Tag Archives: perrinlovett.me

Eight Years of the Old Blog. Wow.

24 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Hello and welcome to our eighth anniversary here at this highly respected web log. The obligatory linking of the original post:

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Yes, I was so proud that I did one more entry and then took eight months off, followed by two years of intermittent attention. The stride was found and hit hard in 2015. But, it did develop eventually.

This year has been a little … what’s the word? A little slow. Then again, this is the year that America went utterly insane, right? It’s funny, but January and February (especially January) were strong. Then, the bottom fell out, reaching a low in April and May. With other projects working to one degree or another, with other plans floating around, and with the fiction calling louder every day, there came a brief moment when I considered halting new posts and possibly even scraping the whole thing. But…

I’m still kind of proud of this little corner of the web. Things continue to develop. And, I foresee yet more to come. My outside columns will continue and hopefully I’ll have some major news about that part later in the summer!

Thanks for being along for the ride. More mad ravings dead ahead.

-Perrin

Jeśli potrafisz przeczytać to zdanie i jesteś w ojczyźnie, czy jest możliwy azyl polityczny? Blog w zestawie?

Closing the Comments

30 Monday Dec 2019

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A few changes are in effect for 2020 (the remained of 2019 too).

First and most prominently, I have closed the comments for all new posts. I think I have sealed off older entries also. The post(s) of the current day still display “leave a comment;” however, ALL go to moderation without automatically appearing in sequence. Why? Well, anymore there aren’t that many comments in the first place. But you simply would not believe the garbage that the filters catch – spam, attacks, and walls of idiotic text. I’m done with that. I do apologize to the very few long-time readers who still leave thoughtful comments. Most of you know how to get ahold of me if there’s something that has to be added via a quoted update. And, should I find one of your comments before it flys off to the land of moderation, I’ll happily let it through. The “like” feature remains.

Second, I have removed all links to various (anti) social media. I have no interest in entertaining or confusing the 95 IQ denizens of Farcebook or Twitland. I almost left the WP “press” button and considered adding “print” or “email,” but, why? This is a ban on direct links; if it’s pressing, then you can always cut and paste a link address to the social or other function of your choice. As noted, the “like” feature is still here along with the “reblog” button. No apologies.

Third, the policy going forward is that this blog does not accept guest submissions. Nor will I answer inquiries regarding the same. The exception to this new rule would only apply to people whom I know and/or trust. Ironically, almost all of them have their own platforms. If you have a genuine interest in spreading some idea to the www, then please visit WP, Blogger, Wix, or some other development program and start your own forum. The rest of you, phish somewhere else.

As always, I reserve the right to make (or threaten to make) other changes. The foregoing is made in response to continuous activities here, noted and otherwise. And, there is a new direction on the internet of which I am becoming extremely dubious. I was not kidding, a while back, about the manual typewriter and electricity.

It’s going to be an exciting year. Please stay tuned and thank you for your support.

2018: A Blog Year In Review

31 Monday Dec 2018

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A continuation of a tradition here at your “highly respected web log.” It’s a little different this year: January through March I offer the top-viewed posts – in a way. From April through now, it’s the top TPC columns – where, admittedly, the action really is. So:

Jan – Mar, 2018: Look down the left sidebar (PC version, not mobile) for March 2018, etc. Click. Then, scroll around and find your favorite(s).

April – Dec, 2018: Do the same thing – OR – type “TPC” in the search box and peruse the findings.

Yes, the lazy man’s way. But, this assures you, the beloved reader, get exactly the “best of” you wanted.

Enjoy. More in 2019.

A Note for 2019

15 Saturday Dec 2018

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So, this morning I was notified that the site domain has auto-renewed for the next year – a small cost. It occurs to me that, even as traffic has dropped significantly, the number of ads has increased just as dramatically. The mobile site, which I rarely view, is almost unusable. I may, next year, address this.

That means I’ll have to come off more money for WP. I could do this and it would be easy – if the traffic holds or increases. This site has been free since 2012. I know better than to solicit help from you cheapskates. My quandary going forward.

$$$

Changes, November 2018

26 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in Books For Sale, News and Notes, Other Columns

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I had a high-energy Sunday. Much was accomplished.

The first change, here, is minimal, though substantive:

As you might have noticed above, the Header modification is now: “Thoughts on Freedom and The West.” This, as opposed to:

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This has been the general theme, anyway, for a long time. Now it’s codified. Yes, I’m still concerned with Natural Law. The cigars will continue at random intervals as will the general rambling. Also,

I moved the TPC link up the sidebar and the FP link down:

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If I’m honest, TPC is, now, where my better commentary is found. FP is limping along – and likely will for a little longer, bar some reinvigoration. Natural changes.

