Saturday Sundry: Police, ‘Beowulf’ and Miscellaneous

1. My latest addiction has been police body cam videos. Partly this is to study what real violent incidents look like for safety and awareness purposes, though there also something perversely fascinating of watching just how stupid some people can be. What I find most impressive is when the cops remain calm and unflappable when … Continue reading Saturday Sundry: Police, ‘Beowulf’ and Miscellaneous

Saturday Sundry: More Iran Thoughts, History, and the Dynamics of Service

1. I've actually seen some commentators trying to spin Iran as a big win for Trump, which makes me write them off pretty much immediately. I think the best case scenario here is a 'War of 1812' situation: America launches an incredibly stupid war based on unrealistic expectations, realizes that their expectations were unrealistic when … Continue reading Saturday Sundry: More Iran Thoughts, History, and the Dynamics of Service

Saturday Sundry: Life Change, Misc Thoughts, and ‘One Piece’ Again

1. The big news this week was that I found out that my contract with the school is not being renewed, so I'm going to have to scramble to find a new job. This was, of course, extremely disappointing, though I had seen hints of it coming, so I wasn't completely caught off guard. I'm … Continue reading Saturday Sundry: Life Change, Misc Thoughts, and ‘One Piece’ Again

Friday Flotsam: Miscellaneous Thoughts, Equality, and ‘One Piece’

1. Everyone knows that the best way to encourage dissent and rebellion in a country is for a foreign power to launch an unprovoked sneak attack against it. 2. If a statement is true, it cannot be racist. If it is false, the falsity is more important than racism. Therefore, the first question should never … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Miscellaneous Thoughts, Equality, and ‘One Piece’

Saturday Sundry: US Foreign Policy, ‘Rear Window’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

1. US Foreign policy since about 1898 has followed a pretty consistent pattern: Step 1: "The US has gone into X:" "Yay! USA! This is a righteous and noble crusade!"Step 2: "The US has left X:" "Yeah, that whole thing was a stupid idea; why did we do that?" Step 3: Repeat 2. To put … Continue reading Saturday Sundry: US Foreign Policy, ‘Rear Window’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof’