08:55 – Last night I started reading Last Light by Terri Blackstock, Book One in the Restoration series. Ugh. Turns out it’s a fundie religious PA book. Religious porn like this needs to have a prominent label to warn normal people not to bother even picking it up. I’d never heard of the author, which surprised me since she was listed as a NYT Bestseller who’d sold 6 million copies of her books. Turns out that’s because she’s a “Christian author”, and about 5,999,999 of those copies were purchased by fundies. I’m surprised Amazon didn’t flag this title as “WARNING! OFFENSIVE RELIGIOUS CONTENT!”
In fact, all novels with religious content need to have appropriate warning flags. They already do it for inoffensive stuff like sex, describing them as “adult novels”. Why shouldn’t they also do it for truly offensive stuff like fundie propaganda? In particular, garbage books like this that feature full frontal religion should be kept segregated from stuff that normal people read. Books with no religious content at all could be given a G rating; ones with minor religious content like people attending church or praying occasionally could be given a PG or PG-13; ones where religion is a significant part of the book an R; and fundie garbage like this should be given an X and kept away from impressionable young people.
16:23 – Here’s a result they didn’t want to see. The hard left MSNBC was foolish enough to run a poll on carrying guns. The choices were:
1. Yes! The Second Amendment guarantees it.
2. No, it’s too dangerous.
3. Only for self defense.
Obviously, choices 1 and 3 were intended to split the pro-gun vote and allow the No vote to win. But things didn’t work out quite that way. When I checked a moment ago, #1 was far in the lead with 219K votes (91%), #2 was a far-distant second with 12K votes (5%), and the red-herring #3 came in last at about 9K votes (4%). I went ahead and grabbed a screen shot, because you can be sure this one will disappear into the bit bucket. It’s what MSM does.
What prompts you to troll through the world of prepper garbage novels in the first place? I’d have thought there was enough good information out there to spend at least ten lifetimes collecting it, and that you’d get more than enough exposure to trash even when trying to avoid it. (Of course I don’t mean “good information organized for preppers”, just good information that’s highly relevant. Organizing it for preppers would be why you’re writing the book.)
Of course a man has to do something to relax, but aren’t there better ways?
Good point. I’ve been using it to make me think about situations I hadn’t considered, but these junk PA novelists don’t have enough imagination combined to make one decent novelist.
And the truth is that I probably get enough of that kind of thing from you guys. But, like most Aspies and high-IQ people in general, I’m extremely focused, and it helps immensely to have other ideas that force me to think outside the proverbial box.
For example, the clichéd rush to stores and gas stations when it becomes obvious that there’s an emergency. Thinking that through, I decided that a store or gas station is the last place I want to be in that situation, because:
a. I’d better already have everything we need, or I’ve screwed up big time,
b. A panic-buying situation is dangerous and possibly lethal for anyone present,
c. If I’m at the store or gas station, I’m not at home defending ourselves and our property,
d. There are many other critical actions that need to be taken in the first minutes and hours of an emergency, and heading to the store takes time that would be better spent on those critical actions,
e. We’ll already be better-prepared than 99.9+% of the others around us, so I’d be taking stuff that they really need.
@ruby
@rick
Website notes.
On kindle, return to top button stays centered on the calender, not wherever you are on the page.
Comment form still doesn’t have the insert text cursor, and the shift tab trick doesn’t work, because of the virtual keyboard.
Android is working well, pinch zoom and reflow work well. No pc this week, so reading on phone and kindle.
Nick
Hmm. My traffic and comments have been lower since the change. I hope I haven’t drive people off.
I noticed the lower comment numbers, but attributed it to the posts. I didn’t have anything to contribute to most of them in the past week.
Nick
I am certain that any drop in traffic is due to the drop in fart jokes.
I think OFD is on “vacation”, he provides a fair share of traffic.
Hey OFD, we need a little stirring up.
Unless there is some miracle this year’s apple crop is going to be poor, stone fruit too. The Yakima Valley and Wenatchee Valley are major apple producers and the farmers have lost access to essentially all their water in the Yakima Valley and most of their water in the Wenatchee Valley. Grapes are going to be next. Many of these farmers have water rights that go back in the family to the early 1800s. While water levels are low, IMHO the regulators are creating an unnecessary panic.
I don’t mind religion in a novel, if it is either in the background, or else an important part of the plot. However, books that throw it in as a social message are just as unpleasant as SJW novels with social messages.
