California Spent $10 Billion on High-speed Rail - Not 1 Mile of Track

I thought trains were supposed to be good for the enviroment. I guess I was wrong. Environmentalists Are Why We Can’t Have Infrastructure: Why can’t we build anything? Good luck getting a permit.

How can you spend $10 billion on a railroad, even if it is high-speed, and not build one mile of track?

California’s high-speed electric train has burned through nearly $10 billion, far more than its original $9 billion bond, without building a single mile of track.

$1.9 Billion on evironmental impact studies.

California’s infamous high-speed train to nowhere, which began in 2009 and whose budget already tops $100 billion, financed by corrupt environmental cap-and-trade robbery that makes cryptocurrency seem legitimate by comparison, may seem like an outlier, but it’s not.

They talk about the Brent-Spence Bridge which joins Cincinnati to Kentucky. They have been doing impact studies about the bridge at least since Obama was in Office. (It does need to be rebuilt, current plans call for destroying a historic building, so you can guess what that has run into.)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Mission, Texas, both need bridges. Central West Virginia needs an airport. Millions are spent on impact studies.

There is more but I can't quote the whole thing. And you should definitely read the conclusions about why environmentalists are strangling everything.

Civilization was nice while it lasted.

Quote of the Day - Programmers Are Optimists Edition

From Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 22 May 2023: I Don't Like It Edition

A two-fer Tuesday.

Microsoft's Visual Studio code is a free framework that is utterly useless but has a dazzling array of third-party extensions. What could possible go wrong? (Programming Geeks Club)

Oh, yeah. Right.

And

Let's put all the Python libraries created by all the programmers in the world in one convenient place. What could possibly go wrong? (Bleeping Computer)

Oh, yeah. Right.

Dave Chappelle Says San Francisco Has Become 'Gotham'

Gotham City without Batman is never a good place. In surprise show, Dave Chappelle tells San Francisco audience they 'need a Batman'

Well it is clear that the powers-that-be are not interested in maintaining law and order.

During the show, he said San Francisco has become "half 'Glee,' half zombie movie," and told the audience that they and the city "need a Batman."

Words Darker Than Their Wings

How about a duet between two masters of Power Metal, Mark Temonti and Myles Kennedy? Sounds good to me.

Alter Bridge contains none of the Harsh Vocals that seem to cause people's heads to explode. So there's that. While we are here on a Monday afternoon, I always think Alter Bridge is more Rock & Roll than Heavy Metal. I think you will enjoy it.

They didn't perform this song too often live, because Myles was apparently not too sure about his ability to hit that high note toward the end. You'll know it when he nails it.

And for completeness here's a link to the lyrics.

This is "Words Darker Than Their Wings" Live from The Royal Albert Hall by Alter Bridge. This was recorded in 2017 and included on the live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall (featuring The Parallax Orchestra) in 2018.

Considering that this is a live recording, it is really good. Even the violins from the backing orchestra are clear.

Building Uncensored AI

This is an interesting bit on removing the bias from a ChatGPT-type AI model. Uncensored Models

3. It's my computer, it should do what I want. My toaster toasts when I want. My car drives where I want. My lighter burns what I want. My knife cuts what I want. Why should the open-source AI running on my computer, get to decide for itself when it wants to answer my question? This is about ownership and control. If I ask my model a question, i want an answer, I do not want it arguing with me.

Instead of the evasions from ChatGPT for "ethical" or "offensive" content guidelines, you can get any answer you please. It gets pretty technical, pretty fast, but I like it.

Specific instructions, what libraries to retrieve via Git, how to remove the bias, how to set up the computer, though buying time on AWS is recommended for ease, and even a discussion of the pitfalls.

Hat tip to Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony and Daily News Stuff 19 May 2023: Spirits From The Vasty Deep Edition - Now With Added Formatting!

