Yeah...THIS...
Eldest wrote and posted this and the cartoon last Monday:
"I hope we have been jolted awake by this crisis and will learn to live differently as the dust settles. The longer we wait to get serious about climate change the more difficult it will be to flatten THAT curve and the longer we (and especially our children and grandchildren) will live with the consequences. However, I am more optimistic now than I was before Covid-19. Everything that has happened so far is just a free sample, but the breathtaking speed with which the world ground to a halt and changed course suggests humans might...maybe...be capable of doing what it will take."
I think this is relevant:
ReplyDeleteThe Revolution Is Under Way Already [Click]
History Suggests Pandemic Will Force Big Changes [Click] The LA Times and Wall Street Journal talking like this reminds me of the old stories about Wall Street shoeshine boys predicting the 1929 stock market crash to their customers shortly before it happened. At least one stock broker is said to have taken the advice.
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ReplyDeleteEarliest [by far] known skull of Homo erectus unearthed by Australian-led team [Click] Maybe the genus Homo did *not* evolve from Australopithecus!
NJ seeking help from COBOL programmers in coronavirus fight [Click] TAKE THAT, WHIPPERSNAPPERS! OLDSTERS RULE!
ReplyDeleteCOBOL! FORTRAN! RPG! UNIX! COMMAND LINE INTERFACES! IBM CARDS! DUMB TERMINALS! LINE PRINTERS! VACUUM TUBES![Well, maybe not vacuum tubes.] Hahahahahahahaha!
Yeah. Have I mentioned that my first job was as a keypunch operator?
DeleteI don't recall, Bill; but I wouldn't have thought it unusual enough to make particular note of. The last time I was working with a command line interface was back about 2000 on a mainframe AIX system. Graphical user interfaces started coming in not long after that; the learning curve for a GUI is much shorter and easier than for a command line interface, but in the end it really decreases productivity. In my experience. Great for a situation involving high workforce turnover and a lot of part time workers, though.
DeleteAll I know is that in many ways DOS is less of a headache to work with than Windows. The first iteration of Windows I encountered was 3.1: simple, clean, easy to work with and to get out of if you needed to work with DOS. With every subsequent iteration, Windows has become more complicated and cluttered, the idiot-proofing more inane. And not only are there more bits and bobs that the user can't readily identify and so can't determine if they can be safely removed from the computer to free up disc space, but it becomes harder to find the basic functions when you need to. I HATE Win 10! It's all but impossible to drill down to a simple directory listing and see exactly what files you have and where they are.
DeleteI'm a black man in America. Entering a shop with a face mask might get me killed [Click] “I trust the CDC’s guidance. But my fear of being mistaken for an armed robber is greater than my fear of Covid-19.”
ReplyDelete‘I know what's at stake’: can Biden win over skeptical Sanders supporters? [Click] Asked during the last Democratic debate how he might appeal to Sanders’ supporters if he became the nominee, Biden quipped: “He’s making it hard for me right now.” NO, JOE. You are making it hard for yourself. And your history of being a political weathervane does not help. Don’t blame others—that is what Trump does.
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ReplyDelete+32 cases/no new deaths
4%
The University of Washington modeling for Vermont now estimates most likely total deaths for Vermont at 35, range 29-43. I think it was looking a lot worse not long ago.
DeleteNext Relief Bill Is Last Chance to Ensure a Fair Election [Click] Jonathan Chait: “As House Democrats set to work on the next round of economic relief legislation, they face a more urgent choice than they seem to realize. If they send that bill to President Trump without measures guaranteeing voting rights during the pandemic, they are signing a death warrant for the 2020 election.” Might have a point there. Death warrant for the Democratic Party, candidate, or democracy? Or all three?
ReplyDeleteIt looks to me like we are taking climate change seriously. Not Trump, of course, but not everything depends on the government. We, the people, are opting for renewable energy and electric vehicles. Businesses and local governments are swinging around, too. It's happening.
ReplyDeleteYep. Big Coal and Big Oil are in a world of hurt. Once alternative power autos and trucks can go distances comparable to gasoline powered vehicles, and can have their energy stores topped up about as quickly, the changeover will come very fast. I would still like to have a Pierce Arrow, though...
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ReplyDeleteThe True Scale of Excess Mortality in NYC [Click] Qualitatively, albeit not quantitatively, the same as in northern Italy.
Killing Journalism in Cleveland [Click]
ReplyDeletePresident Trump sidelines watchdog who was to oversee $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus spending.
ReplyDeleteIn battleground Wisconsin, long voter lines, no election results and a missed opportunity to build toward November.
ReplyDeleteSenate Democrats want to issue ‘hazard pay’ of up to $25K to grocery cashiers, transit operators and other essential workers.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much going on...
ReplyDeleteEd Markey falling short of signatures ahead of May deadline [Click] “Harder to gather in-person support in coronavirus era.”
Top Wisconsin Republican Gives Misinformation on Ballots [Click] Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R), who was a driving force behind keeping in-person balloting for today’s primary, falsely claimed that people who didn’t receive ballots they requested can still request e-mailed ballots from their clerk.
Vos, who was wearing personal protective equipment, also said: “You are incredibly safe to go out.” Hmmmm . . . What’s wrong with this picture?
Trump Plans to Reopen Economy Depend on Testing [And how residents voted for him?] [Click]
Coronavirus pandemic pushes U.S. and China closer to cold war [Click]
NRA has laid off more than 60 employees [Click] Fundraising down because of coronavirus.
Trump Blames World Health Organization for Pandemic [Click]
GOP Pollster Sounds Alarms on Coronavirus Messaging [Click] I hope he’s right.
McGrath outraises McConnell in first quarter [Click]
This Is What Happens When a Narcissist Runs a Crisis [Click] The most memorable bit, for me: “During Friday’s news conference, [Trump] added the tests “we inherited were “broken, were obsolete,” when this form of coronavirus didn’t even exist under his predecessor. This sounds an awful lot like one of the three sentences that Homer Simpson swears will get you through life: ‘It was like that when I got here.’”
Re Sen. Markey: Alex Morse is having similar problems gathering signatures. I've signed an online petition urging election officials to change the rules but have not heard how that effort is coming along. Morse is a primary challenger though. It would be a real problem if a sitting senator couldn't get on the ballot.
DeleteActing Navy Sec Resigns After Railing Against Fired Captain [Click] Strange that he was so quick to throw in the towel.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't stand the heat. The backlash on social media and through online petitions and such was tremendous.
DeleteScientists capture image of black hole emitting high-energy jets [Click]
ReplyDeleteYou've all probably already seen this, but...
ReplyDeleteCOVID-19 - An Update for our Customers - Click
The number of Fresno County deaths related to coronavirus rose to three Tuesday, and health officials reported another 22 positive cases.
ReplyDeleteThe county through Tuesday has confirmed 146 positive coronavirus cases, according to the Fresno County Department of Public Health. Information on the third and latest person to die in the county was not immediately available.
It's looking like the statewide lockdown will extend through May.
Video: Pancake the kitten loves his Doberman - Click
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