We’re not the only ones to feel this way. It’s always worth a glance at the reviews on Amazon. In this case, the first line of the “most useful” review states “I had no idea “Last Light” was written by a “Christian Writer” when I bought this book…I don’t think I would have purchased it.”
I feel the same way about any novel that is really a platform for the author’s political views, whether they’re left, right, or (yes) libertarian. The purpose of a novel is to entertain, not to convert or propagandize. That’s why there are non-fiction sections.
OFD is on vacation and that cuts a lot of comments, almost as many as mine. Plus, I suspect that intersection of the old gripers club, the Christian believers, and the preppers club is quite high on this board. Personally, I try to look beyond the Christian criticism and enjoy the daily message and voluminous comments. But the criticism is hurtful at times and makes me wonder if my daily journey should include this place.
I am certain that any drop in traffic is due to the drop in fart jokes.
Or nothing about LED flashlights.
I think OFD is on “vacation”, he provides a fair share of traffic.
OFD has had to deal with the TSA, things could have gotten unpleasant…
My wife’s cousin’s husband that had the vitrectomy to remove the floaters in his right eye is much worse now. He has had floaters all his life and they got so bad in the last couple of years that he could not focus on anything. Last Wednesday, his retina in that eye completely detached and he is essentially blind in that eye. They went back in and put an air bubble in his eye Thursday. They are having him lay on his stomach 45 minutes out of every hour in the hope that the retina will re-attach.
We now have a completed foundation in the back yard for the 455 ft2 game room addition to the house. They pulled the forms off this morning. It looks beautiful and the framers come Monday. The game room and bath room will have ten foot ceilings along with a gable roof to the rearmost point so that is a lot of wood. Gotta go buy doors today and still find an HVAC contractor.
Putting them together, we get the alcoholic proctologist who, being handed a beer, told his nurse, “No, I asked for a butt light.”
@nick
Regarding the Kindle problem, which model? And does the problem occur in portrait or landscape mode (or both)?
The return to top arrow is supposed to appear in lower right corner of screen when you scroll down the page (it doesn’t appear when you are at the top of the page).
I don’t have a Kindle, but the Firefox responsive design viewer (with Ctrl+Shift+M) shows things working at the resolutions it has available. So a model number, with a resolution value, might help.
As for the comment form, still looking into that. I don’t see it on one of the other sites I run that use the same theme, but those have a bit more customization involved. I’ll work on it.
Does your name appear in the Name field when you first look at the form? It’s put there by a cookie, so if you have cookies disabled for the site (on that device), those fields are not pre-filled.
Any comments on the line spacing of text, or the font?
…RIck…
“OFD has had to deal with the TSA, things could have gotten unpleasant…”
And they were, last night, at the Newark Airport. I covered my “vay-cay” info in a couple of other, earlier posts today.
I guess I coulda got on here with my Kindle and kept the traffic stats up to a respectable level, haha, but I was making friends with Casper the Friendly Goat and his pals and traipsing around the farm and woods down there on the Delaware in that hot Jersey sun. Mrs. OFD, however, got to learn the truth of my reports that the stereotypes about NJ are bullshit. Gave her a nice, extensive tour of the western farmlands, small towns and forests there and she was quite impressed.
I was not packing heat during my rambles but I have other means and methods at my disposable if the situation does not rise to the level of a full-fledged firefight or some such disaster. Interestingly enough, I did pack heat when I lived down there twenty years ago with nary a problem.
As for it being a “vacation,” I guess it was, ’cause now I’m back on the five-page To-Do List here and wife is heading out to Kalifornia early tomorrow AM; I won’t be, as I’ve had my fill of planes, airports, and Megalopolis for the foreseeable few-chuh.
My only other observation is that having driven through Philadelphia at one point, and paht of Newark at others, I really do not see how the many tens of millions of city dwellers are gonna be able to survive on this continent. They are utterly dependent on the Grid always being up, water and sewage connections, fire and police, and the supermarket shelves full of stuff. A look through the Selco material and his experiences while Yugoslavia fell apart (earlier link/s provided by Mr. nick, if memory serves) ought to be required reading for any urban folks on this list.
http://shtfschool.com/
It’s not criticism of any particular religion, so don’t feel singled out. It’s criticism of True Believers of any religion.
BTW, when the concrete dudes were pouring the new foundation yesterday in 100 F heat, they had a really cool motorized riding wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow was at least one cubic yard and the operator stood on the rear and drove it around. Plus the barrow had a hydraulic lift to dump it. Very cool!
