Trump almost won in Minnesota, thanks to Democrats

In a year in which Democrats show up, like they did in 2012, Trump would have been trounced in Minnesota. Instead, he barely lost. It was a very very close call, just a couple of percentage points. This graph says it all: One thing this means is that the Democrats, in putting up candidates in … Continue reading Trump almost won in Minnesota, thanks to Democrats →

The post Trump almost won in Minnesota, thanks to Democrats appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/31/trump-almost-won-in-minnesota-thanks-to-democrats/

Things to do after installing Ubuntu Mate 18.04

1) Uninstall it. It is flawed in key ways. It will be difficult to get your Dropbox working, if you use that, installing software form .deb files is not automatic and requires hacking. There are some other problems too. 2) Check back here in a few months, see if I’ve updated with good news. Meanwhile, … Continue reading Things to do after installing Ubuntu Mate 18.04 →

The post Things to do after installing Ubuntu Mate 18.04 appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/23/things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-mate-18-04/

Facts and Fears: The Russians Did Elect Trump

General James Patton is famous for this advice. Carefully account for and consider all the facts, and all your fears. Armed with this information, make a plan. Then, put aide your fears and attack! James R. Clapper, who is the offspring of an intelligence operative and who has spent his entire life engaged in intelligence, … Continue reading Facts and Fears: The Russians Did Elect Trump →

The post Facts and Fears: The Russians Did Elect Trump appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/23/facts-and-fears-the-russians-did-elect-trump/

Remember Cecil the Lion?

Do you remember Cecil the Lion? He was a loin in Zimbabwe, living in a protected park, somewhat habituated to human presence. A Great White Hunter, who was also a dentist in Minnesota, killed him a couple of years ago, and took a lot of heat for it. The real story of what happened is … Continue reading Remember Cecil the Lion? →

The post Remember Cecil the Lion? appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/23/remember-cecil-the-lion/

I can’t support NRA backed candidates of either party

What is the difference between a dozen dead second graders and a dozen dead high school students? The high school students’ best friends will be able to vote next year. And no, I will not apologize for the strong words and horrifying imagery. It is time for strong words and horrifying imagery. As a voter, … Continue reading I can’t support NRA backed candidates of either party →

The post I can’t support NRA backed candidates of either party appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/20/i-cant-support-nra-backed-candidates-of-either-party/

After you install Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver

Installing Bionic Beaver I’m not going to tell you how to install the latest stable release of Ubuntu’s Linux desktop. For that, just go to Ubuntu and follow the appropriate instructions. I recommend using a bootable USB stick, and how you manage that depends on exactly what computer you are going to make it on. … Continue reading After you install Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver →

The post After you install Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/20/after-you-install-ubuntu-18-04-bionic-beaver/

Book Deals

Cheap in Kindle format right now: Robert Heinlein’s Expanded Universe: Volume One Heinlein personally selected each story or essay for inclusion in this collection, which is ordered chronologically, starting with his first sale in 1939 of “Life-Line” to Astounding (for seventy dollars).This remarkable collection highlights the development of Heinlein’s writing style and his philosophy on … Continue reading Book Deals →

The post Book Deals appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/19/book-deals/

We knew either birds or technology would cause our demise. It turns out ….

It is a conspiracy!!!! I love the way the parrot responds to Alexa’s response by first making bleepy-bloopy techie noises, then imitating the sound of all the manual light switches being thrown. But wait, there’s more. This parrot made an Alexa shopping list:

The post We knew either birds or technology would cause our demise. It turns out …. appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/19/we-knew-either-birds-or-technology-would-cause-our-demise-it-turns-out/

Our gun culture kills children

Years ago, my parents were still alive and living in Albany, New York. I had arranged a lunch with some colleagues at their house. I do not recall why exactly, but that is what I did. In the house lived my parents Joe and Betty, Grandma (dad’s mother) and Great Aunt Tillie (mom’s stepfather’s sister). … Continue reading Our gun culture kills children →

The post Our gun culture kills children appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/18/our-gun-culture-kills-children/

What Does it Take to Replace a 400 Watt Metal Halide?