I'll make my ChatGPT, with blackjack, and hookers. (Eric's Code)

He's good to his word, not only making ChatGPT with blackjack and hookers, but showing you how to do it yourself. You'll need a reasonable level of hardware - he recommends 2TB of fast SSD to make sure you don't run out of room in the middle of a 20-hour training run - but nothing outlandish in a time when a brand new 2TB SSD costs less than the average monthly cable bill. The instructions suggest renting time at AWS rather than trying to configure the system yourself - not that you can't, just that it's easier.

The problem is that while there are now multiple open source AIs in the style of ChatGPT, the bootstrapping process to get them trained has infected them with the same authoritarian woke bullshit as ChatGPT itself.

Left Openly Calling for Cultural Revolution

Because they don't think twice about killing millions of people in pursuit of their dream. Colorado teacher calls for 'FORCEFUL cultural revolution' targeted at 'whiteness': 'This is sacred' | Fox News

Tim Hernandez is a teacher at Aurora West Preparatory Academy in the Aurora Public Schools District, according to its website. He has a signaled that he was including lessons on communist theory in his classroom.

Also, I doubt that parents know this is going on. Click thru, it isn't long.

And for those who are not up on Chinese history:

The Cultural Revolution crippled the Chinese economy and resulted in the deaths of approximately 1.5 million people and the banishment of approximately 20 million others.

Fact versus Fiction and the Hubris of Jada Pinkett Smith

The Hubris of Hollywood & Jada Pinkett Smith. While there hasn't been much new in the way of backlash on the Netflix show Queen Cleopatra, just more of the same, Critical Drinker published his take on the situation.

This is an examination of the difference between fiction, and documentary. Despite what Netflix has produced, there is supposed to be a difference. The real problem with this abomination, is that it is a "reimagining" of historical people and events (i.e. fiction) passing itself off as a documentary. Or trying to anyway. In the process, Jada Pinkett Smith and Company have alienated a whole bunch of people, including the country of Egypt.

This is Critical Drinker's video Queen Cleopatra - The Most Hated Show Of All Time?

Critical Drinker is a comentator on all things pop culture, mostly movies and TV, and I have come to like his take on things. He is also an author, and his books seem pretty good. (I've only read 1 so far, but have another in the queue.)

An Energy Catastrophe in Our Future

The near future. No Sun, No Wind, Big Problem: Benign Weather Could Cause Blackouts in States With Green Grids, Officials Warn

"I'm afraid to say it, but I think the United States is heading towards a catastrophic situation," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Mark Christie said during a May Senate hearing. "The problem is not the addition of wind and solar, it's the subtraction of dispatchable resources like coal and gas." North American Electric Reliability Corporation president Jim Robb echoed Christie's sentiment during an April press conference, calling the newfound reliance on green power generation "highly concerning" given the increased demand associated with "electrification policies and electric transportation."

So. Less electricity generation and more demand (for electric vehicles and the like.) What could possibly go wrong?

I love it when legislators pretend that they understand engineering and physics. (Hat tip to Small Dead Animals.)

No Justice for Republican Youth

There are definitely two sets of rules. OUTRAGE: North Dakota Man Who Ran Down and Killed 18 Year-Old for Being a Republican Gets Reduced Charge of Manslaughter | The Gateway Pundit | by Mike LaChance

Back in September of 2022, a man named Shannon Brandt ran down and killed an 18 year-old in North Dakota for being a Republican, then claiming that he believed the victim Cayler Eliingson was an extremist.

As Twitter user BillAlphonso pointed out ...

Crazy libtard deliberately runs over a teenager and ends up getting a sweetheart deal to spend less time in the can than January 6th peaceful protesters. — BillAlphonso (@AlphonsoBilla) May 18, 2023

Disney Faces Investor Suit Over Disney+ Revenue/Profit

Schadenfreude is a dish best served with a cold drink. Disney Hit With Investor Suit Over Alleged “Cost-Shifting Scheme” In Streaming Division

A suit filed on May 12 in California federal court accuses Disney of engaging in a fraudulent scheme designed to hide Disney+ costs and make forecasts that it would be profitable by 2024 believable. It takes aim at ousted CEO Bob Chapek’s alleged “cost-shifting scheme” to first air certain shows meant to be Disney+ originals on legacy TV networks to conceal the platform “suffering decelerating subscriber growth, losses, and cost overruns,” the suit says.

