A letter to my Congressman: Earlier today, President Trump said that he wants to suspend the federal gas tax of roughly 18 cents per gallon in light of high gas prices due to the conflict in the Persian Gulf. Suspending the gas tax would require an act of Congress. I stand firmly opposed to legislationContinue reading “A Letter to My Congressman: Iran and the Gas Tax”
Over the LEGOs and Far Away
Facebook has done weird on me of late, serving me algorithmic content I have absolutely no need for or interest in. News from places I’ve never been. Ads for restaurants in other states. That sort of thing. Great work, Zuck. Way to spend the ad dollars wisely. But sometimes, I get some quality. Case inContinue reading “Over the LEGOs and Far Away”
“I Will Take the Ring to Battersea Power Station”
The more I look at this, the weirder it is and the more confused I am. Just the other day I wrote about the LEGO Guinness set that was clearly AI generated slop. (More anon.) And now Facebook serves me this… Yes, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The FellowshipContinue reading ““I Will Take the Ring to Battersea Power Station””
Is There Something in the South Carolina Water? I Hate That I Have to Ask…
Can anyone explain to me why the Hagia Sophia — the former basilica built by the Emperor Justinian, now a mosque in Istanbul — is a campaign issue in South Carolina’s Senate race? Anyone? Anyone? No? My inner historian is scratching his head and biting his lower lip in abject confusion. Constantinople fell to theContinue reading “Is There Something in the South Carolina Water? I Hate That I Have to Ask…”
Getting Pissed at the AI Slop
Given the subject matter of what I am about to write, you may wonder if I mean “pissed” in the Irish sense — getting drunk — or the American sense — irritated. You are right to wonder! Last evening, after I returned from several days in the Old Dominion, Facebook hit me up with anContinue reading “Getting Pissed at the AI Slop”
The Last Card
Grief is weird. Today was the Lancaster Stormers’ Fan Fest. They were to play an exhibition game against the Black Sox (a traveling semi-pro team, AIUI) before the Atlantic League season begins on Tuesday. When I entered the stadium, I saw tables set up around the concourse. A local elementary school was holding an artsContinue reading “The Last Card”
Stupid Eye Tricks
I saw this on Twitter a few days ago and meant to write about it then. But it’s neither urgent nor important, so it fell by the wayside. This post features an image full of the digit 3… and somewhere in that field is a 5! Apparently, it is “absolutely impossible” to find the 5Continue reading “Stupid Eye Tricks”
The Bee on the Sidewalk
The bee looked dead. It lay on the sidewalk, unmoving, its wings splayed at its sides. A fellow bee hovered over it, as though it knew its brother, its playmate had fallen and was waiting for him to return to the sky. It’s a lovely afternoon. I was sitting outside, reading Ring Lardner’s How toContinue reading “The Bee on the Sidewalk”
Things I Can’t Buy
Ah, Facebook, you know me! Facebook serves ads. Ads and algorithmic content are Facebook’s raison d’être, after all, not keeping up with friends, family, and things of interest. It’s vitally important that Facebook show me interesting restaurants in Memphis (never been) and concerts I’d like to see in Tulsa (also never been) instead of, oh,Continue reading “Things I Can’t Buy”
Archons and Pentacostines: An Exegesis
There’s an amusing Tweet I’ve seen the last few years about hardcore Catholic converts that amuses me in a dark, sarcastic way. You’ve probably seen it, too. Let’s do some exegesis here. “Archon” is a Greek term meaning “ruler.” So, a ruler of Constantinople. But this ruler is writing an “epistle on the… eucharist,” soContinue reading “Archons and Pentacostines: An Exegesis”