Patterico's Pontifications

9/13/2021

Hello

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:29 am



Hi there. It’s me. Any reports of my demise, if there were any, were premature.

I have spent the last several weeks in a trial, of a case I have had for six years. On Friday, the jury delivered a verdict. (Yes, I’m happy with it.)

This has been an all-consuming enterprise. I missed a vacation with my family. I did not write here or read anything here. I did not keep up with news. I did not go to church. I barely talked to anyone. Many days, I did not sleep more than four hours.

My sleep schedule has been wildly thrown off. Although I am theoretically back to “normal” I woke up before 3 today and decided to shower, have coffee, and start work. Might as well!

Another thing I did not do is write a newsletter. I feel guilty about that, because some people pay for the better stuff, and I have delivered nothing for weeks. The best I can do is offer a refund, and jump back on the horse this week. Email me for a refund for the time I have missed, and it will be cheerfully done. I will send the same offer by email to subscribers.

I thank the guest bloggers for their contributions, although sad to say I have not read them for a while. When you get four hours sleep for multiple nights, it saps your ability to do things like read excellent blog posts . . . or, well, to do anything not critically necessary to the mission.

Did I miss anything over the past several weeks?

41 Responses to “Hello”

  1. Congratulations on getting that 6-year-long case behind you. I’ve had engineering projects like that and I know how much the stress lifts. I also remember one July of 18-hour days, with only the 4th off.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  2. As for the news:

    Some people still think that the vaccine is made out of sheep dip, or maybe it’s sheep dip they think will cure them. I get confused. Meanwhile Biden has announced once again that he’s the boss of us.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  3. Is it de rigueur to welcome a man back to his own home? Ah, who cares? Welcome back, Patterico, and congratulations on your case!

    nk (1d9030)

  4. Welcome back! Glad the trial went well. You didn’t miss much…

    Hoi Polloi (2f1acd)

  5. You missed the touching and symbolic scene as the President, past Presidents and members of Congress chatted happily before the 9/11 memorial service and, in a gesture of togetherness, all placed their masks on just before the network coverage began.

    Obudman (03720c)

  6. Welcome back…at least 1 one jurisdiction is still bothering to take people to trial.

    Note- if a couple regulars pull a “Patterico” starting today, it could be that they’re scabbing here.

    urbanleftbehind (c073c9)

  7. Congrats on putting that behind you! What did you miss? Well, let’s see… for starters, the USA went from Fierce Resolute Eagle to Teh Mouse That Roared in about one weekend

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  8. At least one of us wondered where you’d gone.

    Patterico has returned to his blawg
    To leave his readers agog
    He was gone in thin air
    We all wondered where
    Now he’s back like the fam’ly dog

    The Limerick Avenger (3ee66d)

  9. 4 hours sleep… wake up, put the shaving cream in the grinder…

    Colonel Haiku (9a8c5f)

  10. Welcome back.

    I understand the feeling of long hours and lack of sleep.

    Good luck returning to normal.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  11. You missed nothing here.

    felipe at a different terminal (084d77)

  12. Six years.

    “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  13. Welcome back, and congratulations.

    felipe at a different terminal (084d77)

  14. I have spent the last several weeks in a trial, of a case I have had for six years…I did not write here or read anything here. I did not keep up with news

    The Taliban took over Afghanistan while you were not paying attention to the news. Joe Biden stuck to his August 31 withdrawal deadline, which unexpectedly for him took place AFTER the Taliban takeover. There was a rushed partial evacuation of civilians. Biden engaged in double talk as to whether he was going to get certain Afghan civilians out too, and people with prominent supporters in the United States, like journalists, were given the right to leave – if they could make it inside the airport.

    There was a suicide bomber at gate of the airport, (exploded when the bomber was about to be searched – just what is the sense of searching anyone for a possible suicide bomb?) which killed 13 American military and about 170 Afghans and the U.S. was warned of a car bomb attack being planned by ISIS-K, which really hasn’t existed since 2018, and the U.S. wound up killing innocent people with a drone strike from a drone based outside of Afghanistan.

    Joe Biden decided that August 31 meant 12:01 am rather than 11:59 pm and left early, but not before destroying some of the equipment at the airport, probably so that charter planes could not take out more Afghans (I can’t think of any other reason for that that makes sense.)

    Biden spoke six times on television on Afghanistan while this was going on, sometimes mixing it up with other subjects, like bad weather, and he spoke again, last Thursday about a Covid vaccine mandate that may not be as strong as he claimed it was.