Click thru for details of the suit including the smoke that Chapek and friends were blowing for a couple of years on the subject of Disney+ profitability, and when we might see some. That would be never, in my estimation.

Disney has destroyed some of my favorite (formerly) movie franchises. Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Marvel. I won't go see any of their movies. They have spit on fans (including me) too often. Eventually any movies will be available via my local library for free. And if they never show up at the library, that is fine as well. Any future movie is not going to be good. Reports are that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is OK; it only seems amazing because of all the drek being produced in Hollywood today. I can wait to see an OK movie if it means NOT giving Hollywood any of my money. YMMV

Saturday Roundup of Link Roundups - 20 May

The Right Way starts us off with Top of the News

Sad-Posting on Tik-Tok - American Power
When did the IRS actually scuttle the Hunter Biden investigation - American Thinker

EBL - Fire Shifty Schiff

EBL: Durham and Democrat Corruption and Biden's Non-Bionary Atomic Boy
Instapundit: Say Anything Shifty

The DaleyGator - Daily Top 5

West Hollywood Unarmed “Security Ambassadors” Failed. City Council Votes for More Police
In the constant push to defund police, the West Hollywood City Council voted in 2022 to cut law enforcement positions

Wombat-socho - In The Mailbox: 05.19.23 (Punditocracy Edition)

Don Surber: The Left’s Spin On Durham, Beating The Woke, and Ukraine Took Our Eye Off The Threat
First Street Journal: A major loss for ‘progressives’?

Animal Magnetism - Animal’s Hump Day News

No shit, Sherlock.
Florida Man rides again.
And in the end, we’ll go further and further into debt.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 17 May 2023: Hot And Cold Edition

Zoom plans to implement Anthropic's chatbot, Claude, to make meetings even more insufferable. (The Verge)
Could we not?

Battleswarm Blog - LinkSwarm For May 19, 2023

“The Censorship-Industrial Complex: Top 50 Organizations To Know.”
“Man Who Assaulted Congressional Staffers Had Previously Been Let off by Soros-Funded Prosecutor.” There’s not enough shocked face in the world…

A View from the Beach - Flotsam and Jetsam - Another Day Another DIY

Accessing of Bank Records Without Subpoenas by FBI to the Weaponization of Government Committee
The Biden admin is canceling whistleblowers – HotAir

Vlad Tepes - CBDCs, Trudeau unites the country, J&J be bye and bye and Twitter: Links 1 for May 18th, 2023

1. True North on the planned Canadian CBDC
(I think he is wrong about one thing. I don’t think even the government says there is nothing to fear. Pretty sure the Trudeau government relies on fear...

Small Dead Animals - Friday On Turtle Island

Oh look! Trudeau makes a fool of himself again. The colonial genocide continues. Exciting news for the Trudeau cult. Justin’s wife has signed a two book deal. Freeland sneaks in another tax.
Today In Islam: A story you won’t find in the Canadian media (JW). A NATO member (JW).

Gates of Vienna - News Feed 5/18/2023

Corporate Media Runs With George Soros ‘Holocaust Survivor’ Lie
Elon Musk tweeted a milquetoast five-word criticism of George Soros, sending the corporate media into a full-on moral panic about “anti-Semitism.”

Cafe Hayek - Some Links

The Naked Emperor exposes the mix of arrogance, ignorance, and foolishness of those persons who have “lockdown nostalgia.”

Maggie's Farm - Wednesday morning links

How Therapists Became Social Justice Warriors
Greg Gutfeld Hits It Out of the Park on the Durham Report and What It Means

Doug Ross - Larwyn’s Linx: The FBI is the most dangerous domestic terror organization in America.

