29 Comments

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