The Limits of Usury nothing is forever by Blonde Ulv Usury is one of the most destructive forces in which mankind has ever dabbled. It topples empires, bleeds the wealthy dry, funds deleterious expeditions, and is even an affront to God. It is so pernicious because it acts in such a way that acts long…
Author: SG-Blog-User
Chapter 14 – A Last Party
by Silent Draco Yet, great peace, delight, and joy rained on them, as they wandered the land, learning songs and lore, and delighting in flowers and creatures neither seen nor heard of in Middle-Earth, unless included in elven lays, whose time may not have come, or may have passed. Their days passed in bliss and…
Chapter 13, Part 2 – Of Lore and Lineage
by Silent Draco The Elf-Master beckoned them along a path made of finely cut and fitted rock, pocked in places by slag and spark, smoothed and healed in others. They stopped in an antechamber, one looming over the Elf’s head. The chamber was wrought of stone, in appearance like the walls of Minas Tirith, but…
Macro vs. Micro
Macro vs. Micro how the world operates and why nobody can see it by Blonde Ulv There are a few terms every single person who has ever taken an economics course have heard. Supply and demand, money, trade, exchange, goods and services, etc. Two that are touched upon but usually not emphasized for the layman…
Chapter 13, Part 1 – Of Lore and Lineage
by Silent Draco Sam walked up to the guards at the heavy door of the Lore-Smith forges and Second Armory. He bowed to the curious guards, and displayed the small plaque of Tree and Fountain. “Enter, Young Ones. The High Lord awaits you within.” One guard opened the heavy, steel-lined doors, while another rang a…
The Future of Big AI Companies is Bleak
by Tor The Future of Big AI Companies is Bleak Data-Center Capacity How much claimed capacity is actually getting built and put into operation? From Ed Zitron’s deep dive[1], it looks like actual operational data centers by electrical consumption are somewhere between a tenth to twentieth of the capacity corporate press releases would have people…
Chapter 12 – A Walking Song
by Silent Draco Two weeks after they accepted King Fingolfin’s gift, after second breakfast, the Halflings heard a mellow tenor voice chanting songs of praise for Yavannah. A quiet tapping came at their main door; Frodo was closest, and opened the door to greet a wonder. A visitor, one of the Maiar from the almost…
Chapter 11, Part 4 – The Healing of Lórien
by Silent Draco Frodo, in his turn, was welcomed and walked to another small cottage. “Lady Estë asked us to walk about the gardens, and chant or sing, as is your wont,” spoke Mardur. “Come, let me sing some verses of the Voyage of Fendlas the Unprepared. Though his was not quite the time, yet…
Chapter 11, Part 3 – The Healing of Lórien
by Silent Draco Bilbo and Frodo were both healed of all hurt, injury, and spiritual ill they took from bearing and resisting the Master-Ring. All shadows were cleansed from mind and heart, and sorrow replaced with understanding, wisdom, and regret. For among those sorrows and regret was the knowledge that they would never return to…
Chapter 11, Part 2 – The Healing of Lórien
by Silent Draco “Namarith, foxglove tincture, six drops, and a small spoon of fevers-bane. Mix with the arrow’s root.” She sang a rhythm-song to steady mind and heart; taking the proffered soft cake, she deftly placed half under Sam’s tongue. Cradling his head on her lap, she sang on. Sun and Sky and star shall…