P.S. A Column On Things

This and That

Another Politics Lesson
At Beaver Boy’s State a half century ago, I learned that a campaign that wins a primary can lose the general election. Being the Edible Can Man did not win me a handshake from Gov. McCall. Perhaps a lesson for today.
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Perspective

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
--Mother Teresa

 “For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”
--Carl Sagan
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Cartoons About Me

Apropos of my series about my being a type nerd:

Anyone who knows me will chortle at this gender-switched truism about me (and my late mother)

 

This and That

The Canon of American Literature
I was shot out of the canon of American literature years ago. It turns out my 2nd novel, The Great American Novel (1970) was just a journal of my 1^st year at MIT. My firstVernon Jones, Super-Scientific Detective (1964) served as a 180-page doorstop.
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Attention Tom Lehrer Fans
I have engaged in the Find Tom Lehrer game, in order to tell him about my love song set to the tune of Vatican Rag. A great entry in the genre explores his time in Santa Cruz: Sleuthing The Trail Of One Of America’s Premier Satarists. It shows his appearance on BBC’s Desert Island Discs.
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About AI
Spoken in the 80s, true today.
“More money has been wasted in artificial intelligence than in any other area of computer technology. We're still not close to having any real idea or model of how the human brain works.”

―George Morrow in Sayings of Chairman George

This and That

Department of Redundancy Department
Last week, I subtly floated HWMNBM (He Who Must Not Be Named) as a way of avoiding naming... well, you know. Turns out there's already a widespread acronym I will now adopt (I've been avoiding politics, so not very often): TFG (The Former Guy). Thank you Robert Malchman.
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A Journalist’s Job
A journalist's job is to make chicken salad out of chicken shit.
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Dumb Cartoons Still
Twenty-five years ago, I plugged Joecartoon, home of the frog in the blender and the gerbil in the microwave. To my astonishment, it is still there, stupid and entertaining as ever. Details of the site’s rocky road.
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Stupid AI…again
AI-Generated Code Has A Staggeringly Stupid Flaw: It simply doesn’t work.
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Ignored Women Inventors
What would it be like without their inventions?

This and That

When You Sing
Folk singer Tom Rush says, “Audiences prefer connection to perfection.” Makes me feel better about cracking up while singing If Offered A Choice with an 80-piece brass band behind me and 400 people in front of me.
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Another Harvard Joke
Just when you think you’ve heard them all… Harvard Frosh: “Where is the library at?” Senior: “At Harvard we don’t end sentences with prepositions.” Frosh: “Where is the library at, asshole?”
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Winston Freer Puzzle Trick
YouTube figured I’d be interested in the magic trick known as the Missing square puzzle.  It was right. As with most magic tricks, I was consumed with a desire to know how it works: Missing Square Puzzle - HOW DOES THIS WORK?

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UPI Hire/AP Wealth
To my astonishment, there are wire service stories I have never told in public… until now. UPI Hire/AP Wealth

This and That

What I Did for 20 Years
I always thought of my two decades of technical journalism as English To English translation. I described technology in a way intelligible to an English Major or an MBA.
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Harris: Kick the F****** Door Open
The Harris campaign has been memeified from day one. Her she is, on TikTok, telling women to kick down the door. And unlike some other candidates, she wasn’t just being sarcastic.
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Just Being Sarcastic

“I was just being sarcastic,” and “Can’t you take a joke?” are the last refuges of the idiot, with their foot deeply implanted in their mouth. As a public person, baby, think about your words. Assuming you can think. And aren’t literally a baby.

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Always Have An Agenda
You may see advice on creating better meetings. My dear friend, the late great Richard Dalton, a consultant, took a bold position and stuck to it: no agenda, no meeting. No matter what the client said.

This and That

Venmo Knows
Venmo knows which side its bread is buttered on. Not many/any small business owners read this, but if you are one or know one, Venmo offers $20,000 in small business grants

This and That

The Face of God
Almost certainly apocryphal, but you wish it were true. “What are you drawing,” asks the teacher. “God,” says the girl. “No one knows what he looks like.” “They will in a minute.”
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Supreme Court Side Hustle
The Supremes have a side hustle, and it's not what you think it is. It isn't collecting lavish gifts from good friends. The Supreme Court obviously keeps a bull somewhere in the building; all the bullshit they don’t shovel into their opinions they sell for fertilizer.
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Daily Mental Energy Chart
My mom used to say that the Pickles comic strip had bugged her kitchen table for ideas. Similarly, I now think Pearls Before Swine has bugged my bedroom.

 

This and That

 [crickets]🦗🦗

This and That

Maybe Hip Op
Yup, “third time’s the charm.” I now have a metal hip. Lots of pain? You bet. Even less, when you get, to the weekend. (60s reference)
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Your Fault
This one-item This and That is your fault. I got nothing. OK, to tell the truth LinkedIn has nothing and I decided not to just keep swiping links from Semi-Rad. So it’s up to you.

This and That

Readers Disappoint Columnist
The well has run dry. I need links. At UPI, we called this a RUP (roundup). Every hub (major bureau) was expected to contribute. HOW PLEASE NO LINKS? RUP SLUG: LINKS
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On The Other Hand: Pat Sajak
My first game show host from Oct. ‘83, Pat Sajak, has retired from Wheel of Fortune, known to insiders simply as Wheel. He and Ben Stein were tied for best host in my experience. Both were cheery and spontaneously witty. Trebek was pompous, Wollery was vacuous, and Treadway featureless.