Sometimes...
...Ya jus' gotta go to war in the unnerwear ya got on.
--Dolly
The Cloud Observatory
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Observation 31 (New Series)...
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Howabout Wannabe Novelists...
WHO GAVE LOLITA flying lessons and wonder how the hell Nabakov got such a good reputation as a writer? (A survey at Book Riot that asks the wrong question.)
(Hat tip: Passive Guy.)
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Observation 30 (New Series)...
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
That’s Not Capitalism...
IT'S NOT -- STRICTLY SPEAKING -- capitalism that happens when people are left to their own devices to make their commercial choices in unmolested freedom. That's free markets.
Capital"ism" is how free markets finance large projects.
And you should be aware of what you're actually saying when you speak of capital"ism".
Mark Philip Alger
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Unions Frakk Business Again...
I KEEP PUSHING THIS maybe someday the world will wake up. Like all leftist initiatives, unions start out operating in bad faith. Their sole raison d'etre is the abridgement of the private property rights of business owners. It can only get worse from there.
So, it should come as no surprise to learn that the UAW is attacking the most successful product lines at GM.
Nose? Face. Face? Nose.
No spite there.
Mark Philip Alger
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Pissed at Good Reads...
FOR JERKING YOU AROUND on your library?
Making you put in all that work to build the value of their brand, only to have them tell you that YOU have to rescue your books because they got into a pissing match with an 800-ton gorilla?
There appears to be an alternative. Totally unexplored by moi, but ... it's out there.
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Observation 29 (New Series)...
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Now ... Isn’t THAT Interesting...
NOTICED IN PASSING in an article on a recent copyright case in the Supreme Court.
Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the case because she worked on it while serving in the Justice Department.
The case is Golan v. Holder, 10-545.
Is this a precedent on recusal that may apply in another case we're anticipating?
Mark Philip Alger
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Public Notice to Mr. Simon Leathers...
OF THE ASHFORD/ST. PETERS HOSPITALS of the UK National Health Service:
Dear Mr. Leathers;
This is my second notice to you. (First notice attached.) Your site for the Ashford/St. Peters hospitals of the NHS is in violation of my copyright in the URL of...
http://ashfordstpeters.org.uk/cgi-bin/parser.pl/0005/www.babytrollblog.com
This page not only mirrors and/or reproduces my original copyrighted material, it continues to do so subsequent to and despite my earlier notice. My previous notice to you was dated the sixth of this month, and there is content on the above-linked page from today (January 21, 2012). This is egregious and must cease immediately. If my material and links to my site are not removed from your server by end of business UK time Monday, January 23, I will be forced to file suit against you personally and against the hospitals in UK courts. As I am sure you must be aware, given the notices posted on your site concerning your compliance with internationally-accepted standards and best practices of Web site construction and operation, you will lose.
I trust you shall find this notice sufficient motivator to make the corrections on your site immediately.
You may notice also that I have posted this message directly on my site, in case you might miss this email, so you'll see it in my pirated content.
Most sincerely,
Mark Philip Alger
Update: I have heard from the head of IT governance for the hospitals and they have corrected the matter. Kudos and thanks go to Mr. Andrew Fitzgerald for his quick action. (Bumped.)
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Monday, January 23, 2012
Observation 28 (New Series)...
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Category Error...
PEOPLE MISTAKENLY THINK of a job as an object in and of itself, when it is really a convergence of factors and circumstances. An employer needs a task performed. You present yourself as willing to work for the wage offered, qualified to perform the task, and available. If the employer finds you suitable, he hires you. You are employed. You do not have a job because a job, like so many of the logical fallacies embraced by collectivists, is an economic fiction which does not exist in the real world. It may be a convenient token for the circumstances and conditions of employment. But to think of the token as the whole thing is to miss the point of the metonymy. And then you end up with idiocies being blathered about such as "jobs being sent oveseas." No such thing.
Think about that as you read the whole thing.
Mark Philip Alger
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Monday, January 23, 2012
The Degree to Which...
A COMMENTATOR PRESSES the notion that Mr. Newt is unelectable is the degree to which that person is out of touch with the zeitgeist of the American mainstream.
