Recent Comments

1. 4 days ago on Over the Hedge

   Agreed, one huge difference between 2016 and 2020 is that nobody hates Biden. They may disagree with him, they may think he’s too old and/or not their favorite, but nobody hates him, so he was a very acceptable consensus second choice. And he has a huge plus IMO: aside from the obvious megalomania that all politicians at the federal level must have to want the job, he appears to be a mostly good person.

2. 4 days ago on Frazz

   Actually, the linear distance measured along the (single) surface would be the same, so she would be running at the same speed . . . . . probably zero. Or maybe “amble”.

3. 5 days ago on Over the Hedge

   “if you took out all the votes” – Watching a pro sports event, do you say “Those points don’t count because I don’t like that player” or “The other team won if you ignore the score.” Of course not. You can argue about whether the referees were wrong about a call (or missed one), but all of the points count at the end – and this year a LOT of calls were challenged (but with no evidence and shoddy rules-lawyering), and a lot of reviewers in a lot of different places confirmed the calls.

4. 5 days ago on Over the Hedge

   That, I agree with – plurality (rather than majority) has the possibility of choosing someone who is not really wanted. This is why I support ranked choice voting, as a better technique than runoff elections requiring the extra cost of another election and the extra effort on the part of all of the voters. The objection that “you could wind up with everyone’s SECOND choice” is not a bad thing – everyone can vote for their dream candidate who might have very narrow appeal, so there is a true record of what people really want for the winner to act on, and if the majority’s second choice is for a “sensible acceptable plain-vanilla” option then at least they can’t wind up with the LEAST FAVORITE choice because of splitting the vote among all those dream candidates. It also encourages niche parties and candidates to continue running and advocating for their position, even though there can be only one winner, because that true vote is recorded in the only poll that matters.

5. 6 days ago on Over the Hedge

   Your example of a coalition still adds up to a majority. Yes, the single biggest “block” does not win, but the combination that does win represents more people.

6. 21 days ago on Frazz

   Hard work definitely makes the most of natural ability. But any man can work as hard as he possibly can, and he’s not going to bear a baby.

7. 21 days ago on Non Sequitur

   As Pratchett points out, why put them in a garden with this tree right in the middle and then tell them that’s the one they can’t have? Just as easy to put that tree off to the side, up a cliff, behind a wall or waterfall, but no – the supposedly just and merciful deity puts it RIGHT THERE in front of them and tells them they can’t have it. If you saw a parent doing that to a child, what would you think – kind or cruel? It’s not a “marshmallow test”, not a lesson in self-control or discipline, it’s deliberate entrapment.

8. about 1 month ago on Frazz

   Weird – glass and metals are pretty much the only non-paper that is accepted for recycling in our town at this point, because they are the only things that can definitely be reused almost-as-good as new because they are melted at very high heat. OTOH metal food cans are typically layered and coated, so the resulting melt is sterilized but not the purest strongest metal content. Glass re-melts best. Plastics can be reused but it’s a complicated process.

9. about 2 months ago on Frazz

   For reference – when I’m riding my bike (for exercise, not commuting) I always wear a helmet. Just a few months after my wife finally convinced me to wear it all the time by citing another story, I had a spoke break in my front wheel and went flying. The helmet was scraped and cracked; my scalp wasn’t.

10. 4 months ago on Over the Hedge

    Doesn’t matter whose fault it is or why it’s happening, if the ocean used to be over the dunes and is now lapping at your second step, you’ve got a problem.