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Blundering barbecued blisters
Strategies for avoiding military services have been around as long as military service. In the 1960s in the US, hiding in Canada was popular, as was (among wealthy families) getting “deferrals” for anything from trumped-up physical ailments like bone spurs to academic responsibilities among some decidedly lacking in real scholarly ambitions. Centuries ago, when military Continue reading
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Pre-Automation
Pre-automation is a business model. Probably a secretive one. The idea is that a massive organization, especially one aiming to be a monopolistic platform, might employ large, outsourced labor forces. Think “gig workers.” At the same time, the organization would invest in developing the tools to replace these workers with in-house systems and machines. Does Continue reading
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Look on my works and despair
I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them Continue reading
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Just a bit askew
One thing immediately evident to most visual observers of art, buildings, sculptures — almost anything — is balance; symmetry of composition or construction. If something is too “lopsided,” even if they can’t put their finger on exactly why, many people feel slightly uncomfortable. What they’re probably even more uncomfortable with is wondering about the origin Continue reading
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Lying, cheating, and laziness
Capitalists love to talk about markets and competition — up to a point. But when market competition gets difficult, like when the capitalists in question are faced with a competitor offering a better product, or a better price, or really any other advantages, well…then they reveal that they hate competition, and their real preference is Continue reading
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Again and again
A weaver might reasonably accept a commission to create a bit of cloth for someone by a certain date. As the date approached, the weaver might sit at the loom with the deadline looming. But when a weaver is using a loom without any deadline in sight, that’s not called looming. Instead, it’s weaving. Continue reading
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Refrain from the cause of his refrain
When an over-played, clichéd song is played yet again, particularly when it cycles around to the tired refrain, unless you’re with a particularly refrained group of people, someone is sure to utter the refrain “how many times do we have to listen to this tune?” “Refrain” is not exactly a contronym (a word that has Continue reading
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Linguistical Reality
Many have noticed that the language we have available to us isn’t sufficient to convey the things we’re experiencing. There is plenty of warning that humans, at least, are headed straight for a climate-induced apocalypse. But “apocalypse” evokes big, violent, sudden disasters. This is not going to be that, exactly. It’s going to be more Continue reading
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The style of elements
Lots of elements’ names are etymologically interesting. In the upper reaches of the periodic table these days there are elements that can be produced in a laboratory, but have never been observed in nature — usually because they only exist for fractions of a second before their inherent radioactivity disperses them. Elements with the atomic Continue reading
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Feeling scrambled by current events
Eggs are in the news lately. How about “egging”? Something that happens on Halloween is “egging” — pelting a car or house with eggs in order to create a mess and play a prank. It can also happen in a theater, or at least it used to; when a performer was particularly bad, the audience Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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peterharbeson@me.com