A Stark Reminder – You Are On Your Own
Probably the most devastating fires in terms of property losses is raging through the Los Angeles area. I’m not going to discuss what caused the fire, the impact of local politics on the response, or other discourses the chattering class is currently indulging in. First, it’s too damn early to start drawing conclusions. Second, I don’t trust those who are making confident assertions this early. Kind of like the 72 hour rule around mass shootings. The people talking first are usually the least informed.
The size and speed of the fires are terrifying. I can only sympathize with the families of the dead and those who have lost their homes and possessions. I have no such sympathy for those who are taking advantage of the chaos to loot and rob. I can only hope karma and justice finds such despicable people.
It is a stark reminder that even if the government wants to help you, it may not be able. You are responsible for your own safety. You are responsible for your own preparations.
Did you make your home ready for likely natural disasters? Did you clear hazards?
Do you have an evacuation plan? For you? For your family? For your pets? Do you know where to go?
Do you have enough supplies to last your household if it’s cut off?
Do you have protection from looters?
These kinds of events are opportune times to have those hard discussions with your loved ones.
January Anime Recommendations
This was one of the most surprisingly entertaining – and bizarre – shows I’ve encountered in a while. And the opening is very entertaining.
This is a pretty decent remake of the original. I’m trying to decide if I like it because of nostalgia or because the series is entertaining.
This was an interesting isekai with a lot of earnestness.
This is a cute “found family” / “odd couple” series.
Monday Links – The Return
New year, and time for links. I took a break and a bunch of stories happened. I’m not going to recriminate myself. I needed it. Anywhoo, this is also a bit of a tab clearing edition, so hold on.
Reason first.
New European rules have pretty much enshrined USB-C. I like USB-C. I think it’s a great technology. I hate it being forced down everyone’s throats at the point of Europe’s guns. I also hate that this will make it harder for new charging technology to be brought forward.
Based on their track record last time around, and looking at a recent ruling, the US Supreme Court is not going to be a rubber stamp for Trump.
Last week was the ten year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre – and Reason has a thinkpiece on the cowardice of the leadership class to blame freedom of speech than murderers. Fanatical murderers are the ultimate heckler’s veto, and the cowardice of institutions to admit that has been a growing embarrassment.
Coverage of Meta’s decision to eliminate “fact-checkers” among other changes. There’s been talk that Zuck is not only trying to ingratiate himself with the incoming administration, but finally feels the environment is strong enough for him to push back against the “hostage-takers” among his staff. Both of which are kind of pathetic reasons when you think about it. It still gets me a result I want, considering FB is normally how I distribute the blog.
The feds jailed a Montana rancher for – checks notes – cloning a sheep.
Ohio is going to charge people to get access to body cam videos. I’m actually going against Reason on this one. Since fees are capped at $750, it may be reasonable. However, considering governments generally are horrible at timely providing information, I can sympathize with organizations worried it’s just another speed bump in transparency.
Reason examining Biden’s decision to block the sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel.
On to other news stories.
The Free Press is covering the current scandal in the UK about the plight of girls being raped and authorities ignoring it. Plus the anger of the politicos at Elon for shining a light on their disgrace instead of their underlings for not handling the issue.
NYT covers the new congesting pricing implemented for entering Manhattan. Congestion pricing is one of those ideas I like in concept, but don’t trust the government to implement. For example, all the fees from this new tax are supposed to go to a public transit system already overfunded and incompetent with no demand for improvement in the system.
Headline from the Economist – “Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation.”
WaPo on the shadow war between India and Pakistan.
Bloomberg on the power demands of new AI datacenters and it’s probable impact on the grid. This might be the needed kick in the pants to decentralize and modernize the nation’s power grid. And get more nukes.
From Reuters, Apple is to pay $95 million to settle a privacy case because of Siri. First, that’s a blow to Apple’s self-image of being the best in privacy. Second, I assume all the personal assistants are always listening.
Also from Reuters, US court stops last minute implementation of net-neutrality rules. As much as I hope that’s the nail in the coffin for that particular gambit, people still want to implement communism.