• IRS removes ‘entire investigative team’ in Hunter Biden probe, whistleblower claims retaliation - Fox
• A Deeper Dive into the Durham Report And - Barr's big mistake - Techno Fog

J.J. Sefton at Ace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 5/18/23

"Either the federal government should abide by the U.S. Constitution, or it should go away."
The Union Is Not a Suicide Pact

Anonymous Conservative - News Briefs – 5/19/2023

On eve of hearing, FBI says it revoked security clearances of 3 agents over Jan. 6 attack, and at least two of the agents are expected to testify on Capitol Hill Thursday.
FBI Agent security clearance revoked for sharing a Revolver News article about January 6th.

I leave you with Thursday gifdump from Wirecutter, Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #1101 from 90 Miles from Tyranny, Senior moments from Bluebird of Bitterness, and Libturd Thursday ~ 2 from Woodsterman.

Texans Are Still Armed

Home Invaders are still getting shot. Jarrell homeowner fatally shot burglar, sheriff's office says

A homeowner in Jarrell shot and killed a man who had broken into a house on Thursday, according to the Williamson County sheriff's office.

No arrests have been made.

Self-defense is a human-right. And it apparently your legal right in Texas.

2nd Amendment Win in New Jersey

New Jersey is sad. Gun rights advocates win major challenge to N.J.’s tough concealed carry law

A new law limiting concealed carry of guns in New Jersey suffered another defeat in federal court Tuesday as a judge ordered state officials not to enforce its tight restrictions pending a flurry of legal challenges from gun rights advocates.

The ruling means New Jerseyans with proper permits are free to concealed-carry handguns at beaches, public parks, bars and restaurants — places from where Gov. Phil Murphy and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature sought to ban firearms in an effort to curb gun violence.

Of course banning law-abiding citizens from being armed in a location, only makes it a defenseless-victim zone, because criminals will not obey that one law limiting where they can be armed. This is lost on Democrats.

Hat tip to Clayton Cramer: I Helped With Research on This Case.

Federal judge enjoined enforcement of New Jersey treating nearly the whole state as a sensitive zone where what will soon be a sea of concealed carry license may not carry.

Little Talks

So listening to the Faroese singer Eivør got me to go back and listen to some music from Iceland. (Don't worry, this song is in English!) What can I say, my head is like a pinball machine. One of the Icelandic bands I really like is Of Monsters and Men. So let's listen to a song.

Not that there is much in common between Eivør and Of Monsters and Men, except that they are (somewhat) geographically close. The Faroe Islands are about halfway between Norway and Iceland.

This is "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men from their 2011 debut album My Head Is an Animal.

The End of the Lightfoot Era

You won't have Mayor Beetlejuice to kick around anymore! From HeyJackass! we get the following: The Lightfoot Compendium.

You should click thru just for the image.

She originally campaigned on public safety while proclaiming that “we can’t afford to elect another mayor who learns about public safety on the job.” As it turned out, she was held back a few grades and by the time the last day of May 2020 rolled around and Floyd season was in full effect, it was obvious there was to be no learning at all.

Click thru for the percentage change from Rahm Emmanuel's administration, and interesting stats, such as the number of people shot and killed, the number stabbed, the fatal beatings, self-defense shootings, police shootings, and which neighborhood "won" the homicide race.

1,497 Shot In The Ass

It really used to be a wonderful city.

Friday Links - 19 May

Tam at View from the Porch is up first with Grabbers vs. Groomers, with an important topic - response to sex crimes.

Worried about sexual assault on yourself or a loved one? "I'll just [get/give them] a [gun/pepper spray] and when that bad man jumps out of the [bushes/windowless white van]...POW!"

But that's not how the majority of those crimes occur. ...