And, just below those links, one finds the heralding of A NEW BOOK (SOON)!!

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I have solicited a fitting forward from a fitting commentator. This should run about 150 pages or so. Hopefully, the e-version will be more readable than that of THLCB; the high-quality trade paperback will be awesome. Ready the credit cards…

The new, to-come entry has been entered on the updated Books Page. Peruse that, if you like.

Yesterday, I kicked off some semi-heavy posting with a social media update. My de-linking from Farcebook was multi-faceted (and great!): the great algorithm changes of 2017-2018 dealt me quiet the traffic blow. That coupled with the spying and privacy invasion and the fact that social media marketing is virtually useless led me to kill the FB account. Still, I’m missing a lot of clicks.

I appreciate that those who now visit are hardcore fans (and perverts Googling in for the #hotpants post – geeze, don’t think I haven’t noticed the pattern [still grateful for the visits]). And, by my admittedly weak standards, 2018 still counts as a “great” year along with 2015, 2016, and 2017. Something needs improvement though. Working on it.

The eventual syndication of my TPC column should help, as will increased book-related queries. I have an email list that I have never deployed. Honestly, it needs a cleanup and I need to learn how to use a list. Progress…

Other items, briefly:

More fiction coming;

Pen Names cometh;

A new alt email has been secured;

What to do with Youtube and videos in general;

I’m mindful about the old Patreon page (ignore it for now);

The ads are problematic, yes; the mobile app is horribly clogged; with a traffic increase I should be able to update $$$ and clean that up while keeping the site free;

etc.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by and reading through these changes – for the better in the near future.

Thanks,

Perrin

Two Thousand

06 Tuesday Nov 2018

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Two thousandth post, here and now. A grand milestone.

2,000 posts.

6+ years (7 calendar years).

Thousands of comments, likes, and shares.

The number one best readership on the web.

YouTube video, quality to improve immediately.

Great engagement with FP, TPC, and more.

Several headaches, all mine…

It’s been a great ride so far. I’ve contemplated changes, here and there, and largely made none. That may be the pattern for the future. I will say that any modifications going forward will be for the better. And you’ll see them first.

Blah, blah, blah, blah. Let’s have a party.

Bubbly:

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Smokes:

forbiddenxcigars

Entertainment:

By special ability, I arranged for this occasion to fall on election day – a nationwide circus just for you:

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And fireworks:

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Thank you, all. Post 2,001 is coming soon. Onward!

-Perrin

Baking Cookies

09 Monday Jul 2018

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I’ve lately noticed the following annoying popup on MY site:

Screenshot 2018-07-09 at 11.17.51 AM

It appears even when I’m in WP-edit mode. So, I assume it’s there for all of you as well.

This is strictly a WordPress affair and not mine. Their Policies.

Some of that is technical and some of it is now technically/legally required – especially concerning the new EU regs. I don’t use deliberately cookies (I understand some are in the background for operations) and I wouldn’t know how even if I wanted to. My policy on the EU is clear: it is evil; abolish it immediately.

There. Now, enjoy real cookies:*

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*Cookies may not be real.

Fake it Till You Fake it More

27 Saturday Jan 2018

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Two issues, one Times story (good one): one, people’s online personas are misappropriated for nefarious profits by our robot “friends;” two, real people pay for fake followers. The horrors of the socials scene:

The Times reviewed business and court records showing that Devumi has more than 200,000 customers, including reality television stars, professional athletes, comedians, TED speakers, pastors and models. In most cases, the records show, they purchased their own followers. In others, their employees, agents, public relations companies, family members or friends did the buying. For just pennies each — sometimes even less — Devumi offers Twitter followers, views on YouTube, plays on SoundCloud, the music-hosting site, and endorsements on LinkedIn, the professional-networking site.

The actor John Leguizamo has Devumi followers. So do Michael Dell, the computer billionaire, and Ray Lewis, the football commentator and former Ravens linebacker. Kathy Ireland, the onetime swimsuit model who today presides over a half-billion-dollar licensing empire, has hundreds of thousands of fake Devumi followers, as does Akbar Gbajabiamila, the host of the show “American Ninja Warrior.” Even a Twitter board member, Martha Lane Fox, has some.

At a time when Facebook, Twitter and Google are grappling with an epidemic of political manipulation and fake news, Devumi’s fake followers also serve as phantom foot soldiers in political battles online. Devumi’s customers include both avid supporters and fervent critics of President Trump, and both liberal cable pundits and a reporter at the alt-right bastion Breitbart. Randy Bryce, an ironworker seeking to unseat Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, purchased Devumi followers in 2015, when he was a blogger and labor activist. Louise Linton, the wife of the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, bought followers when she was trying to gain traction as an actress.