    I think the two “infrastructure” bills may both fail, because the smaller bipartisan one is being held hostage totthe other. There will be a vote in the House Sept 27 on the smaller one, which has already passed the Senate, but it will probably lose because maybe 90 Democrats won’t vote for it and not too many Republicans will.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  15. I was worried….but understand when real life becomes all consuming. Congratulations on the good result. I hope to hear/see your opinions on the TX SB8 law, the DOJ suit, and the Biden vaccination mandates. We’re just getting more and more sniping and exasperation in the comments section. I miss some of the people we’ve lost….it’s too bad.

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  16. Welcome back. The lawyers I know hate those kinds of trials because they consume their lives from opening gavel to final verdict.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  17. Welcome back! Glad it went well. If there’s good coverage of the case I’d love to read it

    Time123 (54e6d2)

  18. Congratulations, Patrick and thanks for fighting the good fight.

    I’ve read a book by Vincent Bugliosi (if I recall you’re a huge fan, which was why I got the book) where he describes the absolute physical toll of such trials.

    At the end of the day, if a decade and more of steady content isn’t enough for folks to give you a break, that’s not your problem.

    Dustin (150498)

  19. Welcome back. Glad it was a work-related absence and not a health-related absence.

    nate_w (1f1d55)

  20. “This is not intelligence. This is information analysis assessment.” – SoS Antony Blinken, 9/13/21

    Swamp gas.

    Fire him.

    Now.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  21. Does your boss know you’re still prosecuting criminals? Thought that was a policy violation now.

    Let’s see: Biden created a complete disaster in Afghanistan, left hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghans to the Taliban, and got 13 young American service members killed. He proved once again that he’s a national embarrassment on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. He’s trying to implement a vaccine mandate that has no basis in science. Inflation is spiraling out of control and the democrats are trying to print another $5 trillion or so. Oh, and Hunter Biden may be under investigation by the FBI, who may have interviewed Antony Blinken about it.

    But no mean tweets! So there’s that.

    Edoc118 (9fddab)

  22. Congratulations on successfully finishing a six year long project! That must feel fantastic.

    aphrael (4c4719)

  23. Congratulations and welcome back.

    Let’s see. Trump was reinstated on August 13. He promptly eradicated COVID by Tweet, and united the country under his benevolent, self-deprecating leadership. In the face of Trump’s towering moral authority, Kim Jong-un surrendered his nukes. The Dow is over 5,000 and Melania is more in love than ever.

    In other words, nothing you shouldn’t have anticipated if you stick to the reputable news sources.

    lurker (59504c)

  24. Cheers on the case outcome!

    Looking forward to your future posts.

    whembly (ae0eb5)

  25. Mr Finkelman wrote:

    I think the two “infrastructure” bills may both fail, because the smaller bipartisan one is being held hostage totthe other. There will be a vote in the House Sept 27 on the smaller one, which has already passed the Senate, but it will probably lose because maybe 90 Democrats won’t vote for it and not too many Republicans will.

    From your keyboard to God’s monitor screen!

    The economy is humming along; why would we need either a $1.5 or $3.5 trillion stimulus package?

    The Limerick Avenger (3ee66d)

  26. Mr 118 asked:

    Does your boss know you’re still prosecuting criminals? Thought that was a policy violation now.

    Maybe it was a white collar crime, or something in which white criminals victimized Persons of Color. but, whatever it was, I’d guess that it won’t be our honored host who gets the credit for the conviction.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3ee66d)

  27. I think they still prosecute murders in Los Angeles.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  28. Feelings of guilt are not allowed. We know who you are and the demands on your time.
    I’m happy you get some time to rest, recover, be with family.
    Take care of the people closest to you first.
    May peace, joy, laughter and praise be upon you

    steveg (2c7127)

  29. Welcome back. (And if you now have a little spare time, read Michael Shellenberger’s Apocalypse Never. Especially chapter 10.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  30. It’s great to see you back. And congratulations on the outcome of your case.

    HCI (92ea66)

  31. @29, Miller, that looks like an interesting book…..Peter Gleick sure hates it
    https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/review-bad-science-and-bad-arguments-abound-in-apocalypse-never/
    but his review seems to protest too much….and his examples of factual error seem overly pressed. He just doesn’t like the book’s conclusions.

    Others look more receptive
    https://environmentalprogress.org/praise-for-apocalypse-never

    I think fear-mongering is where many on the Left have gone wrong…..and Shellenberger’s belief in economic growth and technological innovation…..coupled with Nuclear (advocated by the famous right winger Bill Gates)…..is the reasonable-man’s call. I will try and pick it up and give it a read….but it may be feeding my confirmation bias….

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  32. 21. Patterico was moved to appellate work, but it looks like he hung on to his old cases.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  33. 25. The Limerick Avenger (3ee66d) — 9/13/2021 @ 5:20 pm

    The economy is humming along; why would we need either a $1.5 or $3.5 trillion stimulus package?

    The idea of spending as stimulus is a bad economic theory that was known to be wrong in 1975, but there are some arguments for some of that spending.