Wired has a think piece on why families should establish secret passwords.
Tampa Bay Times reports on the death of a Scientologist spokesperson turned vociferous critic. Cancer sucks.
With CES, we have some neat new tech.
The Verge discusses BMW’s new iDrive. The idea of a Heads-Up Display for the car intrigued me, and the limited one on the BMW that The Wife and I rented last summer was nifty.
Also from The Verge, LG has a new “AeroCatTower” which will purify the air while your cat sits – and weighs them. Depending on the cost, one of these may show up at Ward Manor. It’s just too nifty.
From CNET, a tiny kitty that sits on your cup and blows on hot beverages to cool them.
Engadget has a couple of articles on new power devices – Ecoflow’s new solar hat and Anker’s new solar umbrella.
A light item.
State of the Writer 2025
I finally finished the first draft of my fantasy novel and got some feedback from my primary alpha reader. Based on his feedback, I’m doing a substantial rework of the draft. I’m still not sure if I’m going to just put it up on Monday Fiction or if I will go down the self-publishing road. I want to get this done one way or the other.
I also managed to finish up the third installment of my Irregulars series.
My alpha brought to my attention that I do better work when I’m writing from a first-person perspective. I think it’s because I generally think of my stories surrounding one character. It’s easy for me to get into that one character’s headspace. It was what made writing third-person for my fantasy novel so challenging. Expect my next few “new” writing projects to be in first-person for the time being.
Other writing projects I’m working on this year:
Irregulars 4 – The general outline is finished and a good deal of the original script was done because I thought this was going to be Irregulars 3.
Purgatory 1 – From my current sketch/outline this is going to be a fantasy series heavily influenced by the LitRPG principle of nobody to somebody as well as some light isekai influences.
Avalon – I pulled the Avalon stories page down. If I get substantial work done on my other three projects, I’m going to do a massive rework of that series – including a dual first-person storytelling.
I have other ideas written down and “in the bank” as it were. But I’ve learned that I need to focus my efforts. I also need to have a “new” project to keep my creativity going. Even if it’s just sketching it out.
There’s an Old Saying About Truth and Fiction
Truth can be stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense.
New Years saw one asshole murder a bunch of people and another one try. I can’t imagine the pain and grief of the survivors and the families of all the victims. I can only offer my heartfelt sympathies.
First, in New Orleans, some asshole strapped an ISIS flag to a rented pickup before plowing into a group of revelers. Then he decided to get out and get into a gunfight with cops that he lost. Fourteen people lost their lives to this asshole’s rampage and dozens more were injured.
Then, some asshole decided to IED Trump Tower in Vegas using a bunch of fireworks and assorted other explosive material in the back of a Cybertruck. At least this asshole only managed to kill himself.
I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but damn the conspiracies shot off around the interwebz. The timing of the attacks and the identities of the assholes were fertile grounds. Not to mention that for the last five years, too many in leadership of our institutions have not only been caught lying to the public, but actively using the power of their position to not only discredit, but destroy their opponents’ lives.
I’m highly skeptical that either asshole planned their attack with the other asshole. Their motives are too different. The style of attack is too different. Plus the evidence of them knowing each other seems to be they were on the same military base at the same time. Sorry, but unless they were in the same unit at the same time, that’s kind of like saying they were in the same mall at the same time.
I’m highly skeptical that Las Vegas asshole was framed. Yes, bits of evidence can escape damage in a fiery explosion. Look at the bits that escaped the airplanes that crashed into the towers on 9/11. As to the fact that a Green Beret had a Desert Eagle in .50? Let me relate a small bit of my life. I have a good friend who spent time among the Green Beanies. He knows the weapons he was issued up, down, back, and forth. Anything outside those? He asks me because I know more. The idea that even a Green Beret would be seduced by image of a .50 cal Deagle is completely believable to me.
I know a single blog post is not going to convince those who don’t want to be convinced. And I won’t be able to address all the myriad streams of conspiracy that arise from these events.
All I ask is that you use the same skeptical eye that you would against those you don’t trust.