Category: True Stories

On Milton Friedman’s 100th Birthday

Milton Friedman was honored by President George W. Bush on his 90th birthday in 2002 in Washington D.C.

One of Milton Friedman‘s best known examples of Free Market Economics came from Leonard E. Read who wrote a famous article published in 1958 entitled, “I, Pencil.” (Download the .pdf here.)

The basic concept is so full of common sense that it amazes me that it’s not required reading for every student, every civilian and every government politico of every country on the face of the earth. Get government out of the way of the free market, and the free market will take care of everything else.

It’s that simple.

Friedman’s timeless presentation of “I, Pencil” is well worth the 10 minutes it takes to view. Proven throughout history, practical common sense transcends politics, and it always has and always will, except when bureaucratic forces prevent it from doing so.

[Don’ t miss Dr. Thomas Sowell’s tribute here. “I was still a Marxist after taking Professor Friedman’s class. Working as an economist in the government converted me.”]

Update: We’ve posted about Milton Friedman previously. Here’s a link to the archive.

Albino Chameleon

Snot what you think. Three guesses before you clicky the linky.
[Found here via here.]

The .Gif Friday Post No.238 – CRABS!


The red crab is by far the most obvious of the 14 species of land crabs on Christmas Island. Every year over 150 million red crabs move from inland shelters to the shore for their annual breeding season. This occurs at the beginning of the wet season (usually October/November).

That synchronized QuadriCombo of .gifs makes for a stand-alone post here, and it’s true that some crabs suddenly materialize while others disappear into vapors. More info at this awesome site – “Colors of Fauna.”

Handscrews

Neodymium magnets. No mess with.

[Found here.]

Barren AND Dangerous

The top sign is good enough for me. It needs no clarification UNLESS the second sign means “Don’t Take A Single Step In Any Direction – Just Sit Down And Pray For Your Soul.”

It’s more likely a warning not to fire up a cigarette because you’ll ignite the atmosphere and kill off all life for miles around except for cockroaches.

Sol de Mana Geyser Basin, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.

This is not a trip for the faint-hearted or picky eater. The round trip is long and extremely bumpy, nights are freezing and the days are hot, accommodation is shared, the bedding dubious and the showers ice-cold. So go prepared, take food and drink supplies, warm bedding and clothing, tissue wipes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper and plenty of batteries for the camera… and book a room for when you get back because boy are you going to need a shower! But the inconvenience of all these things palls into insignificance when sitting under the cold silent star laden sky at night with a bottle of wine and newly made friends, being steamed cleaned by the geysers at dawn as the sun rises, or having lunch by multi-coloured lakes dotted with hundreds of pink bobbed flamingos.

[Image and story found here, with more amazing photos.]

Independence Day

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Continue reading “Independence Day”

America Truly Is The Greatest Country In The World.

Kitty Werthmann was born in Austria and witnessed the effects of Hitler’s policies first hand. The article below dates to at least 1996 -I found it in the July 2012 issue of Military. As we approach another Independence Day it seems entirely appropriate for recirculation, especially in this election year.

Commentors on the websites where the article appears generally consider it to be historically accurate, with the exception of her description of the Austrian election which was a contrived fraud. Others corroborate her story. Left-leaning blogs dismiss Werthmann due to her religion, her position on the 2nd Amendment, her age, and especially because she’s a popular speaker at TEA Party rallies. One website even described her article as pure propaganda.

Regardless of the criticisms, it’s a must-read, IMO. -Bunk
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

America Truly Is The Greatest Country In The World.

By: Kitty Werthmann

What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books. I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote. I’ve never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.

Continue reading “America Truly Is The Greatest Country In The World.”

NO MESS WITH

Happy 18th Bunkarina!
Nice effin’ shirt.

The .Gif Friday Post No.235 – 3 Polaroid LOLS & The First .GIF



16 June was the 25th Birthday of GIFs, according to Fast Company. We missed it, but we’re going to make up for the oversight.

“Choosy programmers choose GIF,” quipped Steve Wilhite of CompuServe, after he created the GIF image compression file format in 1987. It allowed for sequenced upload delays necessary for embedded animations. There’s a nice history of the now ubiquitous .gif on Daily Dot.

Animations above via Cari Vander Yacht. Tip o’ the tarboosh to OddMan for the GIF Birthday link, and here’s the Tacky Raccoons GIF Archive that includes Bunk’s Originals.

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UPDATE: In the interview with Daily Dot (linked above) Steve Wilhite said that he thought the first .GIF animation was of an airplane. This is one of the first that I ever captured, several computers ago:

Here it is, all blowed up, in 5 frames of pixellated glory:

Is this the first .gif animation Wilhite was referring to? I don’t know, but it’s a contender.

[Update 2: Fixed broken link to Daily Dot.]

Look. There.

FAMOUS CRYSTAL CAVE
Pennsylvania
Ice Cream Cone Formation

This great Natural Underground wonder, discovered 1871, is located a short distance off U.S. 222 bertween Allentown and Reading or via U.S. 22. Visited by thousands of persons annually. Trained Guides, Beautiful illuminations. Picnic Park.

Visited by thousands. [Found here.]