Monthly Archives: January 2014

Hogs of Doom: Wallowing in Swills of Apocalypse

Posted on 31 January, 2014 by alfin2101

We live in precarious times. Entire economies are based upon nothing stronger than promissory notes written by thoroughly corrupt, incompetent, and unreliable bureaucratic institutions. Academic institutions are devoted more to self-enrichment and mass indoctrination than to the development of independent … Continue reading →

Posted in Doom, Economics, Folly of Prediction, Peak Oil, Survival Prepping | Tagged | 6 Comments

How Teenaged Brains Turn the Corner

Posted on 28 January, 2014 by alfin2101

You know how things suddenly “click” into place when comprehension hits? The eureka! moment is a moment of brain synchrony that comes with a touch of pleasure and a transient sense of well-being. But not all brains arrive at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Development, Education, Human Brain, Learning Theory, Sensitive and Critical Periods of Development | Comments Off on How Teenaged Brains Turn the Corner

Wind Farms Hasten the Collapse of Power Grids

Posted on 26 January, 2014 by alfin2101

If you have not taken the trouble to understand the effects of large wind farms on critical power grids, you owe it to yourself and those who depend on you to get yourself up to competent levels on this timely … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Green Quagmire | Tagged | 3 Comments

Tyranny vs. Opportunity: Decline or Prosperity

Posted on 25 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Under US President Obama, the US continues to decline in the global rankings of economic freedom and opportunity. The U.S. is the only country to have recorded a loss of economic freedom each of the past seven years. __PersonalLiberty http://personalliberty.com/2014/01/15/heritage-the-wall-street-journal-bemoan-rapid-decline-in-u-s-economic-freedom-under-obama/ … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government, Ideology | Tagged | 3 Comments

Rebuilding Civilisation in the Aftermath

Posted on 23 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Modern societies are facing a bifurcation point. One set of choices will lead to a general prosperity along with an amazing variety of increasingly sophisticated technological wonders and opportunities. The other set of choices will lead eventually to cascading failures, … Continue reading →

Posted in Doom, Rebuilding Civilisation, Survival Prepping, Technology | 12 Comments

Natural Gas Says: “Who Needs Oil?”

Posted on 22 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Natural gas is cheap and abundant. If we could find an inexpensive way to convert natural gas into more valuable commodities such as gasoline, diesel, plastics, lubricants, fabric polymers, fertilisers, etc., the global need for oil would drop significantly. Siluria … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Peak Oil, Technology | 2 Comments

Maskering Your Own Deskiny

Posted on 19 January, 2014 by alfin2101

It’s not easy bein’ me Masker of me own deskiny And I hates responsibiliky It’s not easy bein’ me _Popeye In plain non-Popeye English, mastering your own destiny. How does one grow to dance to his own tune instead of … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Economics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Self Selection in Wonderland

Posted on 18 January, 2014 by alfin2101

The image below demonstrates the range of test scores in verbal (V), spatial (S), and mathematical (M) categories for a range of higher education degree categories, from “Education” on the left to “Engineering” on the right of the graph. Score … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 3 Comments

Biggest Threat: Government and Government-Run Economy

Posted on 17 January, 2014 by alfin2101

“More Americans, 42%, say they are financially worse off now than they were a year ago, reversing the lower levels found over the past two years,” Gallup announced Wednesday. _DC Americans also told Gallup that the government and an economy … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Energy | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Only Brain You Will Ever Have

Posted on 16 January, 2014 by alfin2101

We can transplant hearts, kidneys, lungs, livers, faces, bone, and uteri. We can implant artificial joints, bladders, heart assist devices, and an increasing number of stem cells and other tissues. We can use dialysis machines to substitute for failed kidneys, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Human Brain, IQ, Machine Intelligence | Comments Off on The Only Brain You Will Ever Have

Telling the Truth Can Get You Erased

Posted on 15 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Remember how history was erased and re-written every day by the Ministry of Truth, in Orwell’s 1984? Something very similar is taking place all around us, says Handle of Handle’s Haus blog. Another example The truth has never been popular … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Dark Enlightenment | 6 Comments

A Society of Chumps vs. A Society of Dangerous Children

Posted on 12 January, 2014 by alfin2101

These days, a chump is anyone who believes what government, media, and “experts” in academia tell him — without checking the facts for himself. A Dangerous Child always checks the facts, and understands how to interpret them in a valid … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Demographics, Economics | 2 Comments

Higher Education Unplugged

Posted on 10 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Where is higher education heading? A credential, like any common currency, is valued only because of the collective agreement to assign it value. The value of a college degree has been in question since the Great Recession, but there have … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Competence, Education | Tagged | 2 Comments

Obama Sells Guns, Lots of Guns!

Posted on 9 January, 2014 by alfin2101

One of US President Obama’s most signal accomplishments as president has been the way he has boosted US gun sales. Mr. Obama has actually been the best gun salesman in history…. “Last year was a record setting year for gun … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Obama, Weapons | 2 Comments

Resilient Communities Require Practical Skills

Posted on 7 January, 2014 by alfin2101

When everything is running smoothly, very little thought is given to the people behind the scenes who support our modern technological society. But what happens when things break down, fall apart, and no one is there who can put them … Continue reading →

Posted in Competence, Maintenance, Technology | 5 Comments

Common Sense Energy Foundations

Posted on 6 January, 2014 by alfin2101

It is difficult to make sense of the many claims and counter-claims about different forms of energy. Will we all be driving electric cars in 5 or 10 years? Can wind and solar replace the need for nuclear, coal, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Energy | 4 Comments

Human Sacrifices at the Green Altar

Posted on 4 January, 2014 by alfin2101

The government places much of the blame for increased energy prices at the feet of so-called green policies. Currently, such policies account for only about 10 percent of the heating bill, but these numbers are set to go up dramatically. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Energy, Europe, Green Quagmire, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Analog Computer from the Year 82 BC

Posted on 3 January, 2014 by alfin2101

In 1901 divers working off the isle of Antikythera found the remains of a clocklike mechanism 2,000 years old. The mechanism now appears to have been a device for calculating the motions of stars and planets … [ From June … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 2 Comments

Monsters in the Pencil Box

Posted on 2 January, 2014 by alfin2101

Dr. Harris did an experiment where children imagined a monster in the box instead of pencils. They still said that the monster wasn’t real, but when the experimenter left the room, they moved away from the box—just in case… _ … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous Child, Knowledge, Ritual and Tradition | Comments Off on Monsters in the Pencil Box