Thursday is now the pond's 'take it easy' day ... (no, the pond doesn't include the Eagles in that) ...
Compare and contrast, and consider ...
The pond's answer of course is to consider neither, though it will make a note about religious freedumb down the page ...
Instead take a squiz at this infallible Pope ...
Is that petulant Peta in the meta whatever? And the lesser Kelly?
The pond knew there was a reason not to go there ...
But that left the pond scratching around for an item of interest. The tree killer edition was no help, gushing about the glories of life under SloMo ...
Yes, it will all be set right by Xmas, and the below the fold wretches were no help either ...
McCrann doing ABC bashing? Bicky taking beefy Botham seriously? Lunn doing Strewth?
Oh it was the run up to Xmas alright, and the reptiles had sent in the second eleven to fill up the space ...
What to do, since it's a long time since that beefy boofhead struck a ball in anger, or scored a trade deal, or led the ravens to a feast?
So the pond turned to the chief scientist, and didn't get far ...
Say what? SloMo as a catalyst? For a moment the pond was taken back to the days of the Prof's experiment with a 44 gallon drum ... (and why must we endure ads to get there, ABC, and who scores whatever pitiful revenue YouTube offers?)
By chance, the pond on its daily stroll happened to be listening to the Science Show on RN.
The pond admits that the title was a bit of a giveaway: How science has been used to justify horrid acts through history.
There the question of the glories and wonders of technology came up, in an historical context, in relationship to slavery ...
Oh well, it's something different for the day, a little cut up, with the chief scientist spruiking technology ...
And the Science Show talking of climate ...
And then there's a lump of other matters ... like slavery and honest Abe ...
But the pond has no dog in this fight, it's just wondering, and so to a final effort by Foley, cheering on the technology gang and echoing SloMo's mindless optimism, an excuse for doing three fifths of fuck all ...
Ah, it all starts with science, but did someone mention the history of science?
A laugh from Lunn:
ReplyDelete"(Tim) Wilson required Australian Federal Police assistance to leave the locked-down office to attend a function but he didn’t miss as he left. “I’m not going to be bullied or intimidated by a bunch of Eco-fascists that demand we stop the same fossil fuels they used to drive to the office and protest,” he said. “The line-up of petrol-fuelled vehicles with XR stickers was a sight to behold.”
Bazinga!! Another fine example of Freedom Boy failing to miss.
So the Chief Scientist is spruiking technology? What about the most obvious and cheapest technology? What about spruiking improvements in solar, wind power and batteries?
ReplyDeleteNo, no, Merc; that wouldn't be at all worthy of a "Chief" Scientist.
DeleteAnd anyway, the battery thing us old hat now; it's all about 'community batteries' from here on and its all just a commercial doddle:
Melbourne to host Australia’s largest community battery rollout
https://www.unitedenergy.com.au/melbourne-to-host-australias-largest-community-battery-rollout/
"Australia’s largest rollout of community-based batteries supporting highly targeted and localized needs will commence later this year in United Energy’s network across Melbourne’s east, south east and the Mornington Peninsula."
Well gosh, maybe the reptiles were right after all, it is all affective polarisation and identity politics. "Experts have argued that the phenomenon can eventually lead voters to support corrupt politicians who violate democratic norms, simply because they believe it preferable to the opposition winning an election."
ReplyDeleteVoters in west divided more by identity than issues, survey finds
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/17/voters-in-west-divided-more-by-identity-than-issues-survey-finds
Well that's certainly how it's gone in a few places, especially the US - particularly the bit about supporting corrupt politicians. Not quite so much yet here in good ol' Oz, but we surely are working at it.
And now for some nostalgia: https://youtu.be/wanJQC5KAfo
And some sentimentality: https://youtu.be/paIYpech9pY
And someone new to me: https://youtu.be/N5RIfTn5WU0
I think some politicians have a lot to answer for when it comes to identity vs identification, GB.
DeleteI think some politicians have a lot to answer for on a lot of issues, Merc, and that is definitely one of them. But then I think we electors have a few things to answer for too: on the one hand, the electors of Warringah and Bennelong did finally get rid of two appalling examples of politicians, but on the other hand, the electors of Hughes and New England keep electing even worse ones.
DeleteI see though, that the electorate of Kooyong might be just a little shaky now, so that's something, I guess.
GB - with so little even to comment on from the Flagship, your 'YouTubes' have been a welcome link. With all great regard to 'The Band' - Joan Baez did it so much better, and it is just on 50 years since her version scored in the charts.
DeleteOn content from the Flagship - My Source notes that there is not a skerrick of economic discussion from those who pose as economists - apparently our 'Killer's contribution of this day is a bit of copy typing of a US report to a committee of congress - about how bad China is.
Now let me make sure I understand: Killer C has been doing a bit of 'creative adaptation' because wingnuts don't read "US reports to Congress Committees" and therefore don't tumble to it.
DeleteWouldn't find that at all surprising.
GB - if I were to go back to The Source for more information on something from our 'killer' - that she has already characterized as akin to bean-bag filler - that would be to invite an observation from her that I seem not to be handling this retirement thing as well as I claim. I know she does paddle in the pond occasionally, but she has not offered any further information on the (can't resist) Killer filler.
DeleteOh well, chacun a son gout so they say, Chad. And Killer C isn't exact;y lnow for the perceptive originality of what he writes (or copies)).
DeleteGlad you liked the Baez. She is indeed very good.
One that I was almost going to include was Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' which for some inexplicable reason I haven't listened to for ages: the original, and still the best symphonic/operatic rock.
Foley: "Whether you learned the basics of computer programming via punch cards in applied maths class..." Oh yeah, that's me: RMIT Maths 1971,2,3 ! Algol on a British ICL copy (a 2900 I think) of an IBM of the time - don't remember that I ever got to use the Elliot 803. Oh, such joyful reminiscences.
ReplyDeleteSmall flash of memory: it was actually an ICL (ex English Electric) 4-50.
DeleteAH GB, for me it was GAP on a GE225 back in '62, then FORTRAN on a 7040 ... ALGOL of course, then so much FORTRAN on a 360/50 and a 360/95 in Australia's premier nuclear target. Pascal, COBOL, PL1, so many languages, so little time. But Assembler always, first and forever love.
ReplyDeleteNow that's going back a bit BPB - in '62 I was doing Year 1 Physics/Chem/Pure/Applied at Melbourne Uni, and I don't think I'd ever even heard of computer languages.
DeleteBut I still recall a story I was told back when "a program" was indeed a great stack of 80 column cards (of which I still have a few for sentimental reason) in a box to carry them. But the smallest slip and whooosh !
So, the version of Fortran allowed more than one Fortran statement per card separated by a semi-colon. So he had a whole deck that looked more or less like this:
000010 A=B+C;GOTO 000020
000020 D=A+3;GOTO 000030
000030 ......
So he could drop his stack of cards and pick them up in basically any order and run them and they'd work fine provided he had a card which read 000005 GOTO 000010. Which he had coloured with bright red ink so he could always find it easily.
Ah, the unrecoverable days of yore.