Althouse: At the Extra-Cold Café...

February 17, 2025

At the Extra-Cold Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

50 comments:

The Vault Dweller said...: I guess I'm lucky with 3 F here.; 2/17/25, 8:00 PM
james said...: If you're downtown, pay a visit to the IceCube offices. They know about extra-cold there.; 2/17/25, 8:42 PM
Jupiter said...: Alright. It's time. Let's go there.
If the US government can and does print it's own currency, why does it borrow every dollar from a privately-owned bank, and pay interest? And how can that debt ever be repaid, if it can only be repaid with dollars borrowed from that privately-owned bank?; 2/17/25, 8:58 PM
rhhardin said...: The actual physical temperature ought to be the reciprocal of the absolute temperature. So that 1/T doesn't keep showing up in formulas. You'd get a much more intuitive dS = T dU instead of dU = T dS.; 2/17/25, 8:58 PM
rhhardin said...: The government borrows so that each dollar is taken out of circulation before it's put back into circulation by government spending. Printing dollars skips the taking-out step.; 2/17/25, 9:00 PM
Wince said...: Cold cash, tonight’s theme.; 2/17/25, 9:15 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Biden had contractors working for the IRS, with full access, who leaked Biden’s political enemies tax information to the press.

Now that Trump wants to give the same access to Musk and his band of sleuths, the press is apoplectic.

WaPo: “Musk's DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS”
“The unusual request could put sensitive data about millions of American taxpayers in the hands of Trump political appointees.”

What if some in the press know where the fraud is going and they keep quiet because they are benefiting somehow?

The aversion to transparency raises my alarm bells. Who or what are they protecting?; 2/17/25, 9:32 PM
n.n said...: 33° feels like 33°, with a chance of precipitation, under a clear, gray sky.; 2/17/25, 9:41 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: YouTube: The plane pilots saw the black hawk coming and tried to avoid the collision; 2/17/25, 9:49 PM
Jupiter said...: @rhhardin; You are sort of correct about temperature, in the sense that the idea of entropy changing as a function energy makes more sense than trying to understand energy changing as a function of entropy. Mathematically, they are essentially equivalent, but it is a lot easier to think about adding energy to a system, as opposed to adding entropy to a system.
But you are mistaken about dollars. The Mint prints bills, in various denominations. But most money exists, not as bills, but as accounts. That is, arrangements of charges on semi-permanent data storage devices attached to various computers.
It is certainly true, that when governments realize that they have the power to create money, they have a well-attested tendency to create it without stent or limitation. But it is the exact opposite of obvious why anyone might suppose that this huge problem is alleviated by requiring that every new element of currency should be accompanied by a new element of debt, to a parasitical organization that has not performed any service. That is, in fact, incapable of performing any valuable service.; 2/17/25, 9:58 PM
Sebastian said...: The troubles of legacy IT systems in SSA discussed in the other thread also signal a great opportunity for an enemy: assuming inadequate backups, a few well-placed missiles can seriously derail the entire government payment system.Then what?; 2/17/25, 11:45 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: WTF the incompetency is astounding,,lets fuk with the nuke pile. 'Embarrassing to be an American': Trump Administration Under Fire After Accidentally Firing Workers Overseeing Nation's Nuclear Power Then Scrambling to Rehire Them
If anyone should’ve felt safe in their government jobs, you’d assume it would be the 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, charged with oversight of the country’s nuclear arsenal.In what the White House is now calling a mistake, a large swath of NNSA employees were fired last Thursday before the Trump administration realized they had cleared out the wrong agency. By Friday, they were scrambling to rehire these essential workers. All but 28 employees had their dismissals rescinded, according to the Los Angeles Times. These people are dangerous :(; 2/18/25, 12:13 AM
Jim at said...: The people let go were probationary. We're just as safe as we were before they came on board.

Do you always have to be a rambling idiot who regurgitates the bullshit you willingly swallow?; 2/18/25, 12:16 AM
wendybar said...: The more they try to sing, the harder I laugh at them. What the hell?? Out of tune, out of touch old white progressives are regressing fast.
Libs of TikTok
@libsoftiktok
·
Follow
Protestor breaks into song at a Washington protest against Trump and Elon Musk.

