June 13, 2025
HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! (I Should Invest in a Blimp)
THE TWITCH CHANNEL HAS ITS FIRST SPONSOR!
Join Us Tonight at 9pm EDT/1am UTC Over on https://www.twitch.tv/brickmuppet For a VERY Wholesome Audience Participation Stream, Where We'll be Exploring Teyvat, Chilling With Chat, and...Giving 50% Discounts on Delivered Meal Plans! 'Cause the Stream is Sponsored by Factor-75:
(Actual Link is in Stream)
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June 12, 2025
An Ill Omen
Not the most granular OSINT, but a potentially telling data point nonetheless....
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June 11, 2025
Progress of a Sort
I do apologize for the streaming hiatus of the last two days. There have been both technical, health, and scheduling issues. Streaming will resume Friday evening though!
I actually will be doing my very first paid promotion! The promo is with Factor 75, a meal delivery service, that is rated as one of the 10 best in the country So stop by for a chance to get discounted mail order food via the promo code!
Emotes by AnimeGum
More info to come!
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Thoughts on That Thing That IS NOT HAPPENING
Team Frietas has a lengthy discussion of the completely safe, non-combustible, and peaceful event that is going on now in Los Angeles.
They include some rather optimistic ideas of how this might blow up in Mexico's face, (though I for one am NOT optimistic).
1hr55min
They also reference some twee...x...(OH WHAT DO WE CALL THESE THINGS NOW!?) by Data Republican..who breaks down who is responsible for this mess....I confess the CCP was NOT on my bingo card for this one.
I've linked to both of these recently, but this really is a good discussion (despite the occasional edgy rants by Christian Hines) and well worth one's time. Data Republican's information she's posting on X is eye opening.
I for one am glad that there is currently a continent between me and this mess, even as I anticipate that such separation will not continue much longs as riot season progresses.
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June 08, 2025
TEST
more...
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It's finally RIOT SEASON!
I copy-pasted a screencap from another blog. Given the current image issues IDK if it will be visible, but it talks about the violence erupting in L.A. at the moment because Illegal immigrants are getting deported. The tweet(? what are they called now anyway?) also links to analysis by DataRepublican(small r) indicating that the organization organizing this is largely government funded.
Except for a few specific examples, mostly the U.S. Aid programs that have been taken up by the State Department the vast amounts of Taxpayer money that D.O.G.E discovered has been given to activist groups has not been stopped due to congressional inaction. However that is a real possibility. Secretary Rubio has indicated that about 12% of money allotted to U.S. Aid causes went to the actual causes, meaning that 88% went to....um....
Oh! That's a lot of information behind that "um". Let us have a moment of silence for the sacrifices made by deaf autistic girls in wading through all that data to find the truth.
There.
Now, the up-shot of all this that there are a whole lot of people who have been basically living on sinecures at taxpayer expense and a large number of very big activist organizations that have been funded with money looted from programs that are ostensibly government funded charities. The taxpayer money spigot is now, for the first time since this scam began, actually in very real danger of being turned off. The beneficiaries of this system, faced with loosing their sinecures and rent-a-mobs have always been unlikely to give it up without a fight. (and fight they will)
Heretofore this year, the weather has not been conducive to burning, looting, or murdering, but as we enter summer these beneficiaries of our taxes, who are essentially aristocrats, are likely to get VERY violent (or at least stir others up to violence) in order to protect their payouts and the power they purchase for them.
We are in for a 'long, hot summer'.
Stay safe.
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June 07, 2025
Oh No
THIS looks bad.
Very bad indeed.
But there is some infinitesimal potential for it to be GLORIOUSLY BAD.
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07:29 AM
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I Still Cannot Post Images
But Don has a block of aggregated headlines providing your morning conspiratorial affirmation that the thought leaders and algorithms of the "Omnipotent, Ubiquitous THEY" do not want you to thrive. Everybody have a great weekend!
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June 06, 2025
81 Years Ago Today
Do watch the whole thing. It is a product of it's time (Near the climax of the Cold War). It is also one of the most eloquent missives on the acts and consequences of that desperate day.
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83 Years Ago This Week
Cdr. Salamander has some figures.
