‘Keep the Hasidic Out’: A Small-Town Housing Showdown – DNyuz

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

School costs are one major concern, residents said at town meetings. While Hasidic Jews typically attend their own religious schools, local districts in New York have to pay for a percentage of their busing costs and special education services.

Source: ‘Keep the Hasidic Out’: A Small-Town Housing Showdown – DNyuz

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Why is the Gooferment — at any level – Federal, State, County, City — involved in and paying for (any percentage) of “education”?

Seems simple.

Parents decided to have children, let them educate them.  No taxpayer funds required.

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No more cardboard boxes? 3M invents an ingenious new way to ship products

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

To use the Flex & Seal, you just place your item on the sticky gray side of the material, fold over enough material to encapsulate your item, and press the adhesive sides together to seal it up like a calzone. The gray side of the packaging will stick to itself, and not the object you want to ship, and 3M says the seal is robust enough to stay in place during shipping—no tape required. After about 30 seconds, during which you can reposition the item if you didn’t seal it to your liking the first time, the adhesive gets so strong that you have to tear the plastic a bit if you want to pull it apart. That protects your package from tampering, while making sure it’s easy enough to tear open or cut with scissors on the other side.

Source: No more cardboard boxes? 3M invents an ingenious new way to ship products

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What a great idea!

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Dear Democrats – This Is What Happens When You Nationalize Healthcare

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Day after day, hour after hour, Americans are spoon-fed some utopian vision of a future of Medicare-for-all (anyone really who can make it across the border) as the solution to all that ails the health system across all states. However, for anyone who has actually lived under nationalized healthcare, reality is far uglier.

Source: Dear Democrats – This Is What Happens When You Nationalize Healthcare

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Why don’t we make the politicians and bureaucrats use Medicare or Medicaid instead of their current (platinum?) package paid for by the taxpayer?

I think we all know the answer for that one.  Sigh!

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Living Concrete

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Concrete is vital for protecting our coastlines – but it comes at a huge environmental cost. An Israeli startup has found a way to make concrete sea defences that get stronger over time, while encouraging life to thrive. This Green Tech is Bringing Life Back to the Sea Source: Bloomberg The post appeared first on The Big Picture .

Source: Living Concrete

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Interesting concept.  Wonder how long it will take for it to become a “standard”?

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Here’s What To Do If You Have An Apple Card And Lose Your iPhone

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

So, how do you pay your Apple Card bill if your iPhone is misplaced or stolen? You could always wait until you buy a new phone, or recover your old one, but a late payment would result in interest charges which, obviously, would not be ideal. Because Apple’s support website doesn’t say, BuzzFeed News posed the question to a customer service representative through Apple’s phone and text message support system (Apple Card is currently available to a limited number of people and members of the press).

Source: Here’s What To Do If You Have An Apple Card And Lose Your iPhone

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Have to think very carefully about some of these flaws.

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VOCABULARY: nomophobia (?)

Monday, August 12, 2019

What happens when you drop your cell phone and the screen cracks? Do you repair or replace the phone? Many of us just continue to limp along with a broken screen until it becomes unusable. Eventually, we get a new phone. Unfortunately, phones are getting more and more expensive.

Source: Repair or Replace Phone? Here’s Why You Need to Fix That Broken Phone

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There’s even a rise in a psychological issue known as ‘nomophobia’, which is the fear of being offline or not having your phone on you to be able to look something up or post on social media, for example.

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Is this a real word?

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Iraqi woman answered ‘uh’ over 200 times in Swiss citizenship test | Daily Mail Online

Monday, August 12, 2019

Iraqi woman fails Swiss citizenship test after answering ‘uh’ over 200 times despite living there for 20 years and claiming to speak German

Source: Iraqi woman answered ‘uh’ over 200 times in Swiss citizenship test | Daily Mail Online

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Maybe English fluency should be required for admission to the US or citizenship?

If Switzerland can do it, why not the USA?

And, we should borrow their foreign policy too!

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Tulsi Gabbard for President – Official Website – TULSI 2020

Monday, August 12, 2019

TULSI 2020

Source: Tulsi Gabbard for President – Official Website – TULSI 2020

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https://www.tulsi2020.com/

​As a little L libertarian, who is anti-war and pro-peace, I urge you to donate a dollar to keep her in the Democratic debates. Yes, I know, that on many policies, she is as terrible as the rest of the socialist aka communist candidates.

BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt),

https://www.vox.com/2019/6/12/18660068/democratic-debates-2019-candidates-rules-lineup​

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And though July’s second debate uses similar rules, the DNC announced late last month that starting with September’s third debate, it will be a good deal tougher to make the cut.

First, the polling threshold for inclusion will be raised to 2 percent, in at least four polls between June 28 and August 28.

Second, and even more worryingly for much of the field, candidates would also need 130,000 unique donors to qualify (with at least 400 donors each in 20 states). Meaning they can no longer get in through polling alone, as seven candidates seem likely to do for the first debate. And even those who already reached the 65,000-donor level would have to rake in a lot more support.

Candidates who rely on traditional big-dollar fundraising, self-funders, candidates focusing intensely on early states at this point, or those who are simply less nationally known may have a very tough time meeting that standard.

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So, even if you just donate a dollar, that will make you a “unique donor”!

So, if you want to keep the “anti-war” candidate on the debate stage, then you have to act.

I think of it as a way to send a message to all “We, The Sheeple” that “anti-war” questions should be asked of all the candidates.

Call it hacking the Democratic Debates.

Think of it as part of a “peace commercial” for a dollar!

Please.

 


The Citardauq Formula

Sunday, August 11, 2019

This is interesting — if ax 2 + bx + c = 0, then It’s called the citardauq formula — citardauq is quadratic spelled backward. It’s explained above by the inimitable James Tanton; here’s a Facebook discussion ; and see the second answer here regarding questions of numerical instability.

Source: The Citardauq Formula

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Never knew it had a “name”; did you?

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Did you hear the one about the negative-coupon mortgage-backed bond?

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Copenhagen | In the world’s biggest covered-bond market, a Danish bank says it’s now ready to sell 10-year mortgage-backed notes at a negative coupon for the first time.

Source: Did you hear the one about the negative-coupon mortgage-backed bond?

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Does this make ANY economic sense at all?  I’m baffled.  As soon as they off me  a “negative” interest rate, I think I’ll take it.  They are going to pay you to take a mortgage?  Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I do NOT understand the logic of this.

Maybe it’s a version of Three Card Monte I’ve never seen, but I’ve been around a long time?

If you understand it, please explain it to me, but use small words, I’m real old.

Remember the sources of my education! I’m just a fat old white guy retired injineer who’d now a poor old senior citizen on a fixed income with:
* Law “degree” from watching Judge Judy;
* Medical “degree” from watching Doctor Phil;
* Building “degree” from watching “Holmes on Homes”;
* Investing “degree” from reading about Bernie Made-off;
* Finance “degree”from listening to Ric Edelman;
* sensitively managing Human Resources from watching Chef Ramsey; and
* creating loving / caring human relationships from studying the movie roles of Gunny Ronald Lee Ermey

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