Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

@drrimmer They're a plague. I hope the investigation turns up some actionable results.

The F-35 is probably a better #fighter, on the whole, than the current version of the JAS 39. The F-47 will probably be better than the next version. But the best plane is the one you can get in the air.

Export restrictions, maintenance requirements, and the possibility of a "kill switch" make any US-built military aircraft a terrible bet for most customers. If Saab can find an alternate engine (the current powerplant is built by General Electric) then the #Gripen becomes a clearly better choice.

Saab claims its #ECM capabilities can be upgraded to make it the equal of any "stealth fighter." I don't know enough to evaluate this claim. I do know that if I were in charge of defense acquisitions for anywhere outside the US, I'd be willing to toss a coin to find out.

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/saab-offers-full-capability-jas-39-gripens-amid/

On Facebook this got a bunch of comments saying things like "#Denver used to be #cool X years ago!" but nobody can agree on what X is. So far I've seen 10, 15-20, and 25. Do I hear 30 ... 30 ... going for 30 ... do I hear 35 ...

https://www.westword.com/news/denver-named-one-of-the-coolest-us-cities-heres-why-24175783

I've lived in Denver most of my life. Ten years ago people were talking about how cool it was ten years before that. Fifteen years ago they were talking about how cool it was fifteen years before that. Twenty years ago, well, you get the idea.

So I'll stake my claim: Denver was coolest when I was young and had a cheap apartment and no adult responsibilities and could stay up all night and still function the next day. Just like it was for everyone else.

Sumdood on Facebook is insisting the #Missouri #River is "#navigable" all the way into #Montana because Lewis and Clark got #canoes up it.

Words mean things. Those meanings are not always obvious. Google is free.

93% of young male #Triceratops think they could beat a full-grown #Tyrannosaurus in a fight. 48% think they could beat two at once.

I'm so tired of thinking about #politics.

This isn't me saying "I don't care about politics," because of course I do. It isn't "LOL nothing matters," because everything matters. And it sure isn't "who cares who's in office, it won't change my life," because I know better. Politics matters to me at least as much as ever, and that's a lot.

But I used to be able to go hours, sometimes maybe even days, without thinking about it—because for the most part, it just *worked*. Yeah, there was always some awful bill or executive order or court decision. The machinery that led to those outcomes, as bad as they could be, kept grinding along.

Now that machine, which like most clunky old machines requires constant maintenance, is instead being sabotaged. "Need an oil change? Try sand and hydrochloric acid instead!" And if you think the machine does bad things when it works ... wait until you see what happens when it doesn't.

My worry won't do anything to keep it going, of course. Like I've said many times since November 5th, and especially since January 20th, the *only* thing I can do that will have any effect is to keep my personal machine running. Take care of me and mine.

Yeah, I'm trying really hard to do that. It's not working.

I hate the saboteurs for more reasons than I can count. I hate their cruelty, and their bigotry, and their pettiness, and their murderous willful ignorance. Always have, always will.

Right now, I think I hate them for pulling me away from taking care of those I love more than anything. Which is a really high bar.

@cstross I see your question has already been answered. I love the internet.

A friend on Facebook helpfully provided links to several other liquors, some US-made, which come with handy bags. My reply was, "That's just what Big Dice Bag *wants* me to think. Or drink, as the case may be."

Also, #Carney should really hire Trump as his #campaign manager: https://338canada.com/federal.htm

For the first time since the start of his second term, #Trump hit 50% #disapproval in #VoteHub's #polling #aggregation today. https://votehub.com/polls/

Presidents have come back from this. #Reagan bottomed out at something like 30% early in his first term, and then of course won re-election in a landslide. But Trump doesn't have that kind of political acumen.

If we have anything resembling a fair #election, 2026 will be a bloodbath, and I'm willing to bet 2028 as well. If we don't, well, it will be a bloodbath of a different kind.

Comment on a post about #tariffs and the possibility of #smuggling from #Canada: "without Crown Royal, we'll run into a national shortage of #dice bags."

This morning, I woke up from a dream where I was testifying at a Congressional hearing, trying to explain maximum likelihood estimation to Marjorie Taylor Greene. "#MLE to #MTG" is kind of catchy, but no matter what challenges I face in the waking world today, they have to be easier than that.

I know I should just block #spambots and delete their comments, but sometimes I can’t resist.

Yuge #protests. Amazing protests. People come up to me with tears in their eyes, and they say, "Sir"—they always call me "Sir"—"Sir, how do you have such beautiful protests?" And I tell them, "No one knows how to make a deal for protests like your favorite President, #Trump!" The best protests. Bigly.

[sad Mr. Ed noises]

In principle, I’d prefer to live in a world where private political views aren’t grounds for denying people housing. But I’d also prefer to live in a world where Trump’s brand of politics is the province of a despised lunatic fringe, not half the country. Since we don’t live in the second kind of world, we’re under no obligation to live in the first.