Yeah, well... You thought McCain was gonna win, too. Still owe Rummel a beer over that, if I recall correctly.
Yes. But. That was wishful thinking based on my intoxication with Sarah Palin.
You keep telling yourself that.
Mark Philip Alger
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Pounding It Home Again...
THE WHOLE "YOU NEED the Center" meme is a crock. Not because you don't need a spread spectrum of all of the American people to win. You do. But you need to properly identify the center. And that is far, far to the right of where the Washington establishment and the legacy partisan press try to put it.
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Observation 27 (New Series)...
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Broke 60K...
I BROKE THROUGH 60,000 words on It's Dolly's Birthday. That's a notional 80% complete. Of course, I'm beginning to have the suspicion that I'm going to overshoot the 75,000-word mark. We'll probably go closer to 95,000 words, it looks like now. But, still, it's a significant milestone.
Also made the acquaintance of a professional freelance editor. Over the coming weeks, we'll be seeing whether we can work together. He comes highly recommended via a trusted source, but still... And even if it is a perfect match, there's the matter of paying his fees. Which, while eminently reasonable as such things go, are presently out of my reach.
Which brings me to the point of hinting that, if you would like to help, you can hit my tip jar by clicking on the Donate button at right. That connects to PayPal, with all the benefits, protections, and so-forth that you've come to expect from that fine organization.
Meantime, thanks for your patience. I see you're joining up in droves. I want to thank you for that. But you could comment once in awhile, you know. ::grin::
Yeah, right. Make more work for me.
Mark Philip Alger
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
About Newt...
PEOPLE WITH AGENDAE hostile to the agenda of the Tea Party movement -- limited government, low taxes, and free markets, as the route to maximum freedom and prosperity for the greatest number of Americans, seem to think that, because the Tea Party is founded in simple, clear ideological stances, its members must be naive simpletons, incapable of realpolitik calculations, and of using and manipulating people to their own ends.
Someday those people may learn the truth of their folly. Pray that day comes later than sooner.
Mark Philip Alger
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Ann Coulter Retweets...
NORM McDONALD ...
In the Captain's defense "Women and children first" is highly sexist and ageist.
...which strikes me as an excellent reason to re-visit the whole politically correct notion and all those ~isms the Left is so fond of using as bludgeons.
And by "revisit" (another leftist shibboleth), I'm using "code words" (ibid) for "get rid of."
Which makes me a reactionary stick-in-the-mud, but I prefer to think of myself as a true progressive. That is: being in favor of progress.
As opposed to the Bizarro World definition of "Progressive" as being a reactionary feudalist.
Well... They don't define it that way...
No, true. They don't say that's what they mean. They don't even think that when they say it. But that's what happens when the concept is applied. Instead of progress, you have retrograde motion. In a word -- congress.
::wobbita::
Well, that's what they say -- if con is the opposite of pro, then what's the opposite of progress? Of course, it's witless. But -- hey! -- you're talking people who pretend offense at homonyms, so... Consider the source.
Mark Philip Alger
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Friday, January 20, 2012
No, Glenn, I Disagree...
INSTY POSTS here:
Time for New York to catch up with the rest of the country and adopt sensible gun laws that do not punish innocent people for nonviolent acts.
No, Glenn. I must demur. It's time -- long past time, in fact -- for the legislators and executives (and even some police officers) of New York to be brought up on charges and tried for treason and civil rights violations. And the beatings will continue until their behavior improves.
Mark Philip Alger
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Friday, January 20, 2012
It’s Really Amazing...
TO LISTEN TO THE CONTRAST in coverage of Newt Gingrich's performance in debates between Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
Just noticing 's all.
Mark Philip Alger
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Dear Mr. Newt...
THE CONSTITUTIONAL issue isn't whether you --or Obama -- would abuse a privilege or authority. The issue is that Congress is forbidden to act in the matter. So you have 535 elected officials foresworn of their oaths of office. Why should they not be impeached and tried for treason?
Huh? 'Splain that.
Mark Philip Alger
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Friday, January 20, 2012
When Will People Realize...
