Ron’s Topics

South China Morning Post, September 8, 2018, “Doctors said the coma patients would never wake. AI said they would—and they did.”

Thank you to our listener Geir for passing this along.

“Surveillance State,” Kevin D. Williamson, September 13, 2018, National Review

“When everyone is the last one out,” The Economist, August 4, 2018

Japanese work notoriously hard, 12 hour days are not uncommon, only 10 holidays per year, and it leads the world in paternity care, but only 5% men use it, and then for just a few days.

The Japanese have given the world the term karoshi—death by over work. They had employment for life post World War II, making it nearly impossible to fire, vestiges of which is holding them back: Japan has the lowest productivity of the G7 countries.

Companies tend to judge employees by input not output, and pay not on merit, but years served. The law should make it easier to hire and fire, allowing women more chances; fathers could bring up offspring, and it might even lead to more babies, suggest The Economist. The latter seems doubtful to me.

“Having a Cow,” Metro USA [from The Limbaugh Letter]

Fragile Millennials can now engage in “cow cuddling.”

For $300, stressed snowflakes can hug and “groom” a cow for 90 minutes at Mountain Horse Farm in upstate New York. We guess, don’t knock it until you tried it, but…

Cows will “pick up on what’s going on inside and sense if you are happy, sad, feel lost, anxious, or are excited, and they will respond to that without judgment, ego, or agenda.”

How udderly inspiring, as Rush says. No mention of barnyard odors.

What about consent? #MooToo?