I don’t think it is generally considered a good book, but I’m sure it depends on who you ask. I thought it had some interesting ideas, but was pretty weak overall.

I, for one, welcome our new squirrel overlords.

That makes perfect sense. :-)

Language is just a consensus. If enough people agree about how it works, then that’s how it works.

Absolutely. It isn’t true. It just should be.

Neither side has been willing to change, or even talk about, the shift of wealth that has left most people barely able to get by. Working people get less and less reward for their efforts and the difference all goes to the owners. I think that is at least one aspect of Bernie’s complaint about the Democrats.

I did not know about that. Time for me to do some reading. Thanks for your post!

I’ve tried a great many different black and green teas, but my favorite is Constant Comment. I realize that makes me a barbarian low-life, but I genuinely enjoy the flavor.

I have thought for years that we needed more political parties in this countries, but the current system makes it almost impossible for them to hold any real power.

What’s needed is a takeover of the Democratic party. The Republicans did it, for evil. We could do it for good.

The practical problem is that Citizens United gives the super-rich most of the power. It would take a very large-scale populist movement to push them out and take back control.

My first presidential election was in 1980. I waited almost six hours to vote for Jimmy Carter in Iowa City, Iowa, USA (a medium-sized college town).

It was surprisingly festive. There were people walking the line handing out water and snacks. There were several musicians performing at various points along the line.

This may be the most brilliant get-out-the-vote tactic I’ve ever seen.

If you can get relatives to help, do that. If not, contact a local women’s shelter or other abuse-related non-profit. They may or may not be able to help directly, but they will most likely know what other resources are available.

I wish you the best.

That depends a great deal on what the local police are like. They may help. They may just let the family know about the complaint. Generations of abused women provide an unfortunate history of these issues.

And even if the police do help, they will not be able to provide protection. Their job is to arrest and prosecute the brother after he commits the murder. It’s sad and wrong, but that is the way the system works.

Possibly, but life is full of risks.

What you really need is a carbon fiber shoehorn. If you do manage to deform it the thing will go right back to its original shape.

I understand the desire to get even, but it isn’t likely to happen and it isn’t likely to be satisfying, even if you succeed. You should focus on things that will make your life better and not things that will make someone else’s life worse, even if they richly deserve it.

You are going to have to make some compromises. You are currently putting up with a situation you don’t like, in exchange for the salary, side benefits, and location. That’s isn’t necessarily a bad tradeoff, but it is not likely to be a good long-term situation. Once management decides they have a problem with you, things are going to get worse sooner or later. It will be better for you if you leave rather than being forced out.

You need to make some decisions about which of the things you like about your situation you would be willing to give up for a better job. That will tell you what to do next. Maybe the answer is to hold out for a better position within your current organization, although the chances don’t sound good. You may need to take a salary cut to find a local position that’s better for you. You may need to move. You may even need to change careers entirely.

The key is to make your own decisions and not allow others to force them on you. There are a lot of factors you can’t control. Focus on the ones you can. And don’t stay in a bad situation with the hope that everything will work out the way you want it to.

I gather that to get a London cab license you have to pass a test that requires you to know pretty much every street, alley, and major building in the city. I can’t imagine how long it would take to get all of that into your head.

GPS was life-changing. (Yes, I am that old.) It used to be necessary to find printed maps of wherever you were going, which wasn’t always easy. Then you had to figure out a route. The hardest part was often the last bit of the trip, since you weren’t likely to have a detailed map of your destination city. An if you got lost, figuring out where you were was sometimes quite difficult.

People tend to think of it as mostly affecting longer trips, but finding new addresses in a city was at least as much of an issue. When I lived in the bay area I had a Thomas guide that was 3/4" of an inch thick, just for finding my way around town.

I thought I was past being shocked by things like this, but it still shocked me,

We are experiencing a bizarre confluence of terrible things. Large numbers of people have checked out from reality, which is bad. Meanwhile, more and more people are willing to resort to extreme violence toward anyone who disagrees with them, which is worse. The combination is incredibly destructive.

I’m in favor of using whatever you already have on hand.

Agreed. I figure that after a trip in the trebuchet almost anyone is going to be “trustworthy”. At least, in the sense that they can no longer betray your trust.