Routine Revelations

MLB camps have opened. Despite the weather, Spring is coming!

James Madison and his colleagues believed that by deviating from theoretical majority-rules principles, the American republic would benefit from more stability, a better protection of rights, and generally a higher quality of person in positions of authority. But ironically, it is precisely where minority rule bites deepest that this promise is revealed to be most false. – David Frum, Democracy Is the Only Solution

Madison could not have imagined how the Constitution they wrote creates the structure that allows the combination of technology and wealth to create autocratic minority rule. People who believe the U.S. Constitution is without flaw need to address for whom does it really provide liberty?

Joe Biden will tackle global chip shortage with executive order

There’s a chip shortage? Like dude, what am I going to do when I have the munchies?

Looking at the case counts and deaths per day for the county in which I live and wonder what will become the accepted “normal” number? I don’t think these numbers will ever get to zero. I imagine they get to many days of zero so we only track monthly numbers, then eventually seasonal numbers, and we probably won’t get there until several years have passed.

“Many Republicans do not accept Democratic governance as a legitimate outcome” of elections, said Thomas Zimmer, a history professor at Georgetown University who is writing a book about political divides in America. “America is nearing a crisis of democratic legitimacy because one side is trying to erect one-party minority rule.” Source: FiveThirtyEight

This article lays waste the claim that both parties are equally bad.

The article, Why Generation X will save the web, makes an important point for those concerned about new laws written regarding the Internet:

Government and policy – the mechanics and grunt work, not the media showmanship – are powered by an army of hard-working, very young people who have all of the academic knowledge and very little of the practical experience. Those young folks, now, in 2021, who were in nappies when I was on the Hill, now run whatever corridors of power they (virtually) travel through, in professional support of those older politicians.

And it’s these young professionals – not the boomer career politicians – who are setting the tone of internet policy.

As the article suggests, we tend to think it’s gray haired Senators, who don’t understand the Internet, who are going to write new laws against encryption and other parts of what we call the open Internet, and that is wrong. The laws will be written by millenials who have never known the open Internet. The only Internet millenials know is the bad, closed corporate Internet of Facebook and Twitter and Medium.

We shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t protect that which they have never known nor experienced.

Celebrating day 2,190

A year ago we spent a few days in Detroit, not knowing then that it would be our last social outing of the year. A year later and we have no idea when we will do something like it again.

We are making super bowl chili. That is all.

I am using Things to manage my personal lists on my iPads. Things is a really nice app but one frustration I have is that when I tap a lost item to expand it tapping it a second time does not collapse the item. It seems the only way to collapse is to tap on another list or try to find a blank space, which is inconsistent and not intuitive.

It’s been a hectic week at work. Heads down analyzing a problem since Wednesday and then another problem came in to the inbox on Thursday. Murphy is still on his game. My wife informed me she noticed my pre-occupation by my leaving the inside door to the garage open today, quickly noticeable to her on a sub 10 degree wind chill day.

I am happy to report that the keyboard shortcuts are back in the Pocket web app. Made my day.

One good thing about COVID-19, it’s caused a very mild flu season.

Is it a good thing that more and more citizens, as a consequence of 401ks and easier accessibility (Robinhood) are capitalists? I am skeptical because it feels to me more like assimilation by corporations resulting in people in rural areas voting against their true interests.

It seems to me that in many ways the current Apple culture is similar to the culture that famous 1984 commercial claimed it was against. Ironic. Tyranny of the big company.

Oh, Aaron Burr, sir., you did so much damage because you could not see…source

In 1806, on the advice of Vice President Aaron Burr (who thought it redundant), the Senate dropped the “previous question” — a motion to end debate and bring an item up for immediate vote — from its rules. Without a motion to call the previous question, however, an individual senator could, in theory, hold the floor indefinitely.

Fresh snow fall can make one wonder what the heck goes on outside at night. Note we do not have a dog or cat, but we do have a sump pump.

There are currently 34 national emergencies, the oldest dating from November, 1979.

Pretty snow came down overnight.