THAT CALLING AN ORGANIZATION or facility -- whatever -- anything starting with "Center for the..." is tantamount to painting it red and decorating it with yellow hammers and sickles? It labels your org as a communist front.
It's as politically and tonedeaf as calling a national defense organization "Homeland Security." Might as well call it "State Security Apparat."
Mark Philip Alger
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Friday, January 20, 2012
If You’re An Indie Author...
AND ARE THINKING ABOUT publishing on Apple iBooks...
Don't.
Here's why.
(Hat tip: Holly Lisle.)
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Observation 26 (New Series)...
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Snow Day...
NOT THAT WE'LL BE off school, or anything, or even that there'll be much accumulation, (though in a city where half the streets have a 50% grade or better, it doesn't take much slick stuff to screw with traffic), just that it's supposed to snow most of the day. Fun to watch.
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Observation 25 (New Series)...
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Spotted at Random...
NOT QUITE SURE where or who: (If it's yours, claim it. We'll credit you.)
Facebook: "I know everybody!"
Google: "I know everything!"
Internet: "Without me, you're all nothing!"
Electricity: "Keep talking, bitches."
Mark Philip Alger
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Post Apocalypto...
POINT ONE: You won't survive it.
Glenn Beck has been on a prepper tear for the past however many years. He's talking about what you have to do to survive the collapse of civilization.
Here's a pro tip for you -- from somebody who's been thinking about the post-apocalypse for half a century:
You won't survive it.
It doesn't matter how well you think you've prepared: how much ammunition you've lain in; how many crops you have un-modified seeds for; how much gold specie you've bought and buried in Mason jars in your back yard; how far from your neighbors your house is; how independent your water supply.
You. Aren't. Prepared.
You can't prepare for this. And I see trying to prepare for it as a species of betrayal. The only way YOU will survive, the only way your family will survive, the only way your nation, your species will survive is for CIVILIZATION to survive.
Don't. Give. Up. Quit digging your private cave. Do your part to preserve Civilization.
Mark Philip Alger
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Not Only is the Answer “Yes”...
IT OUGHT TO BE, well... HELL yes!
You can't get a much-clearer statement of Original Intent than, "We consider these truths to be self-evident..."
So the question, "Does the Ninth Amendment protect economic liberty?" borders on stupid.
The answer is, "It's supposed to." But these days, the statists in and out of government trample on the Constitution like it was a doormat and it was raining out.
What's next when you can't rely on the government to obey the law?
Mark Philip Alger
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
SOPA/PIPA...
SO WE THE LITTLE people won this round. Ever fear; they'll be back. Keep your powder dry. Keep an especial eye on those freedom-of associations such as MPAA and RIAA which can oh-so-easily turn into criminal conspiracies against civil rights. It is unfortunate that this is an acutal legitimate function of government, or I'd be calling for the banning of copyright and patent. However, I do firmly believe that both should inhere only to the individuals who create original works, and that ownership rights should pass to corporate entities of any stripe with only stringent limitations on their exercise by those entities.
No, I don't have a list ready to hand, so don't ask. Just... There need to be limits. Here's one -- subject to modification and extension -- the ownership of Mickey Mouse should go to Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney, and NOT the Disney corporation. The exercise of those ownership rights, if passed to the corporation, should expire just as though they had been personally retained by Mickey's actual creators.
On the other hand, I would question anyone's attempts to use Mickey in a work and then claim copyright. If you directly use a public domain work in your work, that work cannot be considered original, and is therefore not copyrightable. Take that, samplers!
But, back to the original subject. We need to kill this and make sure it doesn't come back zombie-like in some omnibus defense appropriations nightmare. I have no idea how, except just avalanching the legislators with letters, phone calls, and emails any time they try and voting out of office the miscreants of EITHER party who bring it up.
Of course, there's a long list of things we should do that on, and the criminals keep getting away with it -- witness the fact that Chuck Schumer is still alive, let alone holding down a Senate seat.
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Observation 24 (New Series)...
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Leaning…...
WARTS AND ALL
If the name of the game is "Anybody But Obama" (ABO), and Obama loses in a landslide to a generic Republican...