BTW, the new foundation took 20 cubic yards of concrete. Two trucks!
Including but not limited to Warmenism and Socialism.
Yes. When someone makes an assertion that affects me, including AGW and Socialism, I want evidence, and I don’t mean models or simple repeated assertions. I mean actual data. I guess I’m old-fashioned that way.
@Rick,
It’s an early kindle fire, can’t access it atm due to sleeping child.
Line spacing and readability looked good. I’ll check the portrait/landscape when the demon has had enough sleep to revert to loving sweetness.
My name and email don’t pre fill, but I might not have ever commented before from that device. For all I know, Android browser might have the same problem, but my info is pre filled from before the change. (On my phone)(update-I can’t get an edit cursor in the name field on the phone either.)
I generally don’t do anything on the kindle except read books, but I’m traveling and missed my daily dose 🙂 The tablet form is pretty nice for consuming content.
Nick
I covered my “vay-cay” info in a couple of other, earlier posts today.
Which seem to not be be here… (cue eerie music sound effect).
@ofd,
This is my first time traveling with the hardware. It was actually a little easier at check in, as I button holed the actual United rep at the counter(not the hired shlubs) and asked him discreetly for the declaration form. We went to the side, he verified my locking hard side case, put in the form, and then came back and tagged the other bags. Bags arrived no problem.
I’ve carried every where here but the private beach.
FWIW, you too can reap the benefit of declaring hardware, just carry a $40 stripped lower. Guarantee your bag will arrive when you do.
The downside is the hardware and safe together weigh 10+ pounds. I had to move some stuff to another bag to stay under the limit.
So far so good, and much improvement in my state of mind.
Nick
No, you have that exactly backward. Throughout history, simple assertions, repeated assertions, proof by authority, proof by might, and proof by revelation were the dominant methods of informing one’s beliefs and actions. This is arguably still the case for most of humanity.
This notion of evidence and logic and proof and replicability and usefulness in prediction of future events is not only historically new-fangled, it comes from white male thought. Therefore, by insisting on evidence and all the rest, you are culturally insensitive as well as being a racist and masculine supremicist.
I’m sure you will agree that my facts are unimpeachable and my logic is impeccable. Er… that means I’m a racist, too. Dammit!
I mean actual data
How about manipulated data? I cannot believe that Hansen and his bunch had the audacity to “normalize” the actual temperature record and call that actual data.
https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/tracking-us-temperature-fraud/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/globalwarming/11395516/The-fiddling-with-temperature-data-is-the-biggest-science-scandal-ever.html
http://www.climatedepot.com/2015/01/22/princeton-pysicist-dr-will-happer-on-agw-data-has-been-manipulated-honest-scientific-debate-has-been-stifled-educational-institutions-have-been-turned-into-brain-washing-centers-for-the-cause/
And it is all about money. Oh wait, it is always about money. Especially when they say it is not about money.
Which seem to not be be here… (cue eerie music sound effect).
One of OFD’s posts dated today appears in last Thursday’s comments.
I can still only fill in the Name* field by clicking on Email* and doing a Shift+Tab (I’m using a desktop.)
My only other observation is that having driven through Philadelphia at one point, and paht of Newark at others, I really do not see how the many tens of millions of city dwellers are gonna be able to survive on this continent. They are utterly dependent on the Grid always being up, water and sewage connections, fire and police, and the supermarket shelves full of stuff. A look through the Selco material and his experiences while Yugoslavia fell apart (earlier link/s provided by Mr. nick, if memory serves) ought to be required reading for any urban folks on this list.
Wasn’t Selcos situation caused by invading forces? Or did the area actually lose the rule of law?
Selco’s predicament was mainly caused by the breakup of Yugoslavia and the sudden and rapid loss of State control of anything much; I dunno about “invading forces” so much as roving bands of armed thugs, basically, and who knows from whence or what mil-spec outfit they may have been in before. “Rule of law”??? R U joking??? There was zero rule of law. It was back, within weeks, to Hobbesian “state of nature,” where the hand of every man is raised against every other man.
Picture North Murkan cities after a collapse of the State and its ability to pay or control its troops and police, let alone provide water and sewage or medical care, food, etc. I reckon it would make Selco’s situation look like a day at the beach, with orders of magnitude more firepower and violence.
OFD’s comments are dated today because he posted them today, and they’re in my post for the 19th rather than today because that’s where OFD decided to post them.
