Obsidian Wings

We're back and...

by liberal japonicus

Well, that was instructional.

https://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/2005/12/typepad-outage-details.html

We could move to a wordpress blog, though we really don't need the bells and whistles. The thing I would like (though it may not be possible) is to keep all the comments in a way that attaches them to the posts. Feel free to chat about it in the comments, especially if you have done any typepad migration.

Political Advertising

by wj

Yesterday, I saw a TV** ad regarding one of the partisan positions on the California ballot next month. And it occurred to me that this is the first, and only, such ad I've encountered. Apparently all the other races are considered inevitable enough that there's no reason to spend on it.

We have a half dozen statewide propositions on the ballot. I've seen a bunch of ads concerning the two propositions regarding online sports betting. And lots and lots of ads opposing the proposition (the third in three years!) which wants dialysis clinics to have a doctor or registered nurse on site. but that's about it.

So what was the one partisan ad? We have, this time, a moderate Republican running for State Controller. The Controller is basically a fiscal watchdog. Personally, I think there is something to be said for having someone from a different party monitoring how the money is being spent. Especially since he doesn't decide what it should be spent for, just that it is being spend for the legally mandated ends.

So what did the ad say? Nothing about the actual job, and the candidates' qualifications. Instead, it talked about abortion and Trump -- neither of which have anything to do with the office. In short, guilt by association.

All of which leads me to wonder: how is advertising looking elsewhere in the country?

** Note, I have no clue what may be happening on Fox News.

S'wonderful, Suella

by liberal japonicus

Opening a new thread, pretty amazed by the happenings in the UK. This analysis of Suella Braverman's resignation letter can provide some background.

Braverman is an odd bird, imo.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/19/who-is-suella-braverman-home-office

And, most importantly, a round up of social media jokes
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/19/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-suella-braverman-your-removal-is-complete

Talk about this or anything else you like

It's WEIRD all the way down

by liberal japonicus

In a discussion about how to set up and evaluate moodle discussions, I wanted to make the point that there were a lot of assumptions that were being made and I passed on this article from 2013 about WEIRD (Western, educated, and from industrialized, rich, and democratic countries) subjects of psychology research and how they might not be so indicative and this passage tickled me a bit.

The majority of these “intimate relations” were not actually sexual intercourse; they were experiences where the “goal was sexual arousal.” The authors don’t report what these experiences included, but it could have been everything from first base to a home run.

I love how, in a discussion of how WEIRD subjects may affect psychological research results they have a metaphor that excludes the parts of the world that don't play baseball. Which, of course, had me go down a rabbit-hole

A UK magazine explanation

The glorious XKCD visual chart

An 1991 article with a disturbing section of baseball metaphors offered up by middle and high school students making me realize what a sheltered life I led.

This thread about what is the equivalent in English speaking countries that don't have baseball is too short

And of course, there is a wikipedia page

If you were wondering, Japanese youth, when I first came to Japan, used a scale from A to C, with A being equal to first base/kissing and C being equal to home/intercourse, though this was an 80's thing. A few webpages suggest that the current formulation is HIJK. H=ettchi(sex), I=ai(love) J=junya(junior i.e. baby) and K=kekkon (marriage) but that seems too clever, so I doubt it has any currency.

Anyway,

The More Things Change

by wj

It's an old military truism:

"Good generals study strategy,
Great generals study logistics"

Judging from the War in Ukraine, Russia has a seriously lack of great generals. Logistics have been chaotic -- and that's being generous. That's before the Ukrainians started killing Russian generals in large numbers, and Putin started firing the ones who remained in equally large numbers.

No sign that the replacements are any better. Although, to be fair, it may just be that they have nothing to work with. It doesn't matter if you have delivery systems in place if there is nothing to feed into them.

Now, things seem to be going from bad to worse. First, the Russians lost Lyman, a key rail hub for supporting their troops in Eastern Ukraine. Another challenge for logistics which were already a mess.

And yesterday, the bridge between Russia and the Crimea has been seriously damaged. This has been the major supply artery for Russian Troops in the South. Without it, their positions there are in trouble as well. Logistics, again.

In fact, the Russian's ability to defend Crimea itself may be at risk. Helped not at all by calls from officials to Crimean residents to refrain from hording fuel, food, etc. Which will likely lead to more of them doing exactly that, since if there wasn't a problem, why would authorities have immediately made such an announcement?

Open Thread