I saw it so now you have to

https://twitter.com/i/status/1891561219305189877; 2/18/25, 2:00 AM
wendybar said...: Nova Jenson
@Novajmorea
·
Follow
Replying to @libsoftiktok
My ear after hearing this
https://x.com/Novajmorea/status/1891562880081805484; 2/18/25, 2:01 AM
wendybar said...: "During the joint interview he did with President Trump and Sean Hannity this weekend, Elon Musk described the moment that he realized Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real thing."

https://x.com/DogRightGirl/status/1891679600079503365; 2/18/25, 2:51 AM
wendybar said...: Donna Davis
@DonnaDavisHNL
Elon did the meme!!

https://x.com/DonnaDavisHNL/status/1891685504665387038; 2/18/25, 2:53 AM
wendybar said...: "Democrats were once the party of slavery, the KKK, and segregation. They are now the party of fraud, disunity, lawfare, political intolerance, open borders, unchecked mass immigration, sex trafficking, drug use, gaslighting, projection, abortion, children’s genital mutilation, and anti-Christianity."

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/democrat_party_now_the_biggest_threat_to_world_peace_and_freedom.html; 2/18/25, 3:05 AM
Josephbleau said...: “international aid is sometimes said to be little more than the process by which money is stolen from poor people living in rich countries to be handed out instead to rich people living in poor countries.”; 2/18/25, 3:20 AM
wendybar said...: James Woods
@RealJamesWoods
·
2h
The nutters who made us rename butter and pancake syrup are popping their butt plugs over the whole “Gulf of America” deal. So funny.; 2/18/25, 4:05 AM
wendybar said...: Charlie Kirk

@charliekirk11
·
7h
If the Social Security Administration has over 60 million more eligible social security numbers than the entire US population, what does that mean for our voting rolls?

James Woods
@RealJamesWoods
·
3h
I think the 2020 “election” answered this question.; 2/18/25, 4:54 AM
gilbar said...: down to -17 here in NE iowa.. They "say" that'll be as low as it gets; 2/18/25, 5:32 AM
gadfly said...: Jupiter said...
Alright. It's time. Let's go there.
If the US government can and does print it's own currency, why does it borrow every dollar from a privately-owned bank, and pay interest? And how can that debt ever be repaid, if it can only be repaid with dollars borrowed from that privately-owned bank?

But don’t you see the difference? Debt is a transfer of accumulated wealth from someone to someone else. New money is wealth created from scratch. New money makes old money worth less. As people rush to get rid of the old money before it loses too much value, those words can fuse into WORTHLESS. At best, new money results in inflation -decreasing your weath's buying power.; 2/18/25, 5:41 AM
Iman said...: DOGE: The Musical; 2/18/25, 5:42 AM
Lawnerd said...: DOGE’s website is interesting. Mostly their X posts. Good that they are showing their work and tracking the savings. They have a section that shows simple stats on the number of rules based on word count and section count per department. I am mainly familiar with 35 USC and 37 CFR. My take is that the IP rules aren’t overly burdensome, they are an instruction manual for patent prosecution.; 2/18/25, 5:48 AM
Lucien said...: Why do people use the term “biological [male/female/man/woman/girl/boy]”?
Aren’t they admitting that there can be “non-biological” men, women, etc.?
Why concede that point to the transgenderist loonies?; 2/18/25, 6:01 AM
gadfly said...: If the Social Security Administration has over 60 million more eligible social security numbers than the entire US population, what does that mean for our voting rolls?

Elmo's doggies cannot read Cobol, so the list containing supposed 150 year olds ar not for real. The maker of the Swasticar has stepped in it again. Next he will chase gold in the Fort Knox vaults but not gold wherever found.; 2/18/25, 6:07 AM
Iman said...: ‘fly flingin’ teh kak specks…; 2/18/25, 6:19 AM
Jaq said...: "Cannot read COBOL"

COBOL is not like Ancient Greek, it's a "business oriented language" and made to be readable. Its readability is no kind of barrier. It's written so that a non computer trained accountant could read it and validate the code.

