Interesting

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Likely I’ll be away from keyboard all day, till wee hours when, with luck, I’ll do instapundit posting. And the week will be spotty. (If you’ve sent me a post and I haven’t run it/told you I wasn’t going to run it, this is your time to seek non-lucrative opportunities in blog guesting!) We’re dealing hopefully (please Lord!) with the last stuff with getting the house ready to re-list (though we’ll probably wait till after Christmas to pull the trigger.) So it will be messy and weird, and involve late night talks, etc, which means I might or might not post even vaguely on time. Be not alarmed, okay?

For today, I was amused by finding this video. Note their recommendations are almost exactly the same as mine. (Despite their seeming to be a bit confused or perhaps obfuscating on what the danger is, at least according to the imagery. Eh.)

Stop obeying. Laugh at them (they are, for the record, utterly ridiculous. Perhaps too much so, because they hit the “Too ridiculous to believe” or “So strange they’re scary.) And, of course “Build under, build over, build around.” Make them irrelevant.

Because they’re too dangerous to let run on as they have. And we will not be stampeded off the cliff.

81 thoughts on “Interesting”

  1. Today I was amused by a redditor renaming furry kitten-kobolds to “kittybolds” and narrating an encounter with a dog. Yes, I am that easily amused.

    Sounds like busy things have got you in their grip. Remember to drink water, and keep good posture. Because the last thing you need is backaches on top of everything else. May your day be productive and may real world social interaction be less stressful. This little blog is in good hands. Paws. Talons. Tentacles. Something like that, anyway. *grin*

      1. Nope!

        K:

        The thing I love about cats is that they’re
        basically born ready to throw down. There’s
        something strangely life-affirming about seeing
        a ball of fuzz that could fit in the palm of your
        hand with room to spare react to an unfamiliar
        creature literally a hundred times its size by
        going “I roll Intimidation”.

        3. Yeah they’re kind of born shouting “Molon Labe” or “Death First!!!”. You have to respect them for that, They fit in well with this group.

      2. Yes, it is redundant. That’s part of what made me chuckle. The meme in quesiton:

        From this thread:

        When you don’t know how many it’ll take to take you out, but you know there are a million more hiding nearby from dndmemes

        One of ours once tried to hiss down a garbage truck. He was in the middle of the road, having escaped the penitentiary called “house” and decided to stand his ground right there. Fortunately, the driver was otherwise occupied and we were able to grab him. This is the same fearless little snot that kept bringing us snakes when he was little, then progressively larger prey to proclaim what a mighty hunter he was. Possums. Skunks. Various birds. Twenty nine pounds of “if it looks the same size or smaller, it is prey.” And a total sucker for peanut butter. Any time the jar was open, he’d be right behind your heels.

        1. That kind of insanity is the one reason I slightly avoid Siamese cats — my grandmother’s wonderful old mouser.

          She faced down swathers.

          And survived at least four times.

          (two chunks of tail, an ear and a foot. The front foot was one of the FIRST times)

          We are not entirely sure if the lack of badgers in the area until after her death was a coincidence or some kind of MAD for animals….

          1. One of the reasons we try to do a cat roundup when the wild turkeys show up. You can see the cats eyes go “wow” in wonder. THEN the eye changes to speculation … or “challenge accepted”! Turkeys are MEAN.

            To see a tiny kitten stalking a dove 5 times kittens size is adorably cute.

            To see a large legged 15# cat stalking a wild turkey a good 5 times cat’s size (even though turkey probably does not outweigh the cat by much), is not adorably cute. It is OMG terrifying right now.

            1. We had a flock of wild turkeys through our back yard (A big tom and perhaps a dozen hens) in the back yard. My then large (15+ lb) neuterd tom cat Spike went insane. racing from window to window and issuing sounds that I interpreted as “Let me at ’em dad we’ll eat for a month”. As he was an indoor cat I did no such thing. I kind of thought for a while he was going to have an embolism and stroke out, I have never seen a cat that revved up before or since.