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Version 2.0 DROPS!
This is IT!
Join us TONIGHT at 8:30pm EDT/ 12:30am UTC for a very special Friday Stream of Zenless Zone Zero!
We'll be exploring version 2.0 which drops today and reviewing the lore as well as partaking in the story, the pulls and, if things get too talky, we'll just randomly do combat from time to time. This is a HUGE update and an excellent chance to catch up on ZZZ, so grab a drink and a snack before you join us in chat, because we're going to be going much much later than usual.
Zenless Zone Zero is a VERY odd game. A genre-stir-fry set in a post apocalyptic...uh...90s retro-future ( Your character in this gritty future runs...a video store). It is a Gacha game, but is sufficiently FTP friendly that I have not spent a cent on it as of yet in the year I've been playing it.
This ZZZ ad actually has nothing whatsoever to do with the new plot elements and does not quite convey the story, overall tone, or game-play, And yet....it's not wrong.
I recently pulled Burnice, I promise I'll have her in my team tonight.
Stop by tonight, point and laugh at a streamer, and say "Hi!" at https://www.twitch.tv/brickmuppet
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Stuff
more...
Banality is below the fold. Here is a pleasant piece of art as compensation....
Image of Cute Anime Waifu Goes Here
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We Are Now In the Stage of Republican Governance
...where team "R" is on the cusp of, if not victory, at least major progress. This is the point where Republicans traditionally stop, reflect upon the hard fought political battles that got them this far, the hopes and dreams of their long tormented constituents, who might finally get a measure of what they've been promised since 1982, the awful consequences for the nation if they fail, and having so contemplated their journey, the stakes and their cause, adjust their ties, take deep breath, step forward with grim determination, step into a kiddie pool full of gasoline light it on fire and begin beating each other mercilessly with buffalo chips.
HOW THE F#%k CAN THIS HAVE POSSIBLY....HAPPENED.....um.....AGAIN?
There is some hope to be sure, it can be found over at Issues and Insights, deep within the narrowing corridors of the editorial boards sanity. There is even more solace to be found in the foetid cesspits of a similar mental instability I like to refer to as Tuckertardation.
But, those of us who have been through this before know that it's neither super-genius, nor the dark machinations of an Illuminati controlled M.I.C. Rather it's men with agency who believe in something strongly and have different opinions. Tyrannical movements tend to purge those with strong opinions and convictions. They rely upon the agreeable, the compliant, the front-of-the-class-kids who can be relied upon to follow every regulation and helpfully tell the authorities where the non-compliant people are. Despots rely on those who "just don't want any trouble" to guard the camps in which they collect those who dare say "No!"
This also means that tyranny has a major advantage, because they have much better discipline in their ranks. Theirs is not particularly good at innovation, but for pursuing the goals of the clusterB personalities that inevitably float to the top of the commodes that are most top-down, technocratic political movements, they are frequently superior. Despotism is, as Fisher Ames is said to have said..
...like a sleek craft, it sails along well until some bumbling captain runs it into the rocks. Democracy, on the other hand, is like a raft. It never goes down but, dammit, your feet are always wet.
In my experience (note: I am a focus group of 1) this has been the way things play out. The cLiberal, Libertarian, & Conservative, types have strong convictions and are individualists. The progressives have whatever the most recent encyclical from Blue Sky tells them their convictions are, and they are collectivists that crave being part of the group. Things will almost ALWAYS go smoother on the other side, regarding internal discussions...until it doesn't...and when it doesn't it's because their fashion oriented, herd-like mentality predicated against speaking up while the aforementioned Blue-Sky encyclicals compounded in an orgy of virtue signaling and fashionable one-upmanship into an avalanche of sub-optimalization and someone finally has the temerity to notice that they are going off a cliff.
So no. I'm not holding out some forlorn hope that this is not an epic mess. I've seen this happen too many times. My preferred candidate has never won a primary. This is par for the course and part of being the side that's more free.
This well and truly suck, but if it does not result in utter defeat it can lead to better, more refined policies and better ultimate outcomes.
That up there is a pretty big "if".
There is no denying that this is a dumpster fire that has escalated because of the immense egos of two men whose discourse is rather less erudite, philosophical, and profound than we would like.
