Author: philg

Happy Mother’s Day to the Virgins

by philg

I’ve been listening to (excellent) lectures on Classical mythology by Professor Kathryn McClymond. One thing that I learned is that Remus and Romulus were described in some Roman sources as having been born to a virgin who was miraculously impregnated by a god (Mars). There may also have been a solar eclipse on the day of their birth. It turns out that the story of a virgin birth is older than the New Testament. Signs from the stars and a virgin birth were markers of future greatness for a variety of young heroes in the ancient world.

(The full course is “Great Mythologies of the World”, available from Audible.)

So Happy Mother’s Day to all of the readers who identify as mothers, including the virgins!

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Gender Bending Fashion show at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

by philg

If you need help completing your summer wardobe, our Museum of Fine Arts has a “Gender Bending Fashion” show through August 25.

Not sure what “Nonbinary” or “Genderqueer” mean? There’s a glossary placard:

Ready for inspiration next time you visit Amazon Fashion?

After you exit, there is helpful restroom tutorial:

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Sample bias at our local public school

by philg

In our town that provides sanctuary to any undocumented immigrant who can afford a $1 million house on an $800,000 zoning minimum two-acre lot, the middle school teachers asked the students to write up “My Family’s Immigration Story”. These were then displayed in the hallway:

(Immigrants to Massachusetts killed or displaced nearly all of the natives, so 100 percent of the students in the school were able to come up with an immigration story.)

One of the above guys came here in 1853 with $12 and eventually owned a 440-acre farm. The latest batch of immigrants shouldn’t have any trouble doing that… as long as we can find another continent to steal from natives!

These are awesome examples of sample bias/selection bias. To get people to think that low-skill immigration will lead to economic growth, ask people who live in $2 million houses to write about their immigrant ancestors.

Separately, the teachers ran an event featuring five speakers talking about their immigration stories:

The majority of non-citizens were on welfare as of 2014. How many of the five folks invited talked about their use of means-tested subsidized housing, health insurance, food stamps, or Obamaphones? It turned out not to be a representative sample…

Why would unionized public school teachers have an incentive to promote immigration and, therefore, population growth? Although their compensation, including pension, is guaranteed, they are at risk of being laid off if the population of school-age children shrinks. They might be able to demand higher salaries if the population of school-age children grows.

Some other fun stuff from the visit. Profound philosophical questions raised by personal locker signage:

PRIDE march hampered by chainmail:

Art from the adjacent elementary school:

Related:

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Robinson R22 pilot makes the news

by philg

“East Brookfield Man Arrested for Piloting Helicopter From Backyard” (NECN):

A Massachusetts man who previously had his pilot’s license revoked after he helped steal a helicopter has been accused of making dozens of illegal helicopter takeoffs and landings from his East Brookfield home.

Antonio Santonastaso, 59, was arrested Wednesday in connection to the unlawful flights, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. He allegedly made more than 50 flights from his backyard between April and November of 2018.

Santonastso’s pilot’s license was revoked in 2000 by the Federal Aviation Administration because of his participation in the theft of a helicopter from the Norwood Memorial Airport, officials said.

Cue footage of a Robinson R22.

He may face more prison time than served by the typical convicted Nazi or Japanese war criminal:

Santonastso has been charged with flying without proper certification and making false statements to federal agents. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release.

Glad to see it isn’t anyone associated with our flight school!

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Showing one’s deep humanity by comparing Mexicans to German Nazis

by philg

From a virtuous Facebook user:

The administration’s shameful all out war on refugees and asylum seekers continues. International refugee and asylum law – the right to cross a border if you have a legitimate fear of persecution – came about as a result of the holocaust. Imagine if in 1939 there was a policy called “Remain in Germany?”

(As the Facebooker’s paycheck is derived from the river of tax dollars devoted to settling refugees in the U.S., it is fortunate that Donald Trump’s “all out war on refugees and asylum seekers” does not include any interruption in the federal cash supply to the refugee and asylum-seeker
non-profit organization for which this guy works.)

The above posting sounds righteous, but if we think about it for another 15 seconds we have to notice that he is comparing Mexico today to Germany circa 1939, near the very height of Adolf Hitler’s popularity with German voters.

Given that Mexican taxpayers are shouldering a substantial burden caring for the caravans of Central Americans drawn to the magnet of the U.S. welfare state, is it fair to compare Mexicans and Mexico to Nazis and 1930s Germany?

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Who will be the Marie Kondo for gun enthusiasts?

by philg

“ATF seizes more than 1,000 firearms at Los Angeles mansion” (The Hill):

Girard Damien Saenz, 56, was arrested and is expected to be charged with possessing, selling and manufacturing assault weapons, according to the LAPD.

Helicopter footage showed agents organizing the cache of more than 1,000 firearms removed from the home, laid out along the driveway.

Officials told ABC 7 out of Los Angeles that the weapons were found cluttered all around the home.