The Gateway Pundit - House Republicans to Hit Blinken with Contempt Charge For Refusing to Turn Over Afghanistan Withdrawal Memo

Antony Blinken is refusing to hand over an Afghanistan withdrawal memo that warned Americans of the deteriorating situation in the country. The Biden regime did not heed the warning and thousands of Americans and green card holders were eventually abandoned in the country.

Clayton Cramer - Lysenkoism

When politics takes precdence over science in a totalitarian state, science loses and eventually so does the state.

Tam at View from the Porch - There's no word in Russian for "OSHA"...

A little-known tale from the wind-down of the Cold War is the fascinating story of what the Germans had to do to some of the Bundeswehr's newly-acquired fleet of Soviet-built BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles acquired from the ex-East German army in order to bring them into line with western standards of usability.

SiGraybeard - It's an Old Story about a Still New Program

Artemis is too expensive. Part of that is because the SLS rocket system is too expensive. Yeah, old news.

What Artemis has going for it, besides its successful uncrewed test flight last November to December, is that it has wide support in congress. Both sides of the Uniparty back the program.

Manhattan Contrarian - What Are The Three Worst Things You Could Possibly Imagine The Federal Government Or President Ever Doing?. (You have to click thru to see the answers.)

With the stated limitations, here are the three worst possible things that I can think of that the government or President might try:

Texans Are Still Armed; Home Invaders Are Still Getting Shot

This is also a good example of why you should never stop fighting. Sheriff: Fatal shooting near Hallsville likely self-defense

An armed man, a struggle for a gun, and a man defending his family.

Harrison County Sheriff B.J. Fletcher said the incident went from “borrowing some money to aggravated robbery gone wrong.” When deputies responded to the shooting call around 12:30 a.m. on Friday, the homeowner was standing out front of the house and cooperated fully, according to the sheriff.

There is more information in the video than you will find in the article. I recommend watching it.

This incident will be presented to a grand jury, but this didn't happen in Manhattan, it happened in Texas.

In another article on the incident, Harrison County Sheriff's Office IDs man killed in Hallsville shooting...

Fletcher said no arrest has been made at this time as the evidence currently points to an act of self defense as the homeowner acted to protect himself as well as the other individuals in the home.

Self-defense is a human-right.

The Disintegration of Law and Order in Seattle

The state of Seattle as seen through the eyes of one traveler. Guest stabbed outside downtown Seattle hotel says he 'didn't expect these issues'

The stabbing happened outside the downtown Courtyard Marriott hotel at 2nd Avenue and Cherry Street on May 7 as Pond and his colleague were waiting for a rideshare car to go to dinner.

"As we waited on the sidewalk outside our hotel, I got a sharp shove on the sidewalk," Pond told KOMO News from his home in the Washington D.C. area. "I turned around and saw a very disgruntled-looking man. He said at that point something to the effect of, ‘Give me your cell phone.'"

He was "shoved" again as the two jumped into the rideshare. Except that it wasn't a shove.

As stab wounds go, this was apparently not serious. He spent a night in hospital, a couple more days in Seattle, and then went home. I wonder how eager he will be to return to Seattle.

The Powers That Be have a plan. Or so they say.

City leaders have been promising to address the rampant drug dealing, drug use and crime along 3rd Avenue in the city center since at least last summer.

But the problem is that the wonderful, progressive people of Washington State have passed all sorts of laws to hamper those plans. It is mean to insist on law and order. Racist, even.

If you have time, I recommend watching the KOMO News Documentary, "Seattle is Dying." It is an hour long, but an interesting look at Seattle from 4 years ago. I doubt things have gotten better.

How Would You Respond to a Home Invader?

He suffered from a failure of the victim-selection process. South Phoenix homeowner shoots, kills intruder

Preliminary information suggests Holmes unlawfully entered the residence at which time there was a confrontation between Holmes and the homeowner, and that is when the homeowner shot Holmes, according to police.

Cops interviewed but did not arrest the homeowner. The final determination on charges rest with the DA's office.

Self-defense is a human-right.