I am sure that that "barb" sounded a lot better and more cutting on BlueSky though, but sure, if your attitude is "No worry, we can just print the trillions! Whatever you do, don't look at any of it!" well, good luck with that.; 2/18/25, 6:20 AM
Jeff said...: The primary way the Fed creates money is by purchasing Treasury securities from dealers. Essentially, the securities are paid for with a check drawn on one of the Federal Reserve Banks. The seller of the security deposits the check in his bank account, and his bank, in turn, presents the check to the Fed, which credits the bank's reserve account at the Fed. Those reserves added to the bank's reserve account are just a bookkeeping entry created out of thin air, but note that only the Fed can do this. Reserves in those accounts can be transferred to other banks to pay other obligations, such as end-of-day net settlements from check clearing operations. Bank's that need physical currency can exchange reserves for currency (Federal Reserve Notes) at their Federal Reserve Bank, or they can turn currency in to get reserves credited to their reserve accounts.
When the Fed wants to reduce money, it sells some of its securities. The purchasing dealer pays with a check written against his bank account, the Fed presents that check to the bank and debits the bank's reserve account to settle it. Those reserves that were taken out of the bank's reserve account just vanish into the ether. Again, only the Fed can do this.; 2/18/25, 6:22 AM
Jaq said...: "which money is stolen from poor people living in rich countries to be handed out instead to rich people living in poor countries.”

No, it's more properly understood as the baksheesh for money that is stolen from poor people in poor countries to the gangsters who control that country for us.; 2/18/25, 6:23 AM
Iman said...: Democrats… a good many, but not all of them… are about ten exits past normal.; 2/18/25, 6:48 AM
Quayle said...: I’m sure that a large language model AI engine could scan Cole and come up with flow charts and summaries of what’s going on; 2/18/25, 6:50 AM
Drago said...: Cat Lady gadfly: :Elmo's doggies cannot read Cobol,,,:

LOL

You have no idea what COBOL code looks like, do you dummy?

Where did you copy and paste your moronic "readability" comment from?; 2/18/25, 7:01 AM
Jaq said...: I once read a sci fi novel where the point was made that the perfect compiler would be the one that read the comments, rather than the code, because computers have a nasty quality of "doing what we tell them to do, not what we want them to do. "

Maybe with AI we are getting there.; 2/18/25, 7:19 AM
Jaq said...: It's fascinating to me that Democrats don't seem concerned at all about the possibility that billions and billions (Use Carl Sagan's voice) are being stolen from seniors and the SS "trust fund."; 2/18/25, 8:32 AM
rhhardin said...: @Jupiter It comes to a head with population inversion, where adding energy gives infinitely large temperatures followed by infinitely large negative (absolute) temperatures. Obviously all that has happened is that 1/T goes through zero as you add energy, no huge discontinuity at all.

On dollars, the Fed's interest rate target has the final word on dollar creation. Whatever else they're doing, soaking up dollars by selling debt and burning the dollars preempts it.

If there are leading indicators of inflation, the target interest rate gets bumped up a tiny bit, and open market operations (selling debt and burning the dollars until the target is met) takes care of it.; 2/18/25, 8:34 AM
gadfly said...: Adolf Putin and the Dirty Little Coward will soon be meeting in Riyadf in the presence of MbS to divvy up Ukraine wherein the world's newest aggressor can colonize Ukraine to steal its rare minerals while Putie locks up all former Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be invited and European NATO nations are also excluded from the meetings. Ukraine will pay reparations to the Trump world.; 2/18/25, 9:04 AM
Mr. T. said...: But! Muh global WARMING!!!; 2/18/25, 9:51 AM
Hassayamper said...: Today there will be sunny weather with a high of 73 here in Arizona. A perfectly lovely time of year. Might have to put on a coat tonight as it's projected to drop below 50! Brrr!; 2/18/25, 9:52 AM
Hassayamper said...: Biden had contractors working for the IRS, with full access, who leaked Biden’s political enemies tax information to the press.

