Clearly Da Vinci was an early user of AI: Actual Intelligence. What a letter! Talk about knowing your audience! His resume would blow artificial intelligence out of the water!
What a crazy list of 7 Other Things. To recap:
- Musk is in serious trouble over his porn in France (but not in the US)
- big brother really is watching what we do and say
- ICE is breaking the law? Say it ain’t so
- ICE is now considered an business with Amazon distribution centers
- tariffs are halving the opposite effect trump “intended”
- trump’s latest branding is failing like all his other ventures (universities, steaks, US democracy), losing money, artists and patrons, so a deflection is to close for a year (nothing to see here, move along)
I work in manufacturing and that article can't be more wrong. We are growing every month and everyone in my network of manufacturing professionals has the same story. Manufacturing in the Midwest is strong and the domestic demand is only strengthening.
Hmm. Your comments offer anecdotal opinion. You did read the article, right?
Here is something factual with link that paints a similar picture to the WSJ article Bill referenced:
“ WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity grew for the first time in a year in January as businesses placed new orders after the holiday season, but the improvement was likely temporary, with manufacturers still complaining about the uncertainty wrought by a fluid trade policy.
Respondents in the Institute for Supply Management survey on Monday were markedly more downbeat than optimistic. Some survey respondents noted the emergence of what they called an anti-American buyer sentiment while others said the Trump administration's policies had made it difficult to plan ahead.”
Loved this perspective on da Vinci tailoring his pitch. What stands out is how he buried the art stuff at the very end almost like an afterthought, even though that's what he's remembered for. Makes me think about how many ppl today lead with their credentials instead of thesolution the employer actually needs.
Regarding the Da Vinci story: Two things. One, Da Vinci was a huge fan of the Archimedean screw -- it features prominently in drawings throughout his notebooks, especially for irrigation. I'm betting he would have employed it to drain moats.
Two, the Geoffrey Owens thing got my attention. When The Cosby Show dropped out of syndication because of Bill Cosby's conviction, Geoffrey Owens was one of hundreds of actors, writers, directors, producers, and musical creators who saw residual checks completely dry up. It turns out that Cosby was like George Bailey in reverse. Jimmy Stewart's fictional character touched many lives in a positive way; Cosby in the negative.
What originally drew me to Other Things You Should Know was its variety. It used to be a thoughtful mix of national headlines alongside genuinely random, often interesting or even fun tidbits. That section was consistently my favorite part of the email.
However, since the election, the tone has noticeably shifted. The section now appears dominated almost exclusively by anti-Republican and anti-Trump coverage. In today’s edition, for example, all but one item framed conservatives in a negative light. That level of imbalance is difficult to ignore.
Everyone has biases to some degree — that’s human. But if bias is going to be present, it should at least be acknowledged openly. More importantly, if the publication is positioning itself as journalism, there should be a genuine effort toward balance. Readers should be presented with a range of perspectives and trusted to form their own conclusions.
What’s missing are stories that critically examine the left with the same scrutiny. To suggest that such stories don’t exist is, frankly, revealing in itself.
There was a time when journalism aspired to fairness, objectivity, and intellectual honesty. It would be refreshing to see a return to that standard.
Thanks for sharing that great DaVinci letter
Clearly Da Vinci was an early user of AI: Actual Intelligence. What a letter! Talk about knowing your audience! His resume would blow artificial intelligence out of the water!
What a crazy list of 7 Other Things. To recap:
- Musk is in serious trouble over his porn in France (but not in the US)
- big brother really is watching what we do and say
- ICE is breaking the law? Say it ain’t so
- ICE is now considered an business with Amazon distribution centers
- tariffs are halving the opposite effect trump “intended”
- trump’s latest branding is failing like all his other ventures (universities, steaks, US democracy), losing money, artists and patrons, so a deflection is to close for a year (nothing to see here, move along)
- a warm lizard is a happy lizard!
Thank you Darrell. You’ve saved my commenting on these very things.
😀
https://youtube.com/shorts/4U9N3D8WqRI?si=TQSig--zC2Z8qZN2
Worth a look
I work in manufacturing and that article can't be more wrong. We are growing every month and everyone in my network of manufacturing professionals has the same story. Manufacturing in the Midwest is strong and the domestic demand is only strengthening.
Hmm. Your comments offer anecdotal opinion. You did read the article, right?
Here is something factual with link that paints a similar picture to the WSJ article Bill referenced:
“ WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity grew for the first time in a year in January as businesses placed new orders after the holiday season, but the improvement was likely temporary, with manufacturers still complaining about the uncertainty wrought by a fluid trade policy.
Respondents in the Institute for Supply Management survey on Monday were markedly more downbeat than optimistic. Some survey respondents noted the emergence of what they called an anti-American buyer sentiment while others said the Trump administration's policies had made it difficult to plan ahead.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-manufacturing-rebounds-january-amid-strong-order-growth-2026-02-02/
Look up Disneyworld moat draining. Yes they're draining the one around the castle.
If you're worried going down the rabbit hole, just look up cofferdam.
ICE acquiring huge warehouses as detention facilities for detainees sounds more like slaughter house tactics.
Loved this perspective on da Vinci tailoring his pitch. What stands out is how he buried the art stuff at the very end almost like an afterthought, even though that's what he's remembered for. Makes me think about how many ppl today lead with their credentials instead of thesolution the employer actually needs.
Regarding the Da Vinci story: Two things. One, Da Vinci was a huge fan of the Archimedean screw -- it features prominently in drawings throughout his notebooks, especially for irrigation. I'm betting he would have employed it to drain moats.
Two, the Geoffrey Owens thing got my attention. When The Cosby Show dropped out of syndication because of Bill Cosby's conviction, Geoffrey Owens was one of hundreds of actors, writers, directors, producers, and musical creators who saw residual checks completely dry up. It turns out that Cosby was like George Bailey in reverse. Jimmy Stewart's fictional character touched many lives in a positive way; Cosby in the negative.
What originally drew me to Other Things You Should Know was its variety. It used to be a thoughtful mix of national headlines alongside genuinely random, often interesting or even fun tidbits. That section was consistently my favorite part of the email.
However, since the election, the tone has noticeably shifted. The section now appears dominated almost exclusively by anti-Republican and anti-Trump coverage. In today’s edition, for example, all but one item framed conservatives in a negative light. That level of imbalance is difficult to ignore.
Everyone has biases to some degree — that’s human. But if bias is going to be present, it should at least be acknowledged openly. More importantly, if the publication is positioning itself as journalism, there should be a genuine effort toward balance. Readers should be presented with a range of perspectives and trusted to form their own conclusions.
What’s missing are stories that critically examine the left with the same scrutiny. To suggest that such stories don’t exist is, frankly, revealing in itself.
There was a time when journalism aspired to fairness, objectivity, and intellectual honesty. It would be refreshing to see a return to that standard.
Pepperidge Farm remembers...