Recent Comments

1. 4 months ago on Non Sequitur

   I grok, Lawrence. I call that “the Pauling Effect.” Linus Pauling had TWO Nobel Prizes—in Chemistry. Later in his life he started promoting megadoses of vitamin C as being able to cure everything from the common cold to cancer.

   As for Dunning-Krueger, as I understand it, people who are knowledgeable tend to underestimate their competency (Imposter Syndrome), while those not knowledgeable tend to overestimate their competency (they don’t know how much they don’t know). The important thing to remember is, this effect is true for EVERYONE.

   For example, I’m pretty knowledgeable in medicine, and boating, and Dungeons & Dragons, etc. But I know bupkis about fly fishing, sewing, and…well, early Christian history. As long as I keep in mind exactly where my strengths and weaknesses are, I’ll be less likely to acquire a case of self-inflicted athlete’s tongue.

2. 4 months ago on Diamond Lil

   I’ll be the contrarian, here…the plaintive wail of the pipes are kind of appropriate at a funeral or memorial service—but the pipes needs to be outdoors, they need to be a distance away, and there needs to be something else going on (filing past the casket, guests entering and finding their seats, guests transitioning from the church or hall to the reception…something!).

   I was once at a ceremony being held in a high school basketball court where they had a piper play, indoors, as part of the program so he was front and center. Gah! Terrible! The echoes alone drove me bonkers.

3. 4 months ago on Brewster Rockit

   “Gort! Klaatu barada nicto!” —Michael Renne

   (Man! Does my spell-check hate that quote!)

4. 4 months ago on Doonesbury

   San Andreas…Hayward…Garlock…San Jacinto…Calaveras….

5. 4 months ago on Pearls Before Swine

   The meek shall inherit the Earth. The rest of us will escape to the stars.

6. 4 months ago on Frazz

   My impression was that Frazz was referring to more direct environmental damage than carbon footprint (although there may be an element of that, too). Downhill skiing (Alpine—the thing I learned, today, thanks to commenter “prrdh”) requires the skiers to visit a gigantic set of scars on an otherwise-beautiful mountainside, surrounded by others who also drove there, and bought hundreds of dollars of gear that was made by low-wage workers and shipped to the US, and the ski lodge, and…well, you get the idea. Nordic cross-country skiing, on the other hand, is much more like a hike—an activity that perhaps has a lesser footprint on the land. At least as Frazz sees it.

   Caulfield called him out. “I prefer my yacht with sails.” Wind-baggers (boaters who use sails) lord it over us stink-potters (boaters who use a motor—including me!) for being more environmentally friendly. But their boat is still a made thing, requiring much expense, a marina (or trailer), gear, and time, and producing as much trash if not quite as much carbon. And is still a flagrant display of privilege. The idea that sailboats are slightly more “virtuous” is ridiculous, if only you zoom out a little. Cross-country skiing vs. downhill? Same.

7. 5 months ago on Bloom County

   May I suggest a little ditty called “When I Was Your Age,” by George Hrab. Definitely worth it. (There’s a Weird Al song by the same name. Not that one.)

   Three double U’s (dot) “largest video-sharing site” (dot) com and then this ASCII salad:

   %2Fwatch%3Fv%3D249QCDt22Zk&usg=AOvVaw37FWIBga_lM8HjfyjZxOSs&opi=89978449

8. 9 months ago on Get Fuzzy

   Yeah! Gung and Tally, the Ho sisters.

9. 9 months ago on Doonesbury

   You’d probably just get counterfeit fentanyl laced with xylazine.

10. 12 months ago on JumpStart

    My guess is that she (and we) are being set up for a big comeuppance. At least, I hope so.