Author: Derek
Monday Links
There was some temptation to do a bunch of April Fools links, but in all honesty, I didn’t have the time to set that up. Maybe next year.
Let’s do our Reason segment.
DeSantis signed a bill mandating age verification for social media. There are some things that I think are good ideas, but don’t trust the heavy hand of government to do. Getting kids under the age of fifteen/sixteen off of social media is one of those things.
We keep hearing how long it will take to fix the Francis Scott Key Bridge. One of the reasons is a protectionist law? Cue shocked Pikachu face.
A court decision reaffirms the Second Amendment rights of public housing tenants. Who often are the folks most in need of those rights.
We end Reason’s segment with a trio of articles about squatter’s rights.
Stossel illustrating the problem.
Court cases on if laws surrounding squatter’s rights should be considered takings.
Finally, how big of an epidemic are squatters?
In case you were curious, no, I’m not big on squatter’s rights. If you’re occupying my building or land without a contract in place, I should be able to have you arrested for trespassing.
Now on to other items.
From Ground News, the people pushing a new geologic epoch because of all the damage humanity has done have been denied.
An article on drone swarms and the possible irrelevance of the Air Force. I learned a new term – air littoral space. Drone swarms are definitely going to change the battlefield.
Tam has an article over at Shooting Illustrated on the impact Glock has had on the pistol market. It was certainly the right product at the right time, and it certainly ushered in what I would consider the modern sidearm.
We end on a sad note. The passing of Louis Gossett Jr.
Some Changes Coming to the Blog
At the beginning of the year, I stopped posting Friday Quotes. It was becoming more of a chore than a joy – and since this blog is supposed to be fun…
So, starting with April, the Metal Tuesday B-sides will go over to Fridays.
So, for the rest of the year, we should have Monday Links, Tuesday Metal, B-Side Fridays, and Anime Recommendations around the middle of the month.
Plus whatever family journaling or other items of note.
Baltimore Bridge Collapse
Dramatic video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge being struck by a cargo vessel and collapsing.
The local paper has its account.
A massive container ship adrift at 9 mph issued a “mayday” early Tuesday as it headed toward the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge, losing power before colliding with one of the bridge’s support columns. As the vessel struck the bridge, it caused a din that could be heard ashore and immediately toppled an essential mid-Atlantic thoroughfare into the frigid waters.
Several cars were knocked into the Patapsco River and as of Tuesday around 11 a.m., authorities were searching for six construction workers who had been repairing potholes on the bridge. Two others were rescued — one who was briefly hospitalized and another who declined to go to a hospital. Extensive rescue efforts were ongoing.
Baltimore awoke to the tragedy: States of emergency declared by both the mayor and governor, search-and-rescue efforts for those missing, a bridge disappeared.
Before the collision, the ship’s crew notified authorities that the vessel had lost power. That “mayday” allowed Maryland Transportation Authority Police on the highway above to prevent many cars from driving onto the bridge just before the catastrophe.
“These people are heroes,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a morning news conference. “They saved lives last night.”
Moore added that there was no evidence that the collision was a terrorist attack.
Of course, there’s already wild speculation that it was a terrorist attack. Because the internet is a fucking cesspool sometimes.
The administration has already stated that the feds will pick up the tab for clearing and rebuilding. Which, honestly, is what the federal government should do. Still, it’s going to be a long road. And the supply chain is going to be fucked up until the disaster area is cleared.
Still, this whole incident gave me eerie vibes to a local event back in 1980.
Monday Links
This might be a bit longer than normal since I didn’t publish a links post last week. You’ll see some common themes running through the items – namely, medical science keeps advancing and the key rule of economics is always in force – “incentives matter”. So, with that, we’ll begin with the normal Reason links.
Seattle decided gig drivers should be paid more. Rates went up, but drivers ended up getting less.
An analysis of a recent example of taking part of what someone said and blowing it out of proportion. In this case, Justice Brown-Jackson’s question if the First Amendment could hamstring the government. That’s what the internet is blaring, but not the rest of the question on if the hamstringing was against protecting the citizens. Which is a legit question to hammer out.
An article saying it was wrong to imprison the parents because they failed to stop a school shooter. This is one of those edge cases where the defendants were clearly negligent in getting their son help. Kind of like parents who refuse to take their kids to doctors when they’re clearly suffering from an ailment. With the benefit of hindsight, the government is saying that it was a clear outcome of their negligence. The more I look into mental health, I’m not sure we can say that.
Last Reason link is on the economics and politics of Star Trek.
Now on to the Ground News aggregations.
Research on reprogramming immune cells to go after certain cancers is promising.
Surgeons implanted a genetically modified pig kidney. Given the issues surrounding supply of organs, finding other sources is a good step.
The FTC is nosing around Reddit’s plan to license their content for LLM training. Because reasons. Or because it gives them an icky feeling – which seems to be a guiding principle among the leadership of the FTC these days.
DOJ is suing Apple because of their “monopoly on smartphones.” Which is more a case of people prefer iPhones. But again, it makes the feds feel icky.
Joanne’s is restructuring through bankruptcy. Considering this is one of The Wife’s and MIL’s favorite stores, I’m glad it’s not going away.
Let’s go on to other news stories.
An NYT article on automakers sharing data with insurance companies without informing owners.
BBC reporting on the quadriplegic patient who is using Neuralink for playing chess. And for playing Civ 6.
For The Wife, WaPo has an article on how cats aren’t jerks.
The Drive’s article on Toronto police telling its citizens to make it easy on car thieves to prevent more violence.
CNN Business article on the demise of the 6% commission rule.
Now for a couple of light items.
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office decided to have some fun when a prankster put a “For Sale” sign on one of its cruisers. Personally, I thought they handled it well – by acknowledging the humor and asking politely for people not to replicate.
For The Brother, an article on Clutch becoming the Phish of hard rock.
Macross Coming to Disney+
According to this article, it looks like almost all of the Macross series will be coming to Disney+ “by the end of 2024.”
It looks like the original Superdimensional Fortress Macross and Do You Remember Love? are not included. For which, we will have to thank Harmony Gold. So, what is coming?
The following titles are listed for distribution outside Japan:
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 (the music video derived from the television and film versions of the original Macross anime)
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers, Again- (6 episodes)
Macross Plus (4 episodes total)
Macross Plus Movie Edition
Macross 7 (49 television episodes, plus three OVA episodes)
Macross 7 the Movie: The Galaxy’s Calling Me!
Macross Dynamite 7 (4 episodes)
Macross Zero (5 episodes)
Macross Frontier (25 episodes)
Macross Frontier: The False Songstress
Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell
Gekijō Tanpen Macross Frontier Toki no Meikyū
Macross FB7: Ore no Uta o Kike!
Macross Delta (26 episodes)
Macross Delta the Movie: Passionate Walkūre
Macross Delta the Movie: Absolute Live!!!!!!
I find it interesting that Macross II is coming, considering that they just did a huge Kickstarter for Blu-Rays.
I’m also hopeful that this means Disney will start carrying Macross merch. Okay, maybe not the VF-1 series, but it would be cool to get a new VF-19 or VF-25.