I’ve been saying this for years. The problem isn’t coming up with enough calories; it’s about feeding people a healthy diet. But the calorie-counting insanity is going to cause poor health all over, not just in the West.
Category Archives: Social Commentary
Seinfeld
Ashe Schow writes that now it’s become the latest thing to be problematic.
Mitt Romney
Thoughts from Roger Kimball on his “pathetic crusade” against Trump. I agree that the criticism, particularly after he got Trump’s endorsement for Senate, was a churlish act of ingratitude. As I noted on Twitter, Trump was right; if Romney had gone after con-man Obama the way that he went after Trump, he’d have beaten him.
The Trump Presidency
“How it made me a better American.”
I will continue to praise Trump when he does something good, and criticize him when he behaves stupidly and boorishly.
[Update a few minutes later]
Per Karol’s comments about her disappointment with herself over not being more concerned about Obama’s depredations on the law and decency, a few months ago I started to put together a list of similarities between Obama and Trump, and there are more of them than either of their supporters want to admit:
- Reverse Midas Touch
- Cult
- Inarticulate Foot-in-Mouth Off Prompter
- Indifference/Hostility To Constitution
- Charismatic To Selective Audience
- Reckless Disregard For The Truth
- Travel Expenses
- Dunning Kruger
- Despised by members of his own party
Feel free to add in comments.
[Late-evening update]
I want to thank all those in comments who proved my point about the blind supporters of Trump being unwilling to recognize the similarities with Obama. I hope some Obama supporters will weigh in as well, to reinforce it.
The American Mediocracy
…is exhausted. As I’ve often noted, both Trump and Brexit were revolts against an unimpressive “elite” who thought themselves our moral and intellectual superiors, with no basis.
But like the Bourbons, the continue to know nothing, and forget nothing.
Ageism In Silicon Valley
This is a stupid attitude. The degree to which the young Turks denigrate experience, in which you’re over the hill at thirty, is just breathtaking up there.
It’s obviously of concern to me right now, because I’m planning a start up this in the new year, with other experienced people. Know where I won’t be looking for money? Sand Hill Road.
Bre Payton
I know some people at The Federalist, but I never met her. It sounds like she was a remarkable person, and quite a loss.
The Year In Review
APRIL
…when the abandoned Chinese space station Tiangong-1, which has been anxiously watched by scientists as its orbit decayed, plunges back to earth and, in a worst-case outcome, fails to land on attorney Michael Avenatti, thus enabling him to continue appearing on CNN more often than the Geico Gecko.
Meanwhile President Trump, faced with — among other problems — a continuing immigration crisis, increased Russian aggression in Syria and a looming trade war with China, launches a barrage of assault tweets at what is clearly the biggest threat to the nation: Amazon. Trump is forced to back down when the retail giant threatens to suspend the White House’s Amazon Prime membership and cancel delivery of a large order placed by the Defense Department, including six nuclear submarines, two aircraft carriers and a missile-defense system with a five-star average review rating from other nations.
Responding to alleged Russian infiltration of Facebook and massive breaches of user data, the Senate Committee of Aging Senators Who Cannot Operate Their Own Cell Phones Without the Assistance of Minions holds a hearing intended to answer such probing questions as:
▪ What IS Facebook, anyway?
▪ Where does it go when you turn off the computer?
▪ Is there a print version?
▪ Is Facebook the one with the video of a cat riding on a dog?
▪ How the heck do you get a cat to do that, anyway?
Patiently attempting to answer these questions is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who wears a suit and tie and does a solid job of impersonating a regular human, except for not blinking and at one point having a tentacle emerge briefly from his left ear.
Abroad, the big news is a historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. In what observers see as a major breakthrough, Kim agrees to sign a letter of agreement explicitly acknowledging, for the first time, that he has exactly the same hairstyle as Bert, of Bert and Ernie.
In sports, Patrick Reed wins the Masters Tournament, prompting jubilant Eagles fans to celebrate by destroying what little is left of Philadelphia.
We laugh so we don’t cry.
Cultural Literacy
We baby boomers got it from watching cartoons.
Yup. But it makes you wonder about the current generations, particularly when a lot of the Loony Tunes are being censored.
Merry Christmas, Everyone
From our household, which just doubled in size with the new additions to the family.
We’d been catless since Rerun died of abdominal cancer sixteen months ago. We hadn’t replaced her because (in addition to the fact that she was irreplaceable) things have been too crazy, with me traveling so much and the Florida house. But on Saturday, we decided to get ourselves a Christmas present, and provide one for cats that needed a home. They’re sisters, six weeks old, part of a litter of four (the other two were boys, who were adopted as well, by another couple). They’d been found in a homeless encampment in LA; their feral mother was ill with pneumonia and too sick to feed them, so they were raised on a bottle. But they’re very friendly and love to be held, and to fight with each other. I think they’ll grow up to be good cats, and good companions, to us and to each other.
Yesterday, her second day in the house, the dark one on the right fell off the living-room ledge halfway down the stairs (about a sixfour-foot drop to a carpeted step), which literally scared the poop out of her. But we cleaned it up, and she seems to be using the litter box now.
And here (via Instapundit) is a little Christmas gift from Allison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma.
[Mid-afternoon update]
Something I hadn't done in a long time: Made Christmas cookies with my late mother's 50s-era cookie gun. Martha Stewart recipe. pic.twitter.com/rekf1WzYld
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) December 25, 2018
[Evening update]
For those curious, here is the recipe. I’ve long ago lost the box that the gun came in, but still have all the pieces, and keep them in a gallon ziplock, including the original instructions. I’m not sure which of the recipes she used (or I have, in the past) but they all require refrigeration before loading the gun, which is a PITA, especially if making multiple batches for different colors. What I liked about the Stewart recipe is that it can be done at room temperature, and it worked pretty much perfectly. But (as one commenter notes), do not use unsifted flour. It will make it far too dense if you measure it unsifted. Fortunately, I also have an ancient sifter from the same era (which I rarely use, now that I don’t bake much on a keto-ish diet).