For THAT discussion, go to Nick Frietas...
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June 03, 2025
Because: "WHY THE HELL NOT !?"
I wonder about the decision tree that led to this outcome.
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May 26, 2025
Between Beer & Barbecue, do Ponder
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae, 1915
******************************
I went into a public 'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes," when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!
Rudyard Kipling, 1890
******************************
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Variously attributed to Winston Churchill or George Orwell
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May 21, 2025
Riot Season
Laughing Wolf has a good overview of the situation we find ourselves in on multiple fronts.
Read the whole thing. It IS long but it is the best overview I've seen.
I think he's right that we are going into riot season. The NGOs and Democrat activists are looking at their money spigot being turned off by D.O.G.E. and they are rather annoyed at having their sinecures disrupted. They are coming to realize thar they are sitting on the last pile of money they will get from the taxpayers...unless they can intimidate enough people to halt the reforms that threaten their rice bowls.
They are likely to get quite violent this summer.
Foreign adversaries are likely to act as spoilers in the coming unpleasantness, and bad actors have placed a great many operatives throughout the country over the 4 years of the previous administration.
We are likely in for a ride.
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Updates and Wound Care
Last week I learned that while applying antibiotics/antiseptics when initially dressing a wound is important, continuing to do so every time one changes the bandage will prevent healing as it kills people cells as well as infections. This, Ironically enough will inhibit the wound from closing up, making it much more likely that an infection will find its way into the wound during the extended healing time, no matter how well it's wrapped, especially if doing yard work.
I am ambulatory now and come off the antibiotics Friday. I returned to work today and discovered that lying in bed for a week with one's foot elevated does NOTHING to prepare one for returning to a very physical job.
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May 06, 2025
Weather Patterns
Apropos of nothing at all.
This .gif shows sunlight reductions that are expected in the months after 100-150 10-15 kiloton nukes go off in a general nuclear exchange between India & Pakistan in May given seasonal wind patterns. Late April to mid-late May is the time that such an event would have maximum effect on the start of growing seasons worldwide, hence the dates on the .gif (which is over a decade old IIRC). While not noticeable to most people on the round such reductions have the potential to have a nontrivial effect on crop yields and growing seasons for the rest of the year. The good news is that soot, the mechanism of the reduction, will not persist long. The bad news, given the current situation on the subcontinent, is that average yields of the weapons involved are now believed to be 10 to 40 kilotons and both countries have about twice as many nukes as they did when the map was made.
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April 13, 2025
More on Tariffs and Such
UPDATE: I'm ideologically and philosophically skeptical of tariffs as a concept. However, free trade is a two way street, and there are countries that have tariffs on out goods of over 200%. So I'm at least open to the concept.
However, a trade war, particularly given how shaky the global economy is right now, it a quite scary prospect, so there are good arguments for not picking at this scab right now.
On the other hand it is vanishingly unlikely that there will ever be a time to reset global trade to something sane that will not involve risk. This is akin to the conundrum cities face with getting rid of rent control. Trump is term limited and no other president is likely to pursue this with any degree of enthusiasm, so a whole host of counterarguments can be made that it's now or never.
On the gripping hand the people crying most loudly about this are not folks who have been free traders historically, but are people who seem VERY upset at having their rice bowls tipped over. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is not a valid political strategy, but when our tormentors are THIS upset by something, that something should at least be looked at closely. While it is more likely that they are enraged at the loss of their cushy sinecures and their many investments at our expense, it is actually possible that their very different perspective on reality might have given them an insight into something that is a blind spot for us. Both possibilities need to be looked at, but time is running out.
The future is an unlit road, we are driving down it with no headlights and the gas pedal on the floor. Let us pray that the ultimate destination is pleasant, for the drive is likely to be bumpy.
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April 07, 2025
A.I is going to take our....Wait. What!?
Over at .Clue, J.Greely has a selection of episode reviews of anime from current week, all of which are worth reading. He also notes, as an aside, that he has been experimenting with a LLM FOR SCIENCE! and....um...
I remember when Projekt Melody's origin story was considered silly and contrived. Now I'm beginning to suspect it's actually a warning for us all.
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