              1. a cat that revved up before or since.

                –
                I have. The busy tailed rats tease our current inside cats, and the dog. The dog goes out and chases them. The 3 currently house bound will be getting out, as soon as the newest one isn’t afraid of the backyard (she was feral outside for at least 4 or 5 months, just teaching “boundaries”). Then need, ideally snow 🙂 on the ground, or continuing regular rain. (Point is to enforce that it is better to be in than out. Not 100% cure, but mostly works … stupid cat loved snow, another stupid cat liked to chase rain drops …)

                We used to have to Giant Sequoias out front with a very large highway branch that pushed out over the house before turning up to be in competition for a 4th top leader. The squirrels used to run that and jump onto the roof with cats on their tails. Next thing you know here come the squirrel the opposite direction jumping from roof to huge branch. One leap the cats never would make. It was fun to watch them. One cat caught, barely a tiny (yearling?) squirrel, once. He was not happy I made him let it go.

                Haven’t seen turkeys since last late spring. OTOH 2016 is the first time I’ve ever seen wild turkey flocks anywhere with Eugene. I was raised here! It isn’t anymore but childhood neighborhood was on the edge farmland, a lot closer than we are now; even if it was not on the edge or across the street from the fields. Must of been around. First thing mom said when I told her I’d see the turkeys, was along the lines of they are a PIA and they are protected. Nests can not be disturbed (moved or dismantled), and birds themselves cannot be harassed to get them off rooms of home, or vehicles. So they’ve been around. Just not seen by this 7 to 17 year old, when I lived there (or they just became more frequent after I moved out and away). Also not suppose to let the dog chase them out of the backyard … um, don’t tattle. Hey, the dog is bigger than the cats, barely. She’s still smaller than those dang turkeys and there is more of them.

    2. The Suikoden games actually tried a similar take with the cat creatures in IV and Tactics with their Japanese name being Nekobolds from the Japanese word for cat. Unfortunately it got mangled to Nay Kobolds in the English localization, going off the island where they live instead of keeping the original kitty reference. The normal Kobolds in the series are based on dogs of course and run the range from Doberman-based like Ridley from II to a more poodle-like look like Ridley’s son Boris. People really do come up with fun stuff. 🙂

  2. Video is almost 22 minutes long and probably the best investment of my time I’ve made for quite a while.
    Great insights into the tactics of our enemies and explanations of why they constantly fear monger and attempt to split us apart into increasingly smaller factions and isolate us from social interactions.
    My greatest fear is just how far down that slippery slope into totalitarianism we have fallen. Want to say it’s early days, but when I look around seems we’re well past that.

      2. Might be more a standard case of imperial decay than anything…although the idea that we might be starting to follow in the Soviets’ footsteps doesn’t surprise me, considering that most of our so-called ruling class are basically communists anyway.

    2. The video is fascinating … and it hits on many of the things that I have wondering about: Like how so many people appear to be going nuts, lately…

    3. Saw it a couple/few months ago when it was new, and it impressed the heck out of me. These guys nailed it, and in a way that might…maybe…wake some people the f*** up. The hour is late, but I still hope it’s not too late for some sort of recovery.

  3. “We must learn to treat the demagogue and aspirant dictators in our midst with the weapon of ridicule.”

    And that’s why “Let’s go Brandon” is so satisfying.

        1. There’s been some rumbles along the lines of, “IT’S RAAAAACIST!”, as well as claiming that it’s a white supremacist thing.

          AKA, the standard rationales provided by the left to explain why they’re attacking something that they don’t like.

          1. “Let’s pull a card to decide our new strategy. Let’s see . . . race card. Um, we already tried that, how about something else . . . What? Again? Wait a minute, is the whole deck race cards?”

