berliner, a now former editor for NPR, has resigned from the organization not long after his essay about how NPR has lost America’s trust. In his letter to NPR CEO Katherine Maher, Berliner wrote,

“I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years. I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.”

I’d like to think that people like Maher and the disgusting protestors in this country who shout things like “Death To America, Hands Off Iran” are actually just a small, but loud, minority. (Why are those protestors here and not in Iran, anyway? <end sarcasm> Of course, they have no idea how awful life is in Iran for its citizens who are under the yoke of a fanatical theocracy.) I am just not sure that is the case, though.

******************

Regardless of your views on Artificial Intelligence (AI), this chart shows the US should be in a good position to be the dominant player.

Of course, this doesn’t include government investment in AI development. Every country on this list has a population of 10,000,000+ except for one, Israel, although Sweden’s population is not much above ten million. Obviously, two of the countries shown here, China and India, are the two most populous nations in the world each with more than one billion inhabitants. I will resist the temptation to show a chart of per capita expenditures.

******************

On this day in 1906, the well-known major San Francisco earthquake and fires occurred. Of course, the fires lasted longer than just one day. Seismographs on the East Coast recorded the earthquake about 19 minutes later. The quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9.

Government cover-ups are nothing new. Overwhelming evidence exists that the San Francisco city government deliberately understated the death toll for years so as not to discourage companies from rebuilding and other companies from relocating there. Because of their obfuscation, the actual number of deaths from the earthquake and accompanying fires, which actually accounted for 90% of the damage, may never be known, but it is highly likely that number is in excess of 3,000. For years, San Francisco’s “official” number was about 500.

Although the US automobile industry has never really had any successful companies based on the West Coast, except for Tesla which is now struggling, the 1906 quake destroyed the factory for the Sunset car company, which had been building cars in San Francisco since 1900. The company relocated to San Jose, where it built cars powered by two-stroke engines–as it had from the beginning except for a few cars powered by steam engines–until 1913. From standard catalog of® American Cars 1805-1942 a picture of a 1906 Sunset.

What would happen today if the Bay Area were to be hit by an earthquake of similar magnitude to the one in 1906? In 1910, it is estimated that the population for the entire San Francisco metropolitan area was about 900,000. In 2020, the US Census figure for the same area was 4.6 million.

As the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan showed, building codes designed to reduce damage don’t always work. Most seismologists think it’s a matter of when, and not if, another major earthquake will happen in the Bay Area of California. In my opinion, such an event will accelerate the exodus of people from the state. Take a look at this chart from the Public Policy Institute of California:

Once again, when they can people and businesses vote with their feet. I know my wonderful wife and I would NEVER again live in California. In fact, I will never visit “The Golden State” unless I absolutely have to.

#DreamsAndSchemes

#SanFranciscoEarthquake