Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

Happy Easter

7 Comments

…to all of my Christian followers.

And on that note, jeez, NPR, I don’t even believe in God, but I’m not this clueless about the meaning of the day.

[Update a while later]

Related thoughts from Rod Dreher:

If we can’t count on leading journalists to understand the most basic facts about Christian practice and belief, how on earth can we trust them to report fairly and accurately about something as complicated as Christian sexual teaching? How can they trust themselves? How can they even begin to understand why we believe what we believe on all kinds of issues?

The rock band Van Halen was famous for putting a rider in their contracts requiring that a bowl of M&Ms be backstage for them, and that there be no brown M&Ms in the bowl. It sounds like typical rock star vanity, but there was actually a good reason for it. The band had this provision buried in their contract as a trick to see if the local crews assisting the band had actually read the contract. In a similar way, minor mistakes like these are the brown M&Ms of journalism about religion. They reveal a fundamental carelessness that might have more serious consequences.

The “brown M&Ms of journalism” is an interesting metaphor on a couple levels.

Education, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

Youth, And Gun Control

News outlets ignore millennial skepticism about it.

And some students do a walk out in support of the Second Amendment.

But that doesn’t fit the narrative.

[Update a few minutes later]

Yeah, you can bet the administration at the Rockledge high school would have loved to punish the students for the walk out, but they knew the wrath that would descend upon their hypocrisy if they’d done so.

[Update a few minutes later]

The teenage demagogues.

Business, Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Junk Nutrition

7 Comments

A mix of good and bad dietary advice.

Law, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

The New Special Counsel

1 Comment

Why Sessions didn’t appoint one.

It makes sense to me to put a seasoned prosecutor on the case within the department. With the I.G. report, they probably already have plenty of evidence to pursue. And McCabe is clearly worried. Good.

And yes, the FBI needs a thorough overhaul.

[Late-morning update]

McCabe lied four times to investigators.

[Update a couple minutes later]

What did Comey know about the Pulse nightclub terrorist, and when did he know it?

[Update a few minutes later]

Now here’s a former FBI agent worth providing funding for:

“I went through hell for a year and a half,” she said. “Andy made sure I couldn’t get out of the division.”

Gritz said that McCabe additionally made “nasty, false” comments about her in a meeting — “lying,” she said. “which is why he just got fired.”

“Andy” sounds like a real peach.

Administrative, Technology and Society

It’s Always Something

6 Comments

I ran out of hot water yesterday. Checked the heater, and the pilot was out. Relit it (piezoelectric igniter), and it wouldn’t stay lit. So I went to Home Depot and got a new thermocouple. After I replaced it, now it won’t light. So, either igniter, or not getting gas (neither of which should be the result of changing a thermocouple).

Sigh…

[Update a couple minutes later]

OK, I’m seeing a spark when I hit the button. Hoping that maybe I just have to clear some air out of the pilot line from when I removed the assembly to replace the thermocouple.

[Update a few more minutes later]

Disconnected the pilot line, definitely gas coming out of the valve. All I can think is that I clogged it somehow when I changed out the thermocouple. I’ll try inspecting and cleaning it.

[Update a couple minutes later]

I can blow through the line, but there’s a lot of resistance. Don’t know if that’s normal, or if it’s too much for the gas pressure to overcome.

[Update a few minutes later]

When I hook the line back up, and open the pilot valve, I can faintly smell gas at the tip, but I don’t hear a flow. It’s more like seeping, and probably not enough to sustain a flame. Not sure where the problem is, though. Might see if I can just replace it.

[Update a while later]

Took it apart, put it back together, tested it outside the unit, and saw a pilot flame. Put it back in and didn’t see much, but there was a dim light in there. I turned the heater on, and apparently there was sufficient pilot to make it work. It was probably working before, and I just hadn’t realized it…

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!