            2. I once saw a genuinely amusing bit of John Stewart’s Daily Show just after Obama was elected to his first term. Stewart had on a black guest who was demonstrating his Race Card, which he used like a credit card.

          1. My wife and I often hit a local dive for music one night a week, and it is not uncommon for a few rounds of “Let’s Go Brandon” chants to break out.

          2. Along with the uncensored version being spray painted on roads even in my part of GA. Saw someone spray paint the FICUS’ name on a stop sign, too. That sort of thing is unheard of outside leftist enclaves like the People’s Republic of Athens where it’s always their activists aiming that sort of thing at Republicans. The people’s patience with these clowns looks to be wearing very thin at least around here.

        3. Mort the Wart is getting cranky because Simon Jester bagged him. When the Flak gets heavy it means you’re getting near the target…

      1. Sanity? Yes, at least for me, because I slip into the trap of “Well, if everyone’s saying that I’m the problem, maybe I’m the problem?” That goes back to my teenaged years, and I like to think I’m shed of it. Alas . . .

        1. I feel that, especially in the sense of wondering if following the path of sanity isn’t actually scaring the very people that could potentially be won over in the political sense of things. In the personal sense, that sort of thing never completely leaves unfortunately, but at least I’m getting a better grip on it and it sounds like you’re doing well there for the most part yourself.

        2. Huh. After school (elementary), Jr. High, Sr. High {“middle” was ‘too California’ back then..} my default take on “YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!”-istas is: A good dose of laxative might kill you, you’re so full of [YOURSELF]. Of course, the (invariably humorless) -istas have a HUGE problem with this and make up ALL SORTS of insane nonsense to justify their insanity.

      2. OF COURSE the MSM is a threat to Freedom and Sanity: it is run by people who staunchly believe that reality is subjective, managed by the shared delusions of the culture.

        While that is true from the sociological perspective, applied by anthropologists and psychologists and semanticists and their sort, it does not, repeat, NOT, actually affect Reality. Gravity persists in drawing us toward the Earth at the rate of thirty-two feet per second per second, regardless of how you translate that into other metrics. A mass agreement that gravity will attract at twenty-five feet per second per second will not make our knees any more congenial.
        ~

        1. They believe it is their purpose to impose delusions on society, and attack all of the non-deluded. Look at the Rittenhouse trial coverage. Everybody on CNN and MSNBC lied about everything we saw in that trial, with the truth right there in front of everybody. They all told the same lies.

          Then there are the ones hiding in the shadows supplying the delusions.

          Gravity is different on other planets. It’s even slightly reduced at the tops of high mountains, or on high-flying airplanes. I say, if everybody Believed that like charges attract, that would not make the leaves of an electroscope cling together.
          ———————————
          Weep for the future, Na’Toth. Weep for us all.

  6. getting the house ready to re-list

    –
    Praying you all catch a break. Hope the old real estate broker gets the broker debarment equivalent. I know you aren’t focused on that now. But once the house sells and closes … Official Complaint Time.

  9. Finally sat down to watch it and yep, that sums it up well. I’m hoping we’re not too far down the rabbit hole for what people like you, and those of us who you’re reaching, to break free of this insanity. Good luck with all the work from me and the kitties, too!

  10. Havel’s parallel structures would include (but not be limited to) the nuclear family, churches (at least, those not woke) and such organizations as Scouting, 4H, the YMCA (and its ilk) and even bowling leagues, theatre groups and the like. Any group dedicated to promoting self-expression, self-development and individual growth not dedicated to the State.

    In a healthy society these “little platoons of civilization” are promoted (or at least tolerated) by the State, whereas in an unhealthy society they are viewed as threats to the State’s power, coopted, discouraged, and suppressed.

    The video decries Totalitarianism without acknowledging that the only problem with it is that’s never been done right, by the right people. Put wallabies in charge and you’ll soon see the wonders of utopian society.

