Odds 'n Ends

A quick update and status. Also, appreciation of my audience.

The Closed Loop

Series: The Closed Loop, Part 2 — Series Capstone - Bringing it all together

Music: Paul Gilbert - Acoustic

Paul Gilbert is one of my icons. I discovered him in the late 1990s, his work with Mr Big was eye opening, and that got me to look into his band Racer X, and from there, I was hooked. I have as much of his recorded music as I can

The Broken Mirror and the Empty Toolkit

Series: The Closed Loop, Part 1

Bill Ackman Runs Everything Like a Hostile Takeover, Including His Principles

Bill Ackman spent a year positioning himself as the conscience of American academia. Then his wife's dissertation came up. Turns out his standards have a bid-ask spread.

Last Feature, Lights Up: The Death of the Grindhouse and the Afterlife That Nobody Planned

One last post, to document the end of this era, and why it is still relevant. And why I have so much of this physical media in my collection.

June 20, 2026 - Week in review

The roll up of the week of 6/13/2026's posts

The Wrong Voters (or why Rural voters are unreachable)

Thirty years of Real American outreach has produced one durable result: a very comfortable living for the people doing the outreach.

Performed Piety, Practiced Bullshit - Douthat v. Vance

JD Vance converted to Catholicism five years into his marriage to a woman who hasn't. Ross Douthat interviewed him about his faith and forgot to notice. Here's what legitimacy laundering looks like.

Unable, Unwilling, or Just Playing a Rigged Game?

Series: The Boys Are Not Alright — And Nobody's Fixing It, Part 3

The College-For-All Catastrophe

Series: The Boys Are Not Alright — And Nobody's Fixing It, Part 2 - College isn't really for everybody, but somehow that became the mantra.

The Art of the Deferral: Trump's Iran "Deal" and the Pattern He Can't Quit

Trump's Iran deal: photo op in Geneva, enrichment program in Tehran, blame pre-loaded onto Vance. The only thing missing is a Phase 2.