There are also contractors with access to CIA and NSA intelligence databases. They are supposed to have TS/SCI clearances, with access granted only on a need-to-know basis, but we have learned that those restrictions are waived whenever the Democrat Party needs some dirt on its enemies.; 2/18/25, 10:02 AM
Rusty said...: It was -4 here this morning. Our furnace went out Sat. night. I tried to diagnose Sunday with no luck. I put the propane torpedo heater in the garage vestibule and managed to keep the house warm enough for sweaters. Monday the HVAC guy came out and in ten minutes diagnosed the problem. Two lose wires in the gas valve circuit.
Since the furnace is original to the house -35 years- we'll be getting a new one this spring.; 2/18/25, 10:15 AM
Drago said...: gadfly goes Full Dinky Dau, and it ain't pretty!

Get back to those litter boxes gadfly. Play to your "strengths"!; 2/18/25, 12:05 PM
Jaq said...: The dirty little coward? You mean Zelensky? Isn't he arguing that he is fighting for his sovereign right of self determination? Well he can fight all he likes, just not with our troops, our money, or our weapons. He is free to fight Russia as long as he likes.; 2/18/25, 1:41 PM
Jaq said...: I guess Trump *is* a coward for not subjecting the US to the risk of a nuclear war with a country with 6,000 nukes over where Russia's western border lies exactly. Does it include ethnic Russians who have lived as Russians for centuries, or not? None of our business.

If Russia invades Poland unprovoked, it will be on. It ain't gonna happen.; 2/18/25, 1:44 PM
Jupiter said...: COBOL was designed to be readable, but that doesn't mean that non-programmers can tell what a COBOL program does (I was a COBOL programmer for thirty years). But that's irrelevant. Many governmental agencies are still using the IBM mainframes and COBOL programs written in the last century. But you don't store data "in COBOL". The data are all stored in DB2 databases, which support the SQL query language. I'm sure that all of Musk's whiz-kids are familiar with SQL, but even if they weren't, there are graphical interfaces that allow you to create queries. If you can handle an Excel spreadsheet, you can extract data from a DB2 database. If you have the necessary authorizations.; 2/18/25, 4:38 PM
Jupiter said...: This should be evident, BTW, from Musk's tweet, which contained the output from a query, showing the number of SSA records for each age range. Formatted in little boxes, like an excel spreadsheet. I would not be surprised if they just exported the data from DB2 in a csv format, and read it into Excel for processing. The only real technical challenge is the very large number of rows, but that's a problem modern machines can handle, and modern programmers are used to.; 2/18/25, 4:42 PM
Jupiter said...: "Whatever else they're doing, soaking up dollars by selling debt and burning the dollars preempts it."
@rhhardin; you are, again, correct about temperature. And you are, again, wrong about money. The interest on the national debt now soaks up most of what the rat bastards take in in taxes. That interest is real money, paid to real people, who buy real superyachts with it. It is an immense payment for nothing; for allowing us to put their little eye-and-pyramid on our bills.; 2/18/25, 4:48 PM
Jupiter said...: About that temperature thing; the real issue is a defect in our algebraic description of a line; most of you probably remember from junior high math, y = mx +b. That can describe any line except a vertical line. For a horizontal line, m = 0, and y = b. No problem. But for a vertical line, m has to equal 1/0. And there is no scalar m for which that is true. But if you simply represent it as x = my +b, then there is no problem. m = 0, and you have your vertical line.
But this is really a limitation of our algebraic representation of linear relations. It has little or nothing to do with physics.; 2/18/25, 10:51 PM
Jupiter said...: @rhhardin; When I needed to deal with lines in a radio propagation simulation program, I encountered the problem, How do you represent a ray, so that you can find out whether it intersects any of a large number of wall segments. You can't use y=mx + b, because the rays representing radio propagation can certainly be vertical. The method I developed involved saying that the ray has x and y values, both of which are functions of a trajectory coordinate t. This can represent lines with any orientation. It actually made for some rather cool algorithms, and my boss wanted me to write it up for publication, but researching it, I found out it had already been published in a Comp Sci journal back in the 50's.; 2/18/25, 11:05 PM