    From the outside, looking in. Because most humans do not want, cannot handle, the responsibility of self-rule.
    ~

    2. In a healthy society these “little platoons of civilization” are promoted (or at least tolerated) by the State

      NO NO NO NO NO NO

      The state promoting them is the first stage of the corruption, by trying to draw them into its sphere of influence.

      “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.” was not just some random collection of meaningless words.

      1. In the instance suggested, “promoting” largely means protecting those groups from State encroachment, respecting their rights of free association and self-rule. The State’s “promotion” consists of saying, in effect, “These are worthwhile endeavors and we do not see any cause for our intrusion into their activities.”

        Apparently I ought have been clearer in my initial assertion, although I deemed it already sufficiently wordy..
        ~

          1. That wasn’t “not banning,” that was “not getting into the way.”

            For comparison, home schooling is legal in the entire US; it has various different obstacles, ranging from nation wide paying for the service of the public school which you are not using through much nastier hoops.

            1. That wasn’t “not banning,” that was “not getting into the way.”

              Ok, oversimplification then.

              “The only way ‘we aren’t getting in the way of this'[…]”.

              For comparison, home schooling is legal in the entire US; it has various different obstacles, ranging from nation wide paying for the service of the public school which you are not using through much nastier hoops.

              And yet none of that, no matter how hands off it may be is “promoting”. Completely different side of the scale. To get to promoting you would need something like a tax credit for homeschooling, at the very least to the level of what part of taxes go to the schools.

              I may as well go around talking up how much I promote walking by refraining from kneecapping people.

              1. They’re all examples of getting in the way, generally because they are promoting another option.

                Choosing routes that did not do so– including, say, remission of some or all school taxes for families who have children enrolled in a non-government school– would be acting to promote it, even if only by choosing not to get in the way.

                For a modern folklore example, Spiderman recognized that his moving out of the way for the robber was promoting crime, even though he just didn’t take action against it.

                1. They’re all examples of getting in the way, generally because they are promoting another option.

                  Choosing routes that did not do so– including, say, remission of some or all school taxes for families who have children enrolled in a non-government school– would be acting to promote it, even if only by choosing not to get in the way.

                  That is the same logic as calling something a subsidy if you didn’t raise taxes as much as was hoped for.

                  You are mixing up absolutes, relatives, and what for lack of a better word I’m going to call the “correct set point”.

                  Moving from a -5 to a -4 is an *improvement*, to be praised and celebrated as an improvement on what the previous situation was. You are still below zero / whatever the proper set-point is for the given subject, and to characterize it as now being an absolute positive number is disingenuous verging on fraud.

                  For example if the machinegun registry were reopened that would be a huge improvement on what we have now. It would also still be a gross constitutional violation: the proper set point for that as with homeschooling is 0.

                  For a modern folklore example, Spiderman recognized that his moving out of the way for the robber was promoting crime, even though he just didn’t take action against it.

                  Different problem with a different set-point. Crime is entropic in that constant work is required just to maintain civil society.

                  1. That is the same logic as calling something a subsidy if you didn’t raise taxes as much as was hoped for.

                    No, and as that’s the third time you’ve shifted arguments on this because you didn’t like the answer, I’m recognizing that you’re emoting rather than reasoning, again, and not spending more time on it.

          2. Twaddle – you’ve adopted a dichromatic interpretation of the word “promote” which allows you to assume that which you wish proven.

            There is a wide realm of nuance between “actively assisting” and “outright banning” which you are flying over with great dispatch.

            Benign neglect is a form of promoting activities which your dichotomy eschews. It entails adamantly acknowledging that “here we have no interest; do as you will so long as you don’t scare the horses.”
            ~

            1. It entails adamantly acknowledging that “here we have no interest; do as you will so long as you don’t scare the horses.”

              I’m not the one inserting that into a dichotomy where “we have no interest” has to be forced into “promoting”.

              The abolition of neutral options is one of the basic methods of dirty argument, or manipulating people.