(emphasis added)

For those who love guns, perhaps there could be a Kondo-style business in which each of the 1,000 guns is handled and the owner asks “Does this semi-automatic rifle spark joy?”

Related:

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Noah’s Ark story needs to be updated with additional genders?

by philg

We have a three-year-old who likes the Noah’s Ark story…

Every time I read this I realize that I’m committing the (modern) sin of Gender Binarism.

How would an updated Noah’s Ark story work? How many genders would there be per animal species? Or would the number vary on a per-species basis?

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What’s scarier than a shootout between police and a bank robber?

by philg

On May 1, we had a Los Angeles-style shootout between a criminal and police officers, complete with SWAT team, helicopters overhead, etc. WCVB:

The FBI and Somerville police are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest in connection with the Middlesex Federal Savings Bank incident.

The robber is described as a Hispanic man in his 20s or early 30s and is about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds.

Just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a man wearing a black hat and camouflage jacket walked into Middlesex Federal Savings Bank on College Avenue carrying a handgun.

He fired a shot at the ceiling, then went up to a teller window and put the gun on the counter. That’s when a Somerville police officer came in and the two of them started shooting at each other.

SWAT teams, K9 units and armored vehicles went through the streets in the neighborhood around Davis Square.

Senior Management was waiting for a kid-related activity with three moms who were at home when the shooting happened and SWAT and the helicopters came in.

It could have been worse, though. One mom: “I was scared. But not as scared as I am of Trump.” The other two nodded in sympathetic agreement.

Related:

  • MassLive: “Massachusetts State Police troopers, along with Somerville police, FBI agents and SWAT team members swarmed College Avenue Wednesday morning after a man attempted to rob the Middlesex Federal Savings bank.”
  • the description of the suspect varied depending on news outlet. He was “Hispanic” in the build-the-wall Boston Herald. He was “in his 30s with a medium build” in the sanctuary-is-not-enough Boston Globe.
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As measured from market peak year to trough year, real estate investor performs poorly

by philg

Breaking news from the New York Times:

Newly obtained tax information reveals that from 1985 to 1994, Donald J. Trump’s businesses were in far bleaker condition than was previously known.

My comment:

This is shocking news indeed. 1985-1994 were such great years to be in the real estate business for everyone else. (Except maybe for the 300 or so Savings and Loans that had to be shut down by the FDIC (costing taxpayers more than $100 billion) due to real estate loan losses. And also perhaps for the 1600+ banks that were closed, merged, or bailed out.)

How about a headline “As measured from market peak year to trough year, real estate investor performs poorly”?

I am desperate to see the Times publish an article with a headline of “If Trump loses only one or two more $billion, he will need to trade the family Boeing 757 in on a flight school Cirrus.” I am ready with the photo illustration:

(Captured this weekend at KSWF on the way down to Washington, D.C. with an instrument flying student. Note blackface kit installed in case we needed landing clearance from Virginia Democrats at Dulles Airport. Also, if Trump is anti-Mexican, how come his base FBO was having a big Cinco de Mayo celebration?)

[The NYT article does not contain any information on how much money Donald Trump actually made or lost in any given year. It was previously reported that Trump was somehow able to deduct as business losses for himself money that had been put in by investors (i.e., he was able to deduct on his tax return far more than his actual cash losses). So the tax gains or losses aren’t related to Trump’s actual cash gains or losses.]

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Americans with elite educations advocate for socialism because they are shocked at not being rich?

by philg

“If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?” was a common expression in New York City during my father’s youth (Great Depression and World War II).

I’m wondering if this way of thinking explains why so many Americans who’ve obtained degrees from elite institutions and earn above-median wages are advocates of socialism. On the face of it, it doesn’t seem rational for people who earn 4-5X the median wage to say that income inequality is a national emergency and to be more enthusiastic about socialism than are people who earn below-median wages.

Pre-2016, my neighbors here in Eastern Massachusetts were upset when politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. would make decisions without consulting them. Since they knew themselves to be the smartest folks on the planet, why wouldn’t President Obama, the Wise One, call them up to ask for advice? Upset turned to rage following the country’s choice of Donald Trump.

What’s even more upsetting than not having one’s desired level of political influence? Not having one’s fair level of financial reward.

In a fair market, someone with a Ph.D. in humanities would get paid more than someone with a high school degree, at least if the Ph.D. in humanities is allowed to define “fair.” Yet an American bond trader with a high school degree can easily earn 10X what a liberal arts professor may earn (100X if we compare to an adjunct!). Thus we come to slightly newer adage: “When the market gives you an answer you don’t like, declare market failure.”

Readers: What do you think? What accounts for people with incomes that are well above the median advocating for “socialism”, which would tend to narrow the income distribution? Could it be rational? As the U.S. population expands and there is a brutal competition for scraps of desirable real estate, for example, will it help the Ph.D. academic to afford a beach house if central planners won’t give the bond trader enough to buy 10 beach houses?

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