Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
Peach update, with pie
NYC update
Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
Water Shoes
Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
Loads of kayaking on Cape Cod
Psychology Experiments' Questionable Results

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Friday, February 11. 2022

Friday morning links

 18 interesting maps to change your perspective on the world


Infrastructure Bill Is Bad For Climate Crisis


 It’s Time To Ask: Did Any Of The COVID Mandates, Closures, Lockdowns Do Anything?


 Super Bowl mask mandate, California? Better enforce it good and hard


 Wall Street Opens Its Wallet to Keep Talent. It’s Not Always Enough.


 What the Truckers Want. I’ve spoken to 100 of the protestors gathered in the Canadian capital. What's happening is far bigger than the vaccine mandates.


The border crisis is a big story — that most media continue to ignore


 The Other New York - Influential books on poverty in the city focus on institutional failure, while overlooking the importance of personal agency.


 CT middle school's “Pizza and Consent” assignment outraged parents, now called "a mistake"

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 07:15 | Comments (18) | Trackbacks (0)

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" CT middle school's “Pizza and Consent” assignment outraged parents, now called "a mistake". Every time the schools and teachers get caught they claim it was a mistake. The person in charge of selecting these programs found the "mistake" but failed to take corrective action. Why do I not believe that?!
#1 JC on 2022-02-11 08:23 (Reply)
The obvious response is, "How can it be a mistake if you did it on purpose?"

It's not enough that the lie to us, they have to talk to us like we are mentally defective as well.
#1.1 Hairless Joe on 2022-02-11 08:49 (Reply)
Inflation based on 1980s methodology is around 15%.

That seems closer, but still below what I am experiencing.

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts

It's very much in Government's interest to understate inflation.
#2 feeblemind on 2022-02-11 09:00 (Reply)
This is a coverup to make the politicians look good, well better, well not terrible. But regardless the reason this matters is if inflation is 15% (which arguably it is) the fed should be taking emergency action and raising interest rates to 12% or higher. If they don't vigorously fight 15% inflation it will quickly become 20% or 30% inflation. This is serious and the coverup almost makes it inevitable that the fed will not do what they must. So we won't do what we must to stop or slow the inflation because it makes the politicians and their agenda look bad so instead we must allow the economy to collapse.
#2.1 OneGuy on 2022-02-11 09:38 (Reply)
Back in the day - and I'm talking 1973 - we bought our first house with a 9.5% mortgage. Some years later, we sold that house and bought our present home. By that time, we had switched from the bank with which we had first obtained the mortgage (and I will give credit to the bank that - under the circumstances of spouse being out in the bush working and I'm tasked with finding us a place - the manager was able to make it work) to the company credit union which allowed us to make payments above the minimum so, as interest rates rose, we were still good. As I remember, the top interest rate we paid was 16% but - as we were on a variable rate mortgage - that went down.
#2.2 Frances on 2022-02-12 00:08 (Reply)
This why we should never allow government health care https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/02/11/those-who-refuse-jab-forgo-covid-hospital-treatment-at-public-expense-medical-company-ceo/ Think about this incredible statement by someone you would think would be compassionate,
#3 Anon on 2022-02-11 09:54 (Reply)
Public education and public health are on the same rail. You are not the client in either situation. Each views the government as the real client and they follow government dictates as more often than not they are getting a government check. It does not matter that they tax the hell out of you to provide the government gravy. We need to get the government out of the monopoly businesses and need the use of vouchers to go around the government mandates.
#3.1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-02-11 16:13 (Reply)
Should smokers, fat people, lazy people, people who eat fast food and others who don't follow health advice get access to healthcare? How about bicyclists, skateboarders, skiers, hunters, and others with risky hobbies? Once you go down that slippery slope where do you stop?
#3.2 JustMe on 2022-02-11 18:17 (Reply)
Covid regs. Wrong question. It focuses only on the gov't actions without regard to the decisions of individual businesses, organisations, and people. It's an incomplete picture - and it is done on purpose to avoid those questions.
#4 Assistant Village Idiot on 2022-02-11 19:08 (Reply)
The Border Crisis will not be resolved until all the copies of Kamala Harris's book have been given away.
#5 alice on 2022-02-11 22:56 (Reply)
Those Oklahoma manhole covers with the city maps are awfully damn clever, for small to mid-sized cities. Be pretty tough to make it work for the greater Houston or the DFW Metroplex though.

I used to have an extra points quiz question: Why are manhole covers round? About 5% or less of students would typically get it right, but it's a great question for engineering students. (It's the only shape that can't fall down the hole). If you've ever wrestled one back into place you immediately see how easily it could happen, otherwise.
#6 Aggie on 2022-02-11 23:37 (Reply)
It's the only shape that can't fall down the hole

Well, except for an equilateral triangle.
#6.1 John Hyland on 2022-02-12 00:34 (Reply)
John Hyland: Well, except for an equilateral triangle.

An equilateral triangle can fall through the hole when made vertical (ignoring thickness of the plate. (If the side = x, the height is ≈.87x.) A Reuleaux triangle will work as it is a curve with a constant width.
#6.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-02-12 16:02 (Reply)
Any Reuleaux polygon of odd number will also not fall through the manhole.
#6.2 Zachriel on 2022-02-12 12:57 (Reply)
As others have pointed out, it's not the only shape that can't fall down the hole, but it's probably the most efficient, simplest shape that won't.
#6.3 Roy on 2022-02-12 16:02 (Reply)
All of these assumptions are dandy, but a manhole is not a geometric shape projected downward into the ground; it's a recessed metal lip onto which the circular cover lays. The orifice is the narrowest part of the passage; beneath the manhole receptacle, the passage invariably widens - and the support lip is only a couple of inches thick.

Thus anything other than a circular shape can be completely passed through the support lip by getting a corner past the lip into the wider passage.
#6.4 Aggie on 2022-02-12 16:37 (Reply)
Aggie: Thus anything other than a circular shape can be completely passed through the support lip by getting a corner past the lip into the wider passage.

A round cover is easy to manufacture, handles stresses from the surrounding terrain well, is comfortable for a worker and tools to pass through, doesn't have to be rotated to fit, and won't fall through regardless of orientation. However, while a triangle or rectangle can fall through the opening, a Reuleaux curve based on a regular polygon cannot fall through the opening as it has a constant width.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuleaux_triangle
#6.4.1 Zachriel on 2022-02-12 17:06 (Reply)
I'm seeing the point about Reuleaux-shaped polygons, but the practical difference (besides the economical ones of design simplicity) is the round cover will always seat itself with very little help. The polygons must be oriented and then guided into place. I think it's because the center-of-gravity of the round shape will always be above the hole, which is not necessarily true with the Reuleaux shapes - especially the triangle.
#6.4.1.1 Aggie on 2022-02-12 18:15 (Reply)

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