              1. Open recognition of neutral principle is a form of promotion. The State’s restraint, its lack of involvement in the affairs of such little platoons is a way of promoting them, whether or not you recognize it.

                Your denial of bifurcation does not absolve your practice of it, rather it bespeaks (at best) an absence of self-awareness.
                ~

  11. Sarah — DO NOT WAIT on listing your house!

    If something pops off due to JoePedo’s mis/mal/non-feasance, you do not -NOT – want to be sitting on the situation with two properties. . .

    We sweated the last six weeks of our sale, because it got extended twice. We were supposed to close in early October, and it didn’t actually happen until mid-November.

    List your house NOW. Put up with the showings during the Christmas season. Get it SOLD.

    1. I’ll second this. My inner Robot is saying “Danger Sarah Hoyt! Danger! Danger! Do not delay!”

    2. Agree totally with this. Get it on the market.

      Our last house. The one that our children grew up in. Situated on twenty acres of a little slice of heaven here in mid America. Needed to sell as the wife and I could no longer keep it up. Listed and while making all kinds of repairs, painting and staging to make it presentable… out of nowhere came a full price offer. Sold!

      The new owner immediately brought in an excavator and a Cat and pushed the whole house into the basement and set it on fire. Filled in the hole and built a McMansion near the spot. The old house lies approximately under the circle drive to their front door. It’s hideous. No accounting for taste.

      Not to leave it on a down note. Took the money, bought forty acres of woods, meadow, and pond. Built a small house. Now the grandkids run riot over it building memories that will last a lifetime.

      1. No. Because previous realtor made a mls listing that made the house 1/3 smaller, missing two beds and 2 baths. This led to valuations propagating through the net making it 100k lower than the neighbors. Which are the only offers we got, btw sight unseen. Both from flippers. We need to wait for that to go away or people will find them, not notice the description and try to figure out why valuation is that low

        1. Oh. That’s not good.

          I recall something similar with someone’s mechanic entering the wrong odometer number into the system during a routine car maintenance. Ended up getting flagged in the various car trackers as “odometer likely replaced”. Basically made the car worth $0 because it looked like someone had done stuff to it to hide damage and wear.

          Hopefully this clears out, or at least someone can find a way to fix it sooner :/

          1. A realtor friend thinks waiting a couple months will clear it.
            Since we need to find a handyman to do some touchup, that’s about the right time. For the record, Colorado was never as popular as TX, but it’s still attracting people. Mostly from deep left areas (and these are lefties, mind) as they empty out. I suspect it will only accellerate through summer. It will probably go silent and weird before the election.

        1. (gazes slowly about at other posters, contemplates long observation of thoughts expressed in this venue. Carefully considers available evidence.)

          I’m sorry, Dave Sarah. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
          ~

  12. Great video. I do think we are in the middle of a mass psychosis, especially as it regards to the media and the social media mob. However, the revolt has already begun with “Let’s Go Brandon” and other flickerings of ridicule against this sad sack of offal in the White House. Nothing human ever lasts. This “administration” too will pass, and to the sound of laughter. Though I am afraid there will be many hardships and tears before that occurs.

  13. 90% good video. The 10% of me though has grown very tired of hearing people blame, in a generic sense, “social media”. It’s not much different than blaming guns. The only serious problem with “social media”, and it indeed is a serious problem, is the censorship. But even that, as bad as it is, can still be worked around. No, the deeper problem is the willingness of people to believe the BS coupled, most especially, with the willing cowardice of those who know better being afraid to speak up. “Oh, nos…my friends and relatives won’t like me…oh nos, I could get in trouble at work”. I’m not saying that you force the issue, but when confronted with it, when you see a friend or coworker struggling against it, for the love of God speak up. The cowardice of conservatives…”conservatives” is the real problem that must be addressed.

