Useful Thoughts and Actions Taken

Video: The Spanish Civil War

This series of shows were recorded on or before 1983.  They include many interviews with survivors on both sides of the Spanish civil war.

This is a fascinating study in how humanity lurches forward, resists change, grasps on to desperate ideas and is willing to kill each other in the process.   Spain was has a functional monarchy until the early 1930's.  When it tried moving forward to a republican form of government it wobbled and failed after a span of about 5 years.   Many people were more comfortable with the old order while some wanted to try radically new ideas.  Some of those ideas were stupid like communism and eliminating money in favor of a revolutionary council handing out chits.   Those thinking crazy thoughts can somewhat be forgiven because the monarchy had held on so long that the change hit Spain like an earthquake that had built up stresses over centuries.  On the other hand they invited war by trying to change too much at one time.  That is bound to upset someone and one has to consider this because lives are held in the balance.  Unstable stupid people do unstable stupid things like kill 500 people at a go with just the word of one person.

 So what resulted?  The forty years of the Franco dictatorship.  Hardly the progress the so called progressives wanted to accomplish.  It is adequate proof to me that true revolutions happen peacefully through people changing themselves and others.  That unfortunately that things change slowly.   And for libertarians like me I see the poor anarchists reject joining government only to learn the lesson that game theory teaches so clearly.  It only pays to be cooperative when your counter party is cooperative.  Otherwise it pays to be uncooperative.  The communists entered the government and solicited help from Soviet Russia.  They ended up pushing out the anarchists.  Quite an object lesson is what is to be overcome to institute true freedom with libertarian ideals.  This history may have bearing on the future for the next step forward in government is its near total elimination.  There will be resistance to this and I expect there will be some wars too.   People, including the peasants, are resistant to change even if it is for the good.

…..more – 5 more episodes

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Home Brewing of Beer

Better tasting, healthier, cheaper. Have not been hot on beer since I found out most commercial beer is just grain alcohol / beer flavor syrup / water

 

Arizona Practice Phase
 
Study Phase
 
This is a good start.  It's really basic but I think it's written pretty well.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

My favorite forums:
 
……more
By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Intuitive Visual Matrices Table of Contents TOC

Math class never seemed to include visualization of matrices. This is wrong

End of TOC

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Favorite Recipes – Food Sources – Restaurants

Recipes

Bread

Restaurants

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Blood Sugar Testing

Used a cheapy test kit to test my blood sugar.  

  • Level = 86 mg/dL  > This was 10 am reading.
  • Level = 104 mg/dL > this was 9:30 PM > following the trends of the curve below closely.  6-18-2010 > after eating sweet carbs during the day
  • Level = 86 > hungry before breakfast 6-20-2010 > had potatos that elevated my sugar levels yesterday.  After eating a 2 egg & chickpea salad breakfast Level = 87.  Lunch included chicken with sweet barbeque sauce and small amount of rice and beads: Level = 107 afterwards.  I can feel the difference.  Less ability to concentrate.   Went for a walk to lower sugar level.  Distance = 1 mile: Level = 80 afterwards.  Feel a slight hunger.  Waiting to see if it goes away.
  • 6-21-2010:  after a day of eating light in the afternoon level = 78 mg/dL :  it is not optimal for brain function.   Slightly sleepy.
  • 6-22-2010:  after a decent breakfast at 8 am I later hiked up Squaw Peak > blood sugar afterwards: Level = 77

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago

Video: Broken Rainbow – If you trust government you should watch this video

Do you trust government?   

Do you think Rand Paul was wrong when he said the civil rights act of 1964 theoretically goes too far when it bans discrimination in a private business?  If you do then you are substantively against private property rights.   Keep that in mind as you watch Broken Rainbow.  Had the Navaho and Hopi been treated according to the morality and legal philosophy of a libertarian they would have been compensated for their land.   Instead we played by the rules of the Neofeudalist class.   Since Navaho and Hopi did not have many votes to offer they were run over.   By not believing in private property and libertarianism you open the door to all manner of "sharp operators".  Many of whom end up in the United States Government.

Note when watching this video that the left romanticize primitive cultures and would have you believe several obviously false things.  They would have you believe had the native americans not been hoodwinked by actors in the U.S. Government and Peabody coal that they would have refused to allow mining on their land.  This is a tall assumption.   A more plausible reality is that the price paid by Peabody and company would have risen to market value and the Navaho and Hopi would have sold out sooner or later. 

The left sees opportunity in people treated shabbily.  However their eyes are always on making names for themselves or opening new territories in legal standing and representation.  This is not unlike opening wide open frontier land with little competition.  What would you expect? So many of them are lawyers.  If they do not see a chance for recovering on your claim you will get very little love from them.

By Fudgy McFarlen, ago