I haven’t used an abacus in a very long time, but I haven’t forgotten how to use one. I still have a slide rule that I can still use if I have to, (I come from a time before pocket calculators). I used to race the the younger kids in my classroom to see who could do simple math problems faster-- me and the slide rule or them and a calculator. And my rule in class was that there were no calculators. Well, using fingers was acceptable. Because I wanted you to get your hands dirty playing with the numbers. If you wanted a calculator for a test, I would offer you a slide rule.

As a working adult, you must be proficient will the tools your occupation has. And not just the tools you wish you have. If you are running servers in a Windows based environment, it doesn’t do you any good to wish for Linux based servers. And you better be good with both Windows and Linux if the environment is mixed. And a professional doesn’t complain about their tools, they just use the ones they have to accomplish the job at hand. Of course, if you have the money and power to do the choosing and purchasing of the tools you prefer and want, then by all means buy them. But I doubt that’s the case for you.

Perhaps. But despite using Windows, you got the job done, right? Life is all about using the tools do have, rather than the ones you wished you had.

“an enthusiastic emacs user” Well, there’s your problem! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the poke)

To be serious, Windows and that mouse are just tools-- same as any Linux distro is. A means to an end. Nothing more. There is nothing to be miffed about when you need to use that tool. Be proficient with all your tools. And when you need to use a tool, don’t be concerned about comparing it to the other tools. It diminishes you skills with that tool and and offers no gain to the solution.

I used to teach math in the local school. The kids had a great interest in 3D printing because I had a few fun items in my classroom that I had 3D printed. I decided to spend a couple of weeks teaching a bit of CAD through having the kids spend it designing a personalized key chain to print.

It took me 3 days of class time to teach them how to use a mouse…They couldn’t grasp the idea that a touch screen and CAD don’t go together, you need that mouse to make it work. It quickly became apparent that things quickly became difficult for them if it doesn’t have a touch screen.

And while some classes are always a bit better than others, there was always a noticeable number of them that struggled with using a mouse.

Yep. The few I see are easily ignored. Or poked if you want to set them off.

Being a revolutionary means you are willing to die for your cause. Ain’t none of those wannabes willing to die for anything. As long as they have their steam deck.

They just to cry to their mommies and expect the world to cater to their every want and whim. Life doesn’t work like that and never has.

The reverence and fear of cast iron cooking pots and pans is stupid on both sides. People have been using cast iron under every condition from the big fire place in a castle’s kitchen to a fire pit in a peasant’s hovel to open fires outdoors to Michelin Star restaurants in Paris and London. And they cooked EVERYTHING in it because it’s what they had and all they had. There is no mystery to seasoning and care of cast iron. Just like there is little to fear from cooking with it.

Those that do worship in the church of cast iron-- just cook in it. There is nothing sacrosanct about it. If your Great Grandmother didn’t worry about it, why should you? Any damage you can do it can be repaired quickly and easily. So get over yourselves.

And those that fear cast iron cookery, get over it…They are often the same ones that are fearful of micro plastics getting ingested and yet have no care or concern while cooking with plastic cutting boards and utensils in plastic coated cookware.

Violence from the masses requires the masses to feel like they are starving, sick, and dying with no way out except death. We have been slowly accelerating towards that violence for a while now.

Watch for an increase for those CEO’s, (at least insurance and pharmaceutical CEOs), to have much increased budget for private security measures. Both in surveillance and personnel. I think we will start to see more ‘black limo caravans’ like the the POTUS moves around in. And being surrounded by people in black suits with guns openly visible. They will do whatever it takes to stay alive and be evil.

The next question is: how long before politicians start becoming targets?

It’s a bad analogy and just plain wrong fact. Do better.

A very large amount of those dug up diamonds end up as “industrial diamonds.” Because they are far from gemstone quality. And they definitely get used up. I have used up my share of them as cutting tools when I was a toolmaker.

I don’t mind the roads so much. We plow the roads to have a snowbank on the ditch edges to act as bumpers to keep idiots and fools from careening off the road into a tree. As a retired medic, it made it easier to get people out of their cars and with less serious injuries.

What really pisses me off is the inability of people to park correctly in a parking lot. When the lines get covered in snow pack, everyone loses their minds and just start to randomly park anywhere and in any direction. I’ve seen clown park across two parking spots. And it stays that way for a least 6 months out of the year.

Those are the best days to go outside when you can feel the brittleness of the air.

Been there made that. The flavors are dulled a noticeable amount compared to a sauce made with fresh ripe tomatoes.

Yes that’s true. But that’s a very good reason to not add more.

This is why I make my own fresh tomato sauce. A single pound/half kilo of ripe tomatoes and about 15 minutes, you can have a fresh pasta sauce at home.

Them little old Italian Grandmothers ain’t wasting all day to slow cook a tomato sauce. Unless they want to show off. They got lemoncello to make and drink…

There is a psychology to using cringy memes. Can’t use them all the the time, and you need to fit the right cringe into the right place, but when you hit it, it does tend to make them remember a point they might not have.

Much of teaching a classroom full of kids effectively involves a perverse mix of psychological warfare, manipulation, and entertainment. You should try it some time.

Joke’s on the kids—It’s the cringe I’m aiming for. I live to hear the groans and see the eye rolls.

You are getting President’s Day off?

Ahh, you are a manly man and ready for Duke Cannon Naval Supremacy bar soap or perhaps Victory! is more for you.

***Google Duke Cannon for an amusing marketing strategy of men’s products. Who doesn’t want a Big Ass Bar of Soap?

“Saints should be presumed guilty until proven otherwise”