    Except it seems to be designed to spend money carelessly.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  34. why would we need either a $1.5 or $3.5 trillion stimulus package?

    Because the people who vote Democrat might have to go back to work otherwise.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  35. Even the Austrians concede a bit of Keynesianism when there is a dire national emergency. (No link, it will do you good to look up Ludwig von Mises yourselves.) But the direness has subsided and any more printing of money will exacerbate not ameliorate the damage to the economy. For generations.

    nk (1d9030)

  36. #29 AJ_Liberty – Gleick doesn’t even mention what I consider the most interesting arguments in the book: Shellenberger says, directly, that for many educated Westerners, environmentalism is a religion. That’s not a new argument, but it isn’t one you are likely to find in, say, a CBS news story on the environment. Second, Shellenberger argues – and supports his arguments with evidence — that environmental organizations have received large donations from fossil fuel investors, while they were opposing nuclear power. (He names some big names in Chapter 10, by the way.)

    You know who else favors nuclear power? All three of Obama’s Energy Secretaries. Search on their names + “nuclear power” to find evidence, if you want some. (So does James Hansen.)

    Finally, there is something wrong with our news organizations when they give so much more coverage to the opinions of a troubled Swedish teenager than to those three energy secretaries. (I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she has received 1000 times more coverage in recent years than they have.)

    (I see Gleick won a Macarthur. In recent years, I have begun to treat those prizes, in political areas, as evidence of misdeeds.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  37. @36, Yeah, that’s a pretty provocative statement from an admitted environmentalist….to call it a religion. So, I can see how that would trigger critics. But I think the point is that exaggerating both the harms of modest warming and over-stating the benefits of renewable technology leads to unproductive conversation…..and people need to understand where the mainstream actually is. The media is certainly not always helpful….elevating someone like Thunberg is just laughable. She had no special insight into the science or policy specifics….but like in the gun control debate….she offers raw emotionalism. The media…both sides….is also just about triggering people…..and they know kids like Thunberg and Hogg will generate lots of clicks and buzz…but not much of journalistic value.

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  38. AJ – I imagine McPhee’s Encounters with the Archdruid is a bit dated — it’s been years since I re-read it — but it may still be worth your time.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  39. I see Gleick won a Macarthur. In recent years, I have begun to treat those prizes, in political areas, as evidence of misdeeds.

    The media…both sides….is also just about triggering people…..and they know kids like Thunberg and Hogg will generate lots of clicks and buzz

    It’s too bad there isn’t a MacArthur grant for solving that last problem. Despite other claimants, the clickbait phenomenon is a much bigger threat to our democracy than what’s usually claimed.

    frosty (f27e97)

  40. Welcome back. I eagerly await your next Bach selection next Sunday. Thanks to my foresight (a big word that means “dumb luck that worked out OK”) I saved many of your earlier selections and was able to survive your absencee with only minor discomfort.

    John B Boddie (9f8361)

  41. A movie about the Nazi murder of the Jews (set in one of the death camps) that some people consider the best Holocaust movie ever made, that languishes in obscurity perhaps because it was originally supposed to premiere on September 11, 2001.

    https://www.jta.org/2021/09/10/opinion/the-greatest-holocaust-movie-ever-made-starring-steve-buscemi-debuted-on-9-11-its-time-to-revisit-it

    What was the impact of 9/11 on the release?

    I literally woke up on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 to a review in the Toronto Star that was exactly what we wanted. The critic really got the movie. I was supposed to have breakfast with Roger Ebert that morning. Before breakfast, I went on this radio show and that guy was rhapsodic about the movie. And it was to premiere that night. The night of Sept. 11. And I was sitting there on this radio show thinking, “My God, people get the movie. They’re appreciating it. All the risks that we took are being vindicated.” And [I] looked up, and news footage showed the planes crashing into the buildings. And so, I daresay, that had some impact on the film’s future. And of course, that started with the understandable cancelation of our premiere that night.

    Were you ever able to have a proper screening of the film after the tragedy?

    Yes. In fact, my mother was supposed to go to the screening in Toronto on 9/11. But she finally saw the movie at an industry screening a year later, and there was a Q&A afterward. And she raised her hand. And I thought, oh my God! And she said, “I’m Tim’s mother. And Tim will be the first to tell you that I don’t always like what he does. As an example, his last play I thought was awful! But Tim, in terms of this movie, I am in awe.” And that meant a great deal to me because my mother is, shall we say, parsimonious with her praise, so it really means something when it does come.

    They suddenly didn’t need to go 57 years into the past. |It was a it like \Auschwitz was re-opened for one day. Flight 93 was like the trains and I’m sure they thought about it.. The fire was like – something. But only 3,000 killed ad it could go higher.)

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)


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