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Conquistador Book Review

by S. M. Stirling Roc Books, 2003 ISBN 0-451-45908-3 This book continues the tradition that Stirling never writes sequels to the books of his I like best. Ah well. I especially like the acknowledgments to this volume: To Jerry Pournelle, for help and assistance; Giovanni Spinella and Mario Panzanelli, for

The Long View 2005-06-13: The 34th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC)

Peak Oil was an interesting idea. I can see how it seemed compelling: it was based on data and experience, and the model fit the data reasonably well. However, the model and it's assumptions always struck me as wrong-headed. It turns out I was right about that, but

The Long View: The Second Religiousness in the 21st Century

This is a seminal essay that John wrote for a presentation at the annual conference of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in Minnesota, USA in 2005. He synthesizes many of his ideas into a broader prediction of

Linkfest 2017-07-14

The Last Barfighter: An Arcade Game That Pours You A Beer If You Win. Genius. Utilities fighting against rooftop solar are only hastening their own doom This is an interesting article. I have two primary questions: do all utilities make money the same way? This article claims they only make

The Long View 2005-06-07: The New Jersey Primary, and Worse

This is a great quote: When I was young, I was quite a prig about not using drugs, and I have not mellowed over time. On the other hand, I often shock people who know me with the argument that most drugs should be legalized, even for recreational purposes, simply

The Long View 2005-06-03: Revivals, Counterfactuals, & Subsidies

This is a counterfactual, rather than a prediction, so I can't assess its accuracy as such. However, I find it interesting to ponder: We should also remember that there would have been no conservative revival in the United States if NIxon had remained in office. Nixon brought the

The Long View 2005-06-01: Reinventing The Wheel

I seriously doubt the proto-clickbait article cited here about mutated super-intelligent children in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and surrounding areas, but I do find the unintentional wildlife reserve created in Ukraine fascinating. Reinventing The Wheel The fact that Stanley Fish, formerly the prince of postmodern criticism, is now teaching elementary