This blog post is our second post to one of our most popular posts, How Many Watts does it take to replace 1000W Metal Halide. While many of the concepts are the same, there are some important differences between 400W and 1000W Metal Halide.
Source: https://www.myledlightingguide.com/blog-replace-400w-metal-halide

source https://myledlightingguide1.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/what-does-it-take-to-replace-a-400-watt-metal-halide/

Tom Wolfe

American Studies expert and author, Tom Wolfe, has died at an appropriate ripe old age. If you have not read The Bonfire of the Vanities, which is one of his fiction books that is essentially, pure non-fiction, then you must. Never mind that a mediocre movie was made out of it. Bonfire is one of … Continue reading Tom Wolfe →

The post Tom Wolfe appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/15/tom-wolfe/

Minnesota Could Get A “State Bank” if Rebecca Otto Becomes Governor

In 1919, the farmers of North Dakota got fed up with predatory lenders, and successfully lobbied for a credit union style state-run bank for them to use instead. Private sector financial institutions elsewhere in the country would have none of this, and destroyed this initial effort by freezing the North Dakota bank out of access … Continue reading Minnesota Could Get A “State Bank” if Rebecca Otto Becomes Governor →

The post Minnesota Could Get A “State Bank” if Rebecca Otto Becomes Governor appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/10/minnesota-could-get-a-state-bank-if-rebecca-otto-becomes-governor/

NPR: For Every Woman Who Dies In Childbirth In The U.S., 70 More Come Close

This latest in a series of reports from NPR is out. Over the past year, NPR and ProPublica have been investigating why American mothers die in childbirth at a far higher rate than in all other developed countries. A mother giving birth in the U.S. is about three times as likely to die as a … Continue reading NPR: For Every Woman Who Dies In Childbirth In The U.S., 70 More Come Close →

The post NPR: For Every Woman Who Dies In Childbirth In The U.S., 70 More Come Close appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/10/npr-for-every-woman-who-dies-in-childbirth-in-the-u-s-70-more-come-close/

A few cheap books and one cheep book

First, the cheep book. Just a book note, I’ll be reviewing this, but it looks great: Birds and Their Feathers by Britta Teckentrup, author of Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book and The Egg. Hailed as “a magnificent volume that offers hours of lingering pleasure… fertile ground for conversation and imagination,” (Midwest Book Review) Britta Teckentrup’s … Continue reading A few cheap books and one cheep book →

The post A few cheap books and one cheep book appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/10/a-few-cheap-books-and-one-cheep-book/

Bloviating Morons Will Bloviate: Trump and Giuliani

As a logical person seeking an understanding of what happened with the election, the Trump campaign, all of that, there is one piece of information that led me, long ago, to strongly suspect that there was an arrangement made between Trump and his campaign, the Russians, and Wikileaks (and possibly other intermediaries). This was when … Continue reading Bloviating Morons Will Bloviate: Trump and Giuliani →

The post Bloviating Morons Will Bloviate: Trump and Giuliani appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/04/bloviating-morons-will-bloviate-trump-and-giuliani/

Tina Liebling Endorses Rebecca Otto for Governor

Liebling calls Otto “bold and progressive,” says she “can go toe to toe” with any Republican SAINT PAUL – In the first endorsement of a DFL gubernatorial candidate by a former candidate for the office, State Representative Tina Liebling (DFL-26A) today endorsed State Auditor Rebecca Otto for Governor of Minnesota. “For too many Minnesotans, opportunity … Continue reading Tina Liebling Endorses Rebecca Otto for Governor →

The post Tina Liebling Endorses Rebecca Otto for Governor appeared first on Greg Laden's Blog.

source http://gregladen.com/blog/2018/05/03/tina-liebling-endorses-rebecca-otto-for-governor/