Just finished the FANTASTIC book “Barry & the Boys” by Daniel Hopsicker but kept getting tripped up by the term “cut-out.” Here’s what it means according to the New Ministry of Truth (ie Wikipedia):

In espionage parlance, a cut-out is a mutually trusted intermediary, method or channel of communication that facilitates the exchange of information between agents. Cutouts usually know only the source and destination of the information to be transmitted, not the identities of any other persons involved in the espionage process (need to know basis). Thus, a captured cutout cannot be used to identify members of an espionage cell.

https://voterga.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/elections-data-destruction-audit.pdf

On tomorrow’s show, I’m going to do some rapid-fire headlines — binkley will read the headlines & I’ll give my two cents – you can call with your own headlines or leave them for me here in a comment on the blog, on facebook or on twitter…

Nowhere in this article does it mention the systematic policy attack on truckers. Extreme restrictions on truckers’ flexibility over when to drive has crushed productivity–rising wages or line-hauls won’t make up for having to spend more hours idle for every delivery. Demand for truckers is going up not only as demand for transportation has increased but also as each trucker is forced to be less productive, an effect that compounds the shortage of drivers by causing truckers who can’t make a living to exit  the industry resulting in even fewer trucker-hours to meet rising demand.

I have seen the momentum toward autonomous trucking accelerating past that for passenger cars since the company Otto was created by some well-connected tech folks to retrofit existing trucks with self-driving technology–that’s a sign of a short timeline IMO.

This WSJ article is portraying the undersupply of truckers as an unfortunate market failure–watch out for future articles that build on this underlying false assumption to argue that we have no choice but to adapt infrastructure to self-driving trucks in a hurry.

Of course, those who pay the freight will love such a subsidy allowing them to switch to a government-subsidized technology rather than compensate for government-implemented productivity crushing policies with higher wages. My guess is they are all in this together. Similarly, the uber-lyft model does not work without self-driving technology. Billions upon billions of dollars have been pumped into these businesses for years by very smart people–surely they know driverless is coming despite the tremendous cost and disruption it will visit upon taxpayers and laborers alike.

Maybe I’m wrong, but the way this article deliberately ignores the real problem with declining trucker supply makes me wonder, Why even write the article? Obviously, there’s some agenda at work. We will see what it is. #WTWOF

Trucking Companies Are Struggling to Attract Drivers to the Big-Rig Life
The U.S. freight market is speeding ahead, but recruiting new truck drivers to meet demand is proving harder to rev up

From Imbibe Magazine, this is the fantastically popular Ramos Gin Fizz as invented and still served by the Sazerac Bar in New Orleans. I can’t believe I never had one before!

1½ oz. Old Tom gin (I’m using Hayman’s because I’m out of Ransom)
1 oz. simple syrup (1:1)
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh egg white (pasteurized if you like)
2 oz. heavy cream (I accidentally made mine with half this amount and preferred it! My husband, however, did not.)
3 dashes orange flower water
(I’m considering a dash of blue curacao for color but the drink is so delish as-is I hesitate to mess with it.)
Chilled club soda
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: Collins

Add ice to the glass to chill and set aside. (I put the glasses in the freezer while chilling with ice.) Add all the ingredients (except the soda) to an ice-filled shaker and shake vigorously 50 times. (Here’s my modification: I always use a “dry shake” when dealing with egg whites–that is, shake the drink first without the ice–in this case I held off on the cream too, shook the drink 30 times with no ice or cream for smoother froth, then added the cream and ice and shook 50 more times.) Remove the ice from the glass and strain mixture into the glass from a distance to ensure froth. Top with club soda. (I wish they told me how much club soda–my guess is 2 ounces.)