Manipulated “data” are not data of any sort. Models are not data, even if the model matches well to historical data and successfully predicts future data. Data is observable fact, pure and simple.
I’ve often illustrated this by asking would-be scientists to categorize the statement “The sun will rise tomorrow morning.” Most categorize it as fact, and are stunned when I tell them that it cannot be a fact because it has not yet happened. That statement is a statement of theory, which of course is the next closest thing to fact. The sun has risen every morning since records have been kept, and we can assume with high certainty that it rose every morning before that, including on mornings when no one recorded the datum and mornings when there were not yet people to observe the datum.
The roof top pool area of The Cosmopolitan Hotel/Condo on the Vegas Strip is on fire. People are evacuating. And liberal douches are already citing Climate Ejaculation! I’m citing some derp with a ciggie.
“… because that’s where OFD decided to post them.”
Arrogant self-righteous prick that he is. Other days the bastid posts them on whatever day he opened up the site. What a dick.
“I’m citing some derp with a ciggie.”
The derp has a ciggie or you do? See how tricky the English language is, Grasshopper?
And when you’re “citing” him, does that mean you are merely quoting him or issuing him a citation?
Yup, I’m a genuine English-language dick!
Long haired hippy WHITE! racist hetero proto-ape hyper-literate semi-human dick!
lol Obola bashing Kenyan prez over “gay rights”. Kenyan prez says it’s a non- issue. Obummer should try that with Putin, or ISIS.
And Seattle $15/hr wage earners whining that they are making too much and are losing gummint bennies. Want to cut their hours. I’d fire them. How’s that for an hour reduction.
I have recently been thinking about this. I was wondering how many people are followers on a daily basis -like myself- but with seldom or no contributions at all.
Would you care to share?
Regular readers outnumber commenters by probably several hundred to one.
G2 sent me a pic of Mr. and Mrs. OFD down on the farm in NJ.
Welcome back Mr. OFD. Missed ya!
You can’t fool me, MrAtoz! That’s Michelle Obama and some white chick, both naked.
I’m going to Hell, but, Silver Back.
Uh… Assuming “Silver Back” is meant to be humorous, I don’t get it. I tried viewing it as a pun, I looked at it as the kind of gorilla (which I don’t think that suit was), I looked very carefully at the white chick’s backside to see if it was silver*, and I couldn’t think of any other way it could apply.
* Forgot to mention, above, but I like her dress.
@Rick
Is a fire d01400, if my wife’s eye’s are seeing it correctly. The name field highlights when tapped, but no insert cursor, no popup keyboard. Pinch zoom works, but unlike my phone doesn’t reflow text. That’s OK with me.
Every thing seems to work the same in landscape and portrait, with the return to top arrow stuck in the middle of the calender at the top of the page.
Ask me anything else, I’ll check on it.
Nick
“Long haired hippy WHITE! racist hetero proto-ape hyper-literate semi-human dick!”
Remove “hippy” (which is spelled “hippie” by the way, geez!) and chuck in “Roman Catholic triumphalist breeder” and we’re good!
“Welcome back Mr. OFD. Missed ya!”
Likewise. I am actually that much taller than Mrs. OFD, who, by the way, also has red hair, not blonde, another indicator of that Neanderthal stuff. She’s also 5’10” and Princess, with light brown hair/blonde highlights is six feet. I’m not that much heavier, though, not anymore. A mere wisp of my fommuh self.
“I’m going to Hell…”
Sorry, I took your spot.
Age before beauty and all that.
A year or so ago I posted what may be a picture of a Neanderthal cutie.
http://www.ttgnet.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/redhead_MG42_3945-1024×490.jpg
Yeah, I remember dat pic. I would not be averse to mating with any redheaded Neanderthalen cuties like dat…if I wasn’t already chained to one…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6P2_i0Y6ms
Just saw that MSNBC screen shot you put up; they must really hate themselves now for running that poll. Guaranteed that will be gone by morning. Just like in the old Soviet Union; they create their own reality and change history anytime they feel like it.
But most Murkans are utterly clueless:
“Americans need to face the facts. The loss of character means the loss of liberty and the transformation of government into a criminal enterprise.”
Hahahaha….it’s already too late, Mr. Roberts; we’ve been ruled by criminal scum for decades now. Anyone who doesn’t see this yet is either willfully blind, ignorant or couldn’t care less.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/07/paul-craig-roberts/eroding-character/
Voting for Tweedledum or Tweedledee won’t help us.