You can't get much more generic than Mitt Romney.
Hoo-hoo-hoo.
Well...?
And a syphlitic camel is preferable to Obama...
You're not!
No. I'm not. But we've been bitching for decades that we wanted candidates and officeholders to stand up and speak truth to abused power. Here's Newt doing it -- on however limited a basis. Don't we owe at least some support? Not saying I'll still feel this way on Super Tuesday. But, for the moment...
Mark Philip Alger
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Hey, Lamar Smith!...
(R-HOLLYWOOD) I do my own stunts.
Well... Looks more like you do somebody else's.
Nah. No stand-in for the star in this movie. Just somebody else's script.
Also stunting:
And many, many more. And yet, Insty reports that Lamar Smith is pressing ahead with the bill. As Glenn says, Smith must be an honest politician -- when he's bought, he stays bought.
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Monday, January 16, 2012
Observation 23 (New Series)...
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Monday, January 16, 2012
About Romney...
RUSH'S CALLER JOANNE from Texas, (in the second hour Monday), missed on one point -- one I consider essential. The reason conservative voters don't trust Romney is that he appears to have no principles. Every position he takes seems to have been come by because it might sell well, not because it's what he really believes. Experience tells us people like that are squishes. And when the shit hits the fan, they have a tendency to compress where pressured like a water balloon or a tube of toothpaste.
And then there's Newt, who appears to have principles, but the wrong ones.
Mark Philip Alger
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The Cloud Observatory
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Observation 22 (New Series)...
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Quote of the Day...
Ultimately, I move closer to the opinion that people on the Left are not playing with a full deck.
--Smitty at The Other McCain
Mark Philip Alger
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Moral Poseurs...
DANS LE PISSOIR. Heh. Vraiment!
Mark Philip Alger
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
If I Were Supreme Judge...
OF THE BEHAVIOR OF the government under the Constitution, there would be a whole lot of unhappy politicians. I'd be "Bailiff! Whack his pee-pee!"* Left and Right.
About the whole recess appointment power grab. The Constitution says, in relevant part:
"The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session."
Please take note of the phrase "that may happen". You gonna tell me that the post now allegedly filled by (former Ohio Attorney General) Richard Cordray just happened to come vacant in the three days you claim the Senate was in recess, (when, in fact, and by law, it could not have been)? Just happened to come vacant just right then.
'Cause that's what the Constitution says has to happen. That's the only exception to the "advice and consent" thing.
*Pop culture reference fer ya, there.
Mark Philip Alger
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
That’s Not a Car...
THAT'S a fetish.
Mark Philip Alger
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Talk About Your Knee-Jerk Reactions...
SAW AN AD AT INSTY'S (funny how all those Left orgs aren't too proud to support an opposition site if it has a lot of eyeballs). The ad asks you to sign a petition. Dunno the subject. It's not relevant to my point. The ad said this is an initiative of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) -- my other Senator. The one who manages to do, support, espouse, and believe nearly the opposite of everything I'm for. So I'm wondering: where's the site to sign the petition opposing whatever it is Brown is selling?
I like the modesty of putting your own face on a postage stamp.
When have you ever known a politician bereft of hubris? Just running for office ought to beg the wrath of the gods.
There is that.
Mark Philip Alger
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Tough Getting By...
IN THIS ECONOMY, innit? Of course, you do realize that the reason the economy is in the state it is is because of control freaks in the government -- they live to mess with your life ... because they can -- dicking with economic controls they shouldn't have their hands on or anywhere near, don't you?
In fact, it would be more accurate to say, "It's tough getting by with this government." Safe to say, if we had a different government, the economy COULD (at least) be better. The way things are right now, there's no chance.
Mark Philip Alger
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Does Anybody Besides Me Think...
THAT WHEN (AND IF) they find those Marines who pissed on Taliban corpses that they ought to give them a medal and a parade?
(If they did it.)
And tell Hillary Clinton to get on her broomstick and fly away.
What if they didn't really do it, but only mimed doing it?
Sort of like the cover of Who's Next?
Yeah. Just like that.
Same thing: medal; parade.
Mark Philip Alger
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