Fred On Everything

«Even the ways in which men get along with each other differ sharply from the female approach. (Thus the desire for venues for men only.) For example, when I once broke a leg in a sky-diving accident, the women in the news room were sympathetic and concerned. At a Special Forces party I attended, there was laughter and sarcasm. “Goddam dumbass Marine can´t even do a PLF right. (parachute landing fall). Hey, let´s break his other leg.” Translated from the male, this meant (a) that they accepted me as one of them, and (b) that to them a broken leg was not a tragedy but an inconvenience. Which it is.»

Fed study says Bush and the banks didn’t cause the Great Recession. The Fed did | AEIdeas

Fed study says Bush and the banks didn’t cause the Great Recession. The Fed did | AEIdeas: "The irony here, of course, is that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is a much-noted student of the Great Depression and of the work of the late Milton Friedman whose landmark book, A Monetary History of the United States, pinned the blame for the Great Depression on a too tight Fed. As Bernanke told Friedman and his co-author, Anna Schwartz, on the economist’s 90th birthday a decade ago, ”You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.”"

And as the comic skit, The Frog and Peach [http://youtu.be/7fY-M41FGzI],  by Peter Cook (PC) and Dudley Moore (DM) reminds us:

DM: Do you feel you've learnt by your mistakes here?

PC: I think I have, yes, and I think I can probably repeat them almost  perfectly.  I know my   mistakes inside out.

DM: I'm sure you will repeat them.  Well, thank you very much, Sir Arthur.

Noonan: ObamaCare Takes On Water - WSJ.com

Noonan: ObamaCare Takes On Water - WSJ.com: "It was Bill Daley—accomplished political player, former commerce secretary and, most killingly, former chief of staff of President Obama, who Thursday, on "CBS This Morning," admitted the scale of the problem. Asked whether Kathleen Sebelius should be fired, he said: "To me that's kind of like firing Captain Smith on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.""

Armed Citizens May Be the Solution to Terrorism, Says Interpol Secretary General - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Armed Citizens May Be the Solution to Terrorism, Says Interpol Secretary General - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "... allowing people to proactively respond to threats has always been a better idea that trying to anticipate what assailants might consider to be an easy target. You can't fortify every gathering on the planet, and each security perimeter will still have potential victims within it for the enterprising terrorist who can penetrate "extraordinary security."

A people numerous and armed was the original Homeland Defense of the United States—and still remains so.

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Reinventing Yourself | TechCrunch

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Reinventing Yourself | TechCrunch:

Three types of mentors

(1) Direct. Someone who is in front of you who will show you how they did it. What is “it”? Wait. By the way, mentors aren’t like that old Japanese guy in “The Karate Kid.” Ultimately most mentors will hate you.
(2) Indirect. Books. Movies. You can outsource 90 percent of mentorship to books and other materials. 200-500 books equals one good mentor. People ask me, “What is a good book to read?” I never know the answer. There are 200-500 good books to read. I would throw in inspirational books. Whatever are your beliefs, underline them through reading every day.
(3) Everything is a mentor. If you are a zero, and have passion for reinvention, then everything you look at will be a metaphor for what you want to do. The tree you see, with roots you don’t, with underground water that feeds it, is a metaphor for computer programming if you connect the dots. And everything you look at, you will connect the dots.

‘Awesome!’ Veterans remove Barrycades from memorials, transport to White House [pics] | Twitchy

‘Awesome!’ Veterans remove Barrycades from memorials, transport to White House [pics] | Twitchy

Getting Involved Helping Veterans Get Civilian Jobs

There are no "bad" jobs, just individuals that do not like to get down & dirty.

Your Headline, My Face « Profoundly Disconnected: "Given the juxtaposition of my face with your headline, a reasonable person might conclude that a “Dirty Job” and “Bad Job” are one and the same. This sentiment is not only inconsistent with my own view of hard work, it’s completely at odds with the Dirty Jobs Code of Conduct, a collection of life lessons painstakingly compiled from the men and women I’ve met on Dirty Jobs.
Over the years, the Dirty Jobs Code of Conduct has kept me from saying stupid things in the press. Today, it’s used primarily to assist writers like you with the approved use of my name and likeness. Obviously, you have never seen or heard of the Dirty Jobs Code of Conduct, since most of your article violates every clause and restriction therein. I must therefore take a moment to assure your readers that the appearance of my face in such close proximity to your headline is in no way a personal affirmation that certain types of jobs are in fact “bad.”"

Review of Spin Video-Chatting Service - WSJ.com

Review of Spin Video-Chatting Service - WSJ.com: "Now, there's a new video-chatting service for mobile devices and it's free. It allows up to 10 parties in a single chat session and it doesn't require an account to participate in a chat. This new service, called Spin, also allows you to share photos and videos with others during a chat. And it's built for touch so you can swipe or flick in and out of chats, which it calls "gatherings." Or you can pinch and zoom to enlarge the whole gathering, or just the small tile representing an individual in that group."

Bitmessage Wiki

Bitmessage Wiki: decentralized communications with encryption, first steps.

Fifty Ways to Leave Leviathan : The Freeman : Foundation for Economic Education

Fifty Ways to Leave Leviathan : The Freeman : Foundation for Economic Education:

«State management of society is not only contrary to human liberty; it is also unworkable. It cannot achieve what it seeks to achieve, which is often all-round control of some sector of economic and social life. The attempt provokes a social backlash. People find loopholes and workarounds or just invent new ways to make progress possible. This is because people will not be caged. They struggle to be free and sometimes they succeed.

Over the last century-plus, the Leviathan State has gained the upper hand, sometimes through big periods of upheaval but mostly through a million daily nicks and cuts. What if this process is being reversed in our time? What if the apparatus of control is being undermined with a million acts of entrepreneurship that evade the State’s attempt to plan and command? There is a fundamental asymmetry between the structure of government and the structure of a networked people.

In our times, innovation has provided people with more tools. And often they use these tools to get around the barriers that politicians and bureaucrats have erected. Some of us take note of them every day. And while we may revel in their cleverness, we don’t take time to look at the big picture. Here is where this phenomenon of small ways to break out from and break down the system—which pop culture often labels “breaking bad”—gets really interesting.

Utopian? Let's hope not.

Who owns nature? Who owns the national parks?