Skip, Author at Granite Grok

GraniteGrok – and then there were a whole bunch more

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020 Skip

OK, this intro of a project I’ve restarted (and to date, really haven’t settled on a really good name yet) isn’t going to drag on for much longer. But a “few more” became a LOT more. More than I ever thought: More than I ever thought when I finished coding up Version 1.0 of GraniteGrok … Read more

Law Enforcement Appreciation Rally – MicroInterview with Don Bolduc

June 22, 2020June 3, 2020 Skip

Don Bolduc is running for the US Senate and graciously did not just one MicroInterviews with GraniteGrok, but two (discovered that the audio from #1 just didn’t make it due to the ambient noise just after the event ended (political people gotta talk and talk LOUDLY!). Even though he was pressed for time (with the … Read more

GraniteGrok – And then back to two, again

June 2, 2020 Skip

After Doug had left, I carried on for a while by myself. However, times were changing in the blogosphere. Sites that had been single proprietors, a single blogger were starting to become group blogs. The news cycle was speeding up – no one single person could ever hope to keep up. Not even on the … Read more

GraniteGrok – And then back to one

June 2, 2020 Skip

And after a couple of years, Doug was gone from GraniteGrok: But! Out there… To be continued…

GraniteGrok – And then there were two

June 1, 2020 Skip

A blogsite necessarily, and by definition, needs bloggers. In the beginning, there were two – the techie and the activist: To be continued…

Andru Volinsky – Mask Hypocrite

June 1, 2020 Skip

Yes, Volinsky is wearing a mask. At the recent Black Lives Matter rally. And yes, he’s just being politically correct because, well, that’s who and what he is. Go ahead and ask him “Don’t ALL LIVES MATTER”?

GraniteGrok – In the beginning

June 1, 2020 Skip

In the beginning was GraniteGrok. To be continued…

Notable Quote – George Will, Prof. Don Boudreaux

June 1, 2020 Skip

Can a federal government that acknowledges no limits to its scope, and that responds promiscuously to the multiplying appetites of proliferating factions, make choices that serve the society’s long-term interests? The answer, based on the avalanche of evidence from current governance, is an emphatic “no.” The evidence is in the rise of the administrative state … Read more

Data Point – NH Retail and Recreation foot traffic down 8%

May 31, 2020 Skip

Interesting article in the Daily Mail about how various states’ consumer spending is going relative to a baseline set by Google in January/February. While some states are 1-2% less than baseline (Mississippi, Oklahoma, Idaho, Arkansas), New Hampshire is much further down (although heading in the right direction):

Quick Thought: Is China starting to flail like a mortally wounded animal?

May 31, 2020 Skip

Observation from Instapundit: DISTURBING THOUGHTS FROM A FRIEND ON FACEBOOK: “At this point China may be like Wilhelmine Germany in 1914 after the mobilization orders went out. The Plans are being executed. To stop before a predetermined victory condition, such as the surrender of Taiwan, risks the collapse of the military and the economy and … Read more

Disappointed to see this from the College Republicans: Statement on Peaceful Protest in Manchester

May 31, 2020 Skip

Sigh, I guess this will mean I’ll get dropped from yet another email list….c’est la! I saw something in this Presser from the NH Federation of College Republicans that made my heart sink and my brain go “WHAT! Don’t they KNOW better than to think / write this??? Emphasis mine: For Immediate Release: 05/30/2020 Press … Read more

“The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the global shift already underway towards a neo-feudal society.”

May 30, 2020 Skip

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the global shift already underway towards a neo-feudal society. With the middle-class economy largely shut down and, in the best-case scenario, in for a long and painful recovery, the population that is barely hanging on is expanding rapidly in America and around the world.

DISQUS Doodlings: Karens, Karens, Karens all around – even if they’re named Laureen

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020 Skip

GraniteGrok would be FAR less of a place to be without our commenters. SMART, too. But there are exceptions. I don’t mind at all when people from the other side of an argument come over to present their point of view. In fact, I’m of the opinion that Conservatives MUST go out and do battle … Read more

Palate Cleanser (literally): “Where Restaurants Have Reopened Across the U.S.”

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020 Skip

America eats out. A lot! One of the things that I kinda knew but was hammered home as local groceries ran out of things was that there are TWO logistic chains – one residential and one for anything commercial. That latter part was about 40% of our food supply – and was caught right in … Read more

EPIC! -> “Americans don’t get ruled!”

May 29, 2020 Skip

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat and a FABULOUSLY wealthy businessman is part of the family that owns the Hyatt Hotels. He Effectively “bought” the Governorship from what I have read. His problem, like many Governors at this time: they think they’ve been elected Kings and Queens.

DISQUS Doodlings – Part 3: the TreeHugger Eco-Socialist may not have a firm grasp on Price

May 29, 2020 Skip

Part 1 was about eco-Socialists not really understanding choice, Supply and Demand, and the importance of Price in describing value to either a Seller or a Consumer and how it is EXTREMELY important in managing markets.

DISQUS Doodlings – Part 2: the TreeHugger Eco-Socialist may not have a firm grasp on Price

May 28, 2020May 28, 2020 Skip

Well, Part 1 was about eco-Socialists not really understanding choice, Supply and Demand, and the importance of Price in describing value to either a Seller or a Consumer and how it is EXTREMELY important in managing markets between 10, 100s, 1000s or Billions of people by acting as a “Black Box” indicator (e.g., you don’t … Read more

Really, Union Leader, the House GOP “revolts”???

May 27, 2020 Skip

I would say that Republicans stuck to their guns (in some cases, literally) and said in effect “Decisions have consequences.” Steve Shurtleff, the Democrat Speaker of the NH House, YOU shut the House down and we don’t have to go along with rewriting YOUR rules to make it work.”

DISQUS Doodlings – the TreeHugger Eco-Socialist may not have a firm grasp on Price

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 Skip

I do like going out to find some debates – I think that all Conservatives should bring our philosophies and ideas into the Arena of Ideas to make the case in places we’d normally not be wanted. Like, as always, TreeHugger. I’m sorta like the Bruce Currie over there with the exception that I never … Read more

Scammers – Can’t Get Much More Blatant Than This

May 26, 2020 Skip

There are other viruses out there besides the Wu Flu. And no small number of them are computer based. Given that I get between 300 to 800 emails a day (more the closer we get to some kind of election when all of the PACs start blasting stuff out), there is always a number of emails that I know to be scammers and n’er-do-wells.