GMcGath @[email protected]

Got my Moderna COVID booster in the past hour. Feeling OK right now, but I'm allowing for being lethargic tomorrow. Or maybe I've timed it to get a really good night's sleep.

While waiting, I was reading a book that discussed, among other things, the death penalty. Remembering how people are usually executed these days, I skipped ahead a few pages when I got to that part.

Latest astonishing claim from the CDC: Masks reduce infection by more than 80%, according to unspecified "evidence." Doesn't say whether this number is for vaccinated, unvaccinated, or overall population. No wonder it has a credibility problem. https://reason.com/2021/11/09/the-cdcs-director-implies-that-face-masks-are-more-effective-than-vaccines-at-preventing-covid-19-infection/

If requiring multiple takes to get a recording right is suspect, I hope the media never find out how many takes I threw out working on my SoundCloud uploads.

Today is Germany's 9/11 (in European DD/MM notation), the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpubkTiD6c4

Walter Donway has posted an enthusiastic review of _The Magic Battery_ to The Savvy Street.
https://www.thesavvystreet.com/magics-measure-in-the-age-of-science/

That was weird. For the first time ever, Liberdon didn't recognize the IP address I connected from and emailed me a confirmation code. It failed the first time (maybe I mistyped it) but worked the second.

Next time someone tells you that a military draft creates a population of hostages that somehow keeps the government from going to war, remind them that Hitler introduced military conscription in 1935. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1935/03/16/Hitler-orders-military-conscription-in-Germany/5124911384073/

New Hampshire challenges OSHA's claim of authority to order vaccinations. https://www.unionleader.com/news/health/coronavirus/nh-joins-suit-against-covid-19-mandate-on-employers/article_d0b61dad-7b3c-5e03-9a2c-ca65a06b18a3.html?block_id=868819

I've just discovered this blog and added it to my RSS feeds. It's worth checking out. http://jollylibertarian.blogspot.com/

I think Comcast's market share is about to collapse. 5G broadband and fiber are now viable alternatives. Comcast has killed customer loyalty with poor service and large price increases. They made it as hard as possible for me to cancel my account. One more government-assisted monopoly is falling to competition from new technology.

Things can't be that bad when it looks like this outside my window.

Just watched a video pointing out the importance of credibility-enhancing displays, or CREDs, in persuading people of your views. Stripped of jargon, it says that if you want people to trust and believe you, practice what you preach. It may be obvious, but it's important. "Free market" advocates who support legislation to make businesses act in certain ways, for instance, have low credibility.

New on my blog: Some thoughts on J. K. Rowling. I may lose a few "friends" over this. No loss. https://garymcgath.com/wp/j-k-rowling/

Plea bargains are especially ugly when the prosecution gives you the choice to plead guilty or to die. Williams may in fact have committed a heinous murder, or he may just be trying not to die. Without a trial, how do we know? If the prosecutors are so sure, why did they need a plea bargain?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/utah-man-strikes-plea-deal-in-new-hampshire-couples-2019-padre-island-killings/ar-AAQhZCM

A wrongful conviction was overturned — after 17 years in prison. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-david-morris-exoneration-20211103-shfdf2e43bgxpovsobfwksahke-story.html

Boston . com delivers the shocking news that the percentage of the Massachusetts vaccinated population who have reported a breakthrough case has been "steadily increasing." They don't mention that it's virtually impossible for it to do anything else, since it's based on a cumulative total. https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/11/03/massachusetts-breakthrough-cases-november-2/

News sites are calling Michelle Wu the first "person of color" to be elected mayor of Boston. People think Chinese-Americans have yellow skin. Donald Trump is closer to that color than any Chinese I've ever seen.

Disappointing discovery of the day: Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula) never ruled in Transylvania, though he may have been born there. He was ruler of Wallachia, to the south of Transylvania.

People misuse statistics because they don't understand them or because they're trying to manipulate others. When it's WHO, assume the latter. https://garymcgath.com/wp/right-statistic/