Just One Thing: The Pentagon's "Awareness Gap"
I take pride in bringing informative and expert (and often difficult-to-get) guests on my show. Yesterday, I invited Michael Morell, who served twice as acting director of the CIA, to join the show and we discussed the Chinese spy balloon. A couple of key points he made: First, he believes it was collecting electronic intelligence, like communications, and not images because their satellites can take pictures well enough. This could help the Chinese Communists better know where our key command and control centers are. Second, he believes the most interesting question that almost nobody is asking is whether Xi Jinping authorized this and, if he didn’t, whether the people who did simply didn’t think to ask, assuming it wouldn’t get this out of control, or whether they are intentionally trying to create tension in the US Chinese relationship. Huge questions indeed.
In case you missed it: Michael Morell on the Fallout From the Chinese Spy Balloon | KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM | Ross Kaminsky (iheart.com)
Also, this explains why it was reported that balloons traversed at least some part of the US during the Trump administration but senior officials who served under Trump claimed know knowledge of that: Pentagon says it had an 'awareness gap' that led to failure to detect 3 Chinese balloons under Trump | CNN Politics The "awareness gap" seems like a damn big failure to me.
Others now asking the same question that Morell is asking: Chinese balloon fallout: Beijing goes into crisis management mode | CNN
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One More Thing: Ross the Nerd builds a balanced headphone cable
A few folks have asked to see more about the headphone cable I built last weekend. It's for some new headphones I bought which can use a "balanced" connection, meaning an XLR connector rather than the more standard TRS plug connector that most folks would be familiar with for headphones. This was made with parts from PartsConnexion.com (the BEST site of its kind for audiophiles) and PlusSoundAudio.com. Wire is Duelund 26AWG solid silver in oil-soaked cotton. XLR connector is by AECO. Mini-XLR connectors and other small parts by PlusSound. TechFlex cable protecting sleeve purchased on eBay.
Parts
XLR connector
Braiding the wire
Mini-XLR ready to complete
And, the finished product
Worked on the first try!!!
Anyway, that's the kind of thing that I enjoy doing with part of my weekend. Super nerdy but I gotta say there is additional enjoyment in listening through cables that I made even if I'm not sure I can hear the difference.
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Today's Guests
Andy Rougeot is, as far as I know, the only Republican running for mayor of Denver? Can he possibly win?
Why a Republican has a real chance in Denver's mayor race (msn.com)
9News don't seem to be big fans. I'll leave it to you as to whether that represents something(s) about Andy or about 9News which is not famous for unbiased coverage, at least in the view of many Republicans: Unpacking Denver mayoral candidate Andy Rougeot's false claims | 9news.com
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Dr Kevin Slack, PhD, teaches political science at Hillsdale College including a new online college available to everyone entitled The American Left: From Liberalism to Despotism | Hillsdale College Online Courses.
Next month, he'll have a book of the same name coming out: https://www.amazon.com/War-American-Republic-Liberalism-Despotism/dp/1641773030
In the meantime, this trailer sets the tone:
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Other Stuff
Horrific: Over 5,000 dead in Turkish earthquake. The pictures look like something out of a dystopian post-apocalyptic movie: Turkey-Syria earthquake live updates: Death toll exceeds 5,000 - The Washington Post
And frigid winter weather is going to make rescue efforts more difficult.
Turkish leader declares state of emergency as Turkey-Syria quake death toll passes 5,100 | Reuters
Early Photos Show Devastation In Turkey, Syria After 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake | HuffPost Latest News
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CO Gov Jared Polis released a letter yesterday regarding policies and suggestions to help reduce and stabilize electricity costs in our state. There are a few good ideas but mostly it's about seeking federal subsidies and, critically, his monomaniacal push toward "carbon-free" and "renewable" energy, all of which is a huge driver of costs. The electrification of everything and crazy focus on wind and solar is not just impractical; it's harmful, expensive, and environmentally destructive (based on what's involved in mining the inputs for all of this newly electrical stuff.) Colorado’s governor wants to reduce your utility bill. Don’t expect a big decrease anytime soon. (coloradosun.com)
By the way, natural gas prices are at their lowest since September 2020 thanks to a warm winter in Europe reducing demand for American experts to help those folks as they move away from Russian supplies.
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If Dan Snyder is selling his house, does this mean he'll also be selling the Redskins, er...the Commanders? 11900 River Rd, Rockville, MD 20854 | MLS #MDMC2081780 | Zillow
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Even a free ticket wouldn't get me to contribute to the newly Communist government of Hong Kong
Hong Kong will give away half a million plane tickets. Here's who can get them first (msn.com)
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/media/simpsons-episode-forced-labor-china-intl-hnk/index.html
A good example of why I won't go:
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This is kinda fun: Looking for relief? Here are Denver's best bizarre restrooms - Denverite, the Denver site!
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This is what a vicious cycle looks like: Less demand, so supplier raises prices to try to increase revenue, leading to less demand. I don't guarantee this will work out that way but I also don't think it will help a company that sure seems likely to have to file for bankruptcy...after selling hundreds of millions of dollars in stock to moronic "APE" investors in the past couple of years. AMC to charge more for good seats in movie theaters | AP News
More on the financial part here, from the awesome Doomberg: Gong Show - Doomberg (substack.com)
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Read and share: A Shoutout to Silent Cal for Presidents’ Day - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
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Another bit of Democratic insanity in the state legislature: Just Cause Requirement Eviction Of Residential Tenant | Colorado General Assembly
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Multitasking! https://nypost.com/2023/02/04/nyc-mailman-caught-delivering-kilos-of-cocaine-on-the-clock-cops
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Art in a world of wokeness:
Get Your Grubby Complexes Off My Art - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
How Ideologues Infiltrated the Arts (thefp.com)
So we’re canceling AI for being transphobic now | The Spectator Australia
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Yes, this is peak-social-media, but it's also an interesting social experiment: OnlyFans woman in top 0.4% turned down one million dollars to delete her account (ladbible.com)
Here's her site...she's clearly partially selling sexuality but it's not pornographic. I'd call it PG-13 to, at most, R-rated. Really it's a brilliant business and I think just based on finances it is probably an easy call for her to turn down $1 million to shut down the site: Live with me ! (live-with-laurie.com)
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Offered without comment: Venezuelan Man Becomes First Person To Be Tattooed by a Monkey (odditycentral.com)
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Now THIS is cool: Han Solo's original blaster sells for a world-record $1,057,500 - UPI.com
Today's Videos
Billy Joel was my little brother's favorite musician, though he tended to play and record the various parts himself or with one friend and mix them together on a computer, rather than playing them with a band. This makes me smile.
Smart phones don't mix well with ice fishing but do offer an opportunity to demonstrate how fish-finders work