fried eggs

Considering points of view.

(Some retweets are just me broadcasting data points or others' perspectives that I find notable. Some are endorsements.)

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius]

This is really powerful and distills my earlier post into a mere 8 words:

"Credentialism is tribalism under a guise of meritocracy."

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

noting especially "The ability to build, not just consume"

[LaPetite🦋🍄 @LaPetiteADA]

To my future kids, you’ll have:

• A BTC reserve
• 3 languages
• 2 passports
• Hard assets
• A love for nature
• Financial literacy
• A long-term mindset
• A diversified portfolio
• The ability to build, not just consume

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

noting

[Shazi @ShaziGoalie]

Everyone watches the stock market.

I'm watching Facebook Marketplace.

When people start selling the toys they love, it's often because the bills they can't avoid are winning.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Rudy Havenstein, Senior Markets Commentator. @RudyHavenstein]

"What is eternal and important is often hidden from a man by an impenetrable veil. He knows: there’s something under there, but he cannot see it. The veil reflects the daylight."

Wittgenstein

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

from here:
https://t.co/8Btm6MUF1R

Also @LughSpear here.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

"Words were once a form of capital: you spent them carefully because your reputation depended on their weight across time. Aesop understood this. So did every culture that built its authority on the keeping of oaths."

- Spear of Lugh, "Aesop's Reels"

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

interesting reply threads

[Stephen Fleming @StephenFleming]

Yet another friend with a child turning 16 next week. Hasn’t gotten a learner’s permit. Zero interest in a driver’s license. I keep hearing this same story.

What’s WRONG with these kids?!?! On my 16th birthday, my mom took me out of school to take my driving test. Same for everyone I knew.

Even if you couldn’t afford your own car, you could beg the use of the family station wagon occasionally. Freedom. Independence. Heck, privacy on a date! Are these kids giving all that up for scrolling TikTok and an occasional Uber?

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

As I keep saying:

Pray for California.

[ABC7 Eyewitness News @ABC7]

The LAPD is ending its agreement with surveillance tech company Flock Safety, Eyewitness News has learned. Flock operates dozens of cameras in L.A. that use automated license plate readers, according to the department. The agreement is set to expire Saturday. https://t.co/mlZSi9OnHO

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

@Derek_Econ @rahul @Flock_Safety https://t.co/37cFSbdLtI

[Hank @Hanklin06]

It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines.
Wendell Berry

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

👇

[Hank @Hanklin06]

It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines.
Wendell Berry

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Cranky Hank, Disser of Politicians @CrankyHankJ]

@Derek_Econ @rahul @Flock_Safety

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

replies

[Derek @Derek_Econ]

I am a huge fan of @rahul and @Flock_Safety.

I think the libertarian argument against them is misplaced. "Mass surveillance" tools, in the context of a non-tyrannical government (like ours), have an asymmetric impact. Law-abiding citizens and legitimate businesses are already highly legible to the government: they have known, fixed addresses, registrations, licenses, etc. If the government turns tyrannical, it already has ample tools to destroy these entities *without* recourse to mass surveillance tech!

E.g. if in the future the government turned tyrannical and wanted to liquidate the NRA, it doesn't need license plate reader cameras...it can seize membership lists, assets, etc. associated with the organization. But if the government wants to stop organized shoplifting rings...it's very difficult given present tools, because these orgs are informal obviously, and aren't bureaucratically legible the way the NRA is. It's precisely in identifying and tracking otherwise anonymous criminals where these tools yield a huge capacity boost to governments.

Libertarians: Flock technology *asymmetrically* helps governments protect your property rights (by deterring and solving crime) while providing virtually no incremental benefit in "tyrannizing" law-abiding citizens.

[MW4Liberty @MW4Liberty]

We seal envelopes not because the letter contains a conspiracy, but because the contents belong exclusively to the sender and the receiver.

The "nothing to hide" argument is pure corporate/state propaganda. Privacy isn't about hiding a crime; it's about deciding who gets access to your life. It’s a boundary of power, not a shield for guilt.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Stew Peters @realstewpeters]

The evolution of Flock cameras from Jan. 2024 - July 2026.

These are spreading like a plague.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Josh Pigford @Shpigford]

Knockoff is now live!

Filter out the knockoff crap brands on Amazon.

Sorry to brands like WNPETHOME, EHEYCIGA, YXYL, LU&MN, JOYIN, TOMY, GODONLIF, YOOJEE, LINGTENG, LANEIGE, VISCOO, BIODANCE, COOFANDY, BALENNZ, TOSY and LUENX.

https://t.co/9mLk0EAsfG

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Walter Kirn @walterkirn]

What is the most inaccurate expert prediction about the future that you know of? Collecting them for a project.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[MW4Liberty @MW4Liberty]

The only way to ensure that mass surveillance tools like Flock Cameras won’t one day be used by despots to round up political dissidents for execution is for such tools not to exist at all.

If you think that’s hyperbolic, you know little of history and even less of human nature.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

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[Jason Bassler @JasonBassler1]

Flock cams have been found at:

-Bike paths
-Nature trails
-Public parks
-Wilderness areas
-Community pools
-Reproductive clinics
-Schools & preschools
-Entrance to state parks
-Gyms & recreation centers
-Children’s gymnastics room

It's not plate tracking.
It’s people tracking.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

@goinggodward Gavage and foie gras come to mind.

[fried eggs @friedeggs]

Happy Independence Day