Category: FWIW

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[sarc /on] Thank You, Department of Injustice [sarc /off]

Read a quick lil novel that’s a fantasy about justice served on Antifa (and similar) thugs in the wake of the 2020 riots. . . after those thugs were released and given pats on the head for looting, burning, and outright murder. It’s a little like a weak version of John Ross’s “Unintended Consequences.” Not sure those are healthy fantasies to harbor, though. Such things, once out in the wild, might well progress beyond being fantasy.

Still, it would be nice for justice to be more than a fantasy that seems more and more to be denied a place in reality. We can, at least in part, thank organized government crime like that perpetrated by the Felonious Barony of Iniquity and its parent organization, the Department of Injustice for much of the anarcho-tyranny leading to so much else in government following their examples.

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It’s a Real Head-Scratcher

I don’t understand why Peter Jackson did all the CGI stuff to make Andy Serkis into Gollum for LoTR, when James Carville could have played the role w/o even any makeup.

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It’s a Thing, Ya Know. . .

It’s been several years since I have been “trapped” by a listserv-posted novel. New chapters (or just pieces of new chapters, in some cases) posted at regular or irregular intervals, as the writer is able or as the writer simply feels like doing, just does not appeal to me, especially since everything is usually first draft, unedited.

But. . . yeh. in my sporadic armchair pseudo-anthropological dabbling in understanding the background of a subset of 20-something or 30-nothing grups, I usually read some litrpg/isekai/wuxia fiction each week, out of the usual 10+ books of various genres (including a few non-fiction from varied subject lines). So, I was snagged by a Royal Road thread featuring a variation of isekai-wuxia I had not run across before. Only 20 chapters on RR, so. . . Patreon. But no, not paying $8/month to have instant access to new material, etc. The book is better-written and more interesting than 90% of the its genre, but not THAT musch better-written or interesting.

Winds of Destiny: A Cultivator’s Odyssey. Fluff, but entertaining and not even nearly as badly-written as most normally published self-pubs available on Amazon.

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Apropos of Nothing in Particular. . .

Just a random thought that intruded into my day. . .

I really do not understand why the MK MPT-76 is termed an “assault rifle” instead of a “main battle rifle” as

Its 7.62×51mm (roughly a .30 caliber round in fairly high-powered configuration matching the typical .308 Winchester “deer” and other medium-large game round) NATO round falls outside the parameters generally accepted for assault rifle rounds and was initially used in M14 main battle rifles and M60 machine guns (in the US military).
Its USE in the Turkish military is as a main battle rifle.

Still, in general use, most refer to this rifle as an “assault rifle,” completely against all reason.

It’s a real head-scratcher. . .

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Terminally Stupid Quora Questions

I used to think FarceBook and TwitPost were the best “stupid traps” on the interwebs, but Quora has begun to convince me otherwise. For example, a recent question:

Why does Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s mother believe there should be mandatory prison terms for knife carrying?

(Recap, some goblin in Nottingham, England, attacked a teen with a knife as she tried to protect a friend, killing her.)

My answer to this stupid question is,

Because she stupidly blames the tool for the actions of the killer. Banning the carrying of knives is as stupid as banning guns. Only those who intend no harm to others will comply. Those who intend to harm others will not comply. After all, they already intend to break the law with acts of violence.

What should be done instead is for the killer (whom I will not name, because spreading his name just adds to his “fame”) to be executed using the same means he used to kill Grace. Publicly. Videoed and broadcast regularly as a warning to other goblins. (BTW, that is how drunk drivers who kill someone should be executed: by having their car – or its remains – dropped on them until they are road paste. Again, videoed and shown as a warning to drunks who choose to drive.)

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Memory Aids. . . of a Sort

The fun thing about aging is that, while new injuries seem to take longer to heal, at least I probably won’t miss them for long, since old injuries (some 60 or more years old) continually remind me of their continuing (have I stressed “continue” enough yet? 😉 ) presence. Joy! It’s a memory boost! Maybe I will NEVER “forget” an injury! *heh*

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Car Not Like Cold

Not, indeed! Negative # temps decreed canceling my Wonder Woman’s eye surgery today. Rescheduled. Need an engine block heater like we used to have in our vehicles. Oh, well.

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Apropos of Nothing in Particular

Just another Olde Pharte rumination.

During college years, when I had occasion to drive home, for whatever reason, without a rider, I kinda liked starting late for the 600-*something-mumble* jaunt, because I enjoyed pulling over near the Guadelupe Mountains so I could sit back and enjoy a night sky completely devoid of light pollution. Good stuff, Maynard.

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Ya Never Know. . .

You may never know what effect you have on someone, but sometimes. . .

Interesting guy I met one day back in 2010, here in America’s Third World County™ – just barely here in the county; the town he lives in is about 1/2 in a neighboring state. But anyway, interesting guy. Likes to talk mostly about music, his American Indian heritage (he refers to himself as an Indian, not a “native American” or whatever the current buzz term may be), religion in general and also specifically relating to his heritage, and more.

One day when we had met again by chance, as is our wont, he started asking questions about the Bible and Xian theology as he saw it represented in society, and one of his questions spurred me to pull my lil pocket New Testament out of a pocket in my ADC (All Day Carry) vest in order to use a direct quote from scripture to answer his question.

The last couple of times we have interacted, we began as usual asking how each other was doing. His top answer both times was, “Reading my Bible.” Now, discussions about religion/theology have been more oriented toward him contrasting and comparing observations about Xianity in society as against scripture, demonstrating on his part a serious inquiry.

Ya never know. . .

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Practice Makes Perfect?

Nope. “Practice makes perfect” is common misconception. Practice makes PERMANENT. Only perfect practice can make perfect, so BETTER practice simply makes being BETTER a permanent stepping stone on the path of improvement. Sooner or later, though, one meets one’s physical or mental limits (or both) and consistent best practice just makes permanent the best that one can be.