  14. 90% good video. The 10% of me though has grown very tired of hearing people blame, in a generic sense, “social media”. It’s not much different than blaming guns. The only serious problem with “social media”, and it indeed is a serious problem, is the censorship. But even that, as bad as it is, can still be worked around. No, the deeper problem is the willingness of people to believe the BS coupled, most especially, with the willing cowardice of those who know better being afraid to speak up. “Oh, nos…my friends and relatives won’t like me…oh nos, I could get in trouble at work”. I’m not saying that you force the issue, but when confronted with it, when you see a friend or coworker struggling against it, for the love of God speak up. The cowardice of conservatives…”conservatives” is the real problem that must be addressed.

  15. I’m leary of any system that’s internally unprovable. It seems that it makes it easy to see the opposition as no longer human and disposable, even as they say the same of us.

    We need a tool that someone can use to prove/disprove to themselves whether they are in a mass delusion or not. I think that is the missing key. Otherwise, I expect whatever end we come to, it will only be over a mountain of bodies.

  16. Can I “third” the sell it now sentiment? We had been talking about selling our house for a long time, figuring we’d finish it first then list it. But we realized two things – first, it would never really be “finished” since every change spurred another change. Second, the way we’d finish it may not be what a prospective buyer wanted.

    So we went ahead and listed it “as is” on a Monday, had 20+ viewings in two days, signed a contract on Wednesday, and closed three weeks later. Sure, we could have got more for it if we had done more work or hung out for a better offer, but we were happy with the sale price and really glad to be done with it.

    The way house prices have been climbing does look an awfully lot like a bubble, and with the state of the economy it wouldn’t take a lot to make the housing market tank. Definitely list it sooner if you can.

    1. No. Not Paying 100k to sell the house. Which is needed because of idiot’s shenanigans. Okay? No I don’t actually have 100k sitting around. The gfm was to meet bills already incurred. Again, assume we’re not idiots

          1. Good advice is only good if it works for your situation.

            ….says the person whose family farewell is “don’t get killed”….

      2. Malfeasance on part of prior realtor!

        Hope the next realtor can help you overcome this!

        I know! 🙂

        “Miraculous! Missing square footage located, additional two beds and 2 baths! Resulting in …” (actual square footage, total number of bedrooms, and bathrooms). With pictures of each space.

        I know our house would be difficult. Anyone going to the county records is going to see 1495 sq ft. It is 2250 sq ft after completion, by prior homeowner, of permitted (had reasons to pull the *permits ourselves) additions. The square footage was never updated in the county records. We’ve had it brought up by assessors and realtors, on the phone. But we just told them they have to see the house. (*Refinancing, last one required the permit copies.)

        In our case county can’t even argue that the tax assessments are based on the lower square footage, and try to jack it now. Because the base is $78,000 which is what we paid for it late ’88 for the entire completed 2250 sq ft. The tax limitation laws are based on ’90 valuations. (They could try. We wouldn’t let it go without a challenge.)

        Thus, should we ever list it for sale. This information would be included in the listing. To let it be clear the information out there, although official, is inaccurate.

        In your case, the inaccurate information out there isn’t even official tax rolls, but it is out there, and it is inaccurate. Even if the information is in the form of an official house appraisals, the appraisals are inaccurate, and therefore void.

          1. I stated malicious because of all the aside information that has been dribbling out. That is what my gut is telling me. You are closer to the situation. OTOH you give people the benefit of the doubt.

    2. My daughter – the newly-minted real estate agent – says that she has gathered from all the more experienced agents that she knows, that it’s a sellers’ market now, but it’s a cyclical thing. On a seven-year rotation, so they say. Demand rockets up, prices for existing properties in desirable neighborhoods skyrocket … and then once the demand is met, mostly by new builds hoping to take advantage … it cycles through to a buyers’ market, once that local demand is saturated. She does market research for one of her other clients, and she says that she is already seeing prices for houses in some areas start to be reduced.

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