And I see the brilliant Dennis Rodman has now endorsed the Trumpster, who, by the way, screwed over many, many of our fellow Murkan derps and skated repeatedly. Is he a war criminal traitor like Field Marshal Rodham, though? No. But given the power, he’d fall right into the same line. As would any of the candidates, including Sanders. Once they get to Mordor, GAME OVER. They’re told when to jump and how high.
A most pleasant evening to all and sundry; OFD is toddling off to bed with his fellow Neanderthal spouse and we gotta be up at the Ass-Crack of Dawn again for yet another fun trip to the airport.
Remove “hippy” (which is spelled “hippie” by the way, geez!) and chuck in “Roman Catholic triumphalist breeder” and we’re good!
Hyper-literate? Remember all those rock concerts and dope sucking in your younger days? I was using the urbandictionary.com definition in this case.
The hippy is a sex position where three guys are doing three girls doggy style while the girls are all making out. All the while, all three guys are fist pounding, thus resembling a peace sign.
Thanks for the link to the MSNBC poll. I held my nose, gave that page temporary JavaScript permissions (so I could actually see the poll), and voted 1. We’re up to 92% now (11.00 BST). I have also passed on the link to a few hundred of my closest, like-minded, friends.
PS/ETA: I also had to fill the email field, then Shift-Tab to the name field to get the comment form to work. No other problems with the new layout on Linux/Firefox so far…
“Hyper-literate? Remember all those rock concerts and dope sucking in your younger days? ”
Why yes, now that you mention it…
“The hippy is a sex position…”
I sure am old and out of touch, I guess; never heard of this. OK, Gramps is gonna go sit out on the porch now and listen to the radio…maybe the ball game is on…hey you damn kids get off my lawn!
Lynn wrote:
“We now have a completed foundation in the back yard for the 455 ft2 game room addition to the house.”
I take it this means you’re no longer planning on moving in the near future…
And that he put down a 7.12″ thick foundation for that room, assuming IRC that it took 10 CY.
The urban dictionary is a great site if you want definitions of terms that are written by trolls.
“We now have a completed foundation in the back yard for the 455 ft2 game room addition to the house.”
I take it this means you’re no longer planning on moving in the near future…
Yup, we pulled the trigger on the addition. It is costing me about $200/ft2 and I figure the value to the house is $130/ft2. So, we will not be moving anytime soon due to the sunk cost. Unless, the most awesome house comes on the market for the most awesome price.
Plus, it is fairly obvious to me that the crude oil inventory in the USA is way over supplied. So, the current $50/bbl cost should be dropping soon. Each dollar below $50/bbl will probably raise the unemployment rate in the Houston area by a corresponding one percent. I am not sure what the bottom is but it could be as low as $25/bbl for six months.
With this nonsense going on with the economy, I did not want to buy a $100,000 lot and build a $500,000 home on it. So, adding a $85,000 addition becomes logical at that point.
And that he put down a 7.12″ thick foundation for that room, assuming IRC that it took 10 CY.
Six inch thick slab. Plus a three foot deep one foot wide perimeter concrete beam and three interior concrete beams. 20 cubic yards of concrete (2 trucks).
Now that OFD is back, this site’s numbers will soar again! I feel better already. Srsly
🙂
Hey, OFD don’t mean to hog the whole dang conversation; WTF? I could drop those numbers again simply by analyzing some nice medieval epics in the original languages….
…naw…only as a counterweight to the flashlight epics…
To hell with me; where the fuck is Mr. Chuck??? Anyone have any contact whatsoever?
Yeah, sure do miss him. This site used to have a LOT more computer stuff.
So let’s say you’re a kid and you want to read medieval literature in bed. What flashlight would work best for reading under the blanket so you don’t get caught by your parents?
“…want to read medieval literature in bed” on your paperwhite Kindle.
There, fixed that for you.
“…you’re a kid and you want to read medieval literature in bed.”
An extraordinary notion in these parlous times. And a situation under the new Soviet-style regime here where it would be the PARENTS who turn in Junior or, more likely, their daughter. Why is this, you ask? Because medieval lit is replete with patriarchal and Christian religious imagery and much of it emanates from that ancient stronghold of hetero white male Christian European hegemony in western Europe.
Rather than the paperwhite Kindle, I’d recommend something infrared and small, while also finding a means of temporarily disabling the installed surveillance cameras and microphones, but fear that despite my assiduous study of the topic on this board, I am still woefully inadequate to come up with an actual brand name or model at this time.