The New Coffee Room

There's been an uptick on China is great material passing through my pages - more in the past few months. They don't have to work too hard to demonstrate their achievements.

Mik lol

@jon-nyc said in Books:

Curious who reads proper books anymore as opposed to kindle or audible.

I think I’ve only read one paper book in the last 5 or even 10 years, given to me by the author, a guy at Cleveland Clinic.

I almost exclusively do audiobooks - except for the one I just mentioned, but I still do hardcopy as opposed to e-books.

I try to read things that are completely out of my expertise or interest. This was one of those books. One of the interesting points in the book is reporting on a number of people from the early 1400s who speak of the joy of reading. It should be noted that few people of that era were capable of reading. Books were not plentiful as printing had not been invented. The quoted people are excited to know the thoughts of people who had lived hundreds of years before. The excitement in their correspondence is palpable - being able to know the thoughts of Greek and Roman authors. There are parallels with life today - our excitement when we could Google information, listen to thousands of pieces of music on our phone, etc.

Nuther thing that is landing is that on Friday, the de minimus (items less than $800) is eliminated which means that a huge amount of trade that was excaping the tariffs will be affected - only about a gazillion pieces per year. It will affect a lot of businesses.

Trump knows more about rare earth minerals than anyone. If you have any doubts, just ask him to name one.

China needs nada from us - and we only represent 12% of their exports - which they can absorb. Meanwhile, they've made and will continue to make alliances as a result of the US posture. Overall, one wonders if China won't get tired of all the winning.

@jon-nyc said in Funny Pics:

When I was about 14, my mother bought me a pair of shoes like that. I told her I wouldn't wear them. A year later, she came home with another pair. I told her I wouldn't want to wear them in a closed casket. I asked why she would buy a second pair after I told her the last time that I would never wear them. "I thought you might have matured since then..." I told her that I wasn't 80 and living in Miami.

Wonder how much lobbying by the MS13 PAC.

Heh, in a couple of months, I wouldn’t be able to find it even if I wasn’t trying to hide it.

Seems crazy - but yeah, should bring him back - follow due process - and likely, he'll be deported. It may seem more efficient to just leave him there - but the process should be followed. The problem is that respective media will blur whatever happens to fit a narrative.

Both parties have picked up some counterproductive alliances. Someone didn't remember "it's the economy, stupid" lesson from a while ago. Pretty soon, the economy will be the only issue. What's funny to me is that many (most?) people have yet to feel the impact of the tariffs. Ignorance, of which our nation has an abundance, is bliss.