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NY Mag.

I tried carefully to craft a craziness no one would steal. You, some of you, might recall that, a few years back, I lost “perrinlovett.com” though lazy inattentiveness. Some pirate bought it for $30 and then offered to sell it back to me, once .me got rolling well, for $2,000-ish. Ha! Now they call trying to pay me to take it! I have my price.

But my followers do not. No fakes here or on YT or at FP. Here, of my massive three-man following, only one account is a fake I set up with a floating email. One is the real me – needs to monitor, etc. The other guy is in Russia I think.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to contact the click farm in Indones.

Trillion Dollar SJW Doubles Down

17 Wednesday Jan 2018

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Get with the social justice, or else, says Larry “John Stewart Mill” Fink:

“Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose,” Fink wrote. “To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.”

Fink said BlackRock would ramp up its investor-stewardship initiative, started in 2011 to favor engaging with companies and their management over proxy voting. The stewardship team will double in size over the next three years under the new leadership of Barbara Novick, a vice chairman who helped found BlackRock, Fink said.

Literally doubling.

He posed some questions; so I, as CEO of perrinlovett.me (one of them there private companies), answer with:

What role do we play in the community?

My blog (mine, not BlackRock’s) is a town crier for the West and for cigar awareness.

How are we managing our impact on the environment?

In general, I’m not. However, as a digital service, I try to harm no trees. And I have that offer to adopt or foster the first polar bear I meet as it flees the global warming climate change new ice age…

Are we working to create a diverse workforce?

No. Just trying to save some corner of civilization from it.

Are we adapting to technological change?

Actually thinking of reverting to a manual typewriter. Might need the polar bear’s input first. Can they talk?

Are we providing the retraining and opportunities that our employees and our business will need to adjust to an increasingly automated world?

I see your man-hating, child-maiming robots and AI. Bring ’em.

Are we using behavioral finance and other tools to prepare workers for retirement, so that they invest in a way that that will help them achieve their goals?

What, in the Name of God, is “behavioral finance?” Sounds like command and control communism to me. The bear will hate it.

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I doubt these guys can even read, let alone type.

Mind your own business, Bub.

Another Excuse is in Order…

30 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Legal/Political Columns, Other Columns

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Ahem. Missed another day. Sorry. Won’t happen again.

To make up for it I thought to regale y’all with the Tale of the Great Plecia Nearctica Internecion of 2017 (recently occurred). That shall wait for another day and perhaps a poetic dissertation. Maybe as a paid feature through my equally neglected Patreon Page. Maybe. Perhaps. Ahem.

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It got ugly before it got sad.

Anyhow, with the silliness aside now, I give you Mark Nestmann’s take on the coming government shutdown that won’t be a real shutdown and probably won’t even happen.

On or around October 2, the US federal government will shut down – again. The actual date could be a bit earlier or later, depending on how the government’s cash flows.

Technically, the government should have shut down on March 15, 2017. That was the date that a congressionally approved temporary extension of the debt ceiling expired. So on that date, the amount of debt on the books ($19.808 trillion) became the new debt ceiling. Since then, the Treasury hasn’t been able to issue any more federal debt.

Instead of shutting down the government, the Treasury has been cooking the books to pay the bills. Payments to federal worker’s retirement and disability funds have ended. The Treasury has also borrowed against federal pension, Social Security, and Medicare trust funds. But that can only go on so long. Without congressional authorization to raise the debt ceiling, some government services will have to end in about a month.

President Trump and congressional leaders want to raise the debt ceiling without any more restrictions. It’s easy to see why. Politicians get re-elected when they spend money on things that benefit voters, and just as importantly, when they spend on things that benefit the people and corporations that finance their campaigns.

But the influential Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives opposes an unlimited increase in the debt ceiling. It favors raising the debt ceiling “only” an additional $1.5 trillion – just enough to keep the government afloat until after the mid-term elections in November 2018. The Freedom Caucus also wants to cut federal spending. Trump and congressional leaders have to take the Freedom Caucus seriously because the Freedom Caucus’s opposition to the partial repeal of Obamacare doomed that initiative earlier this year.

…

It’s reassuring that the staunch conservatives and libertarians from the Caucus want to hold at a measly $1.5 Trillion. Why not cut the crap and make it $1.5 Quadrillion? Maybe a little more?

As I did back in ’95 I support the shutdown (that won’t happen). Houston looters can fill in for the IRS. Drunk monkeys can sufficiently steer the 7th Fleet. And, I tell you from experience, you can still use the National Parks – actually easier without rangers around if you don’t mind jumping gates.

Make of this what you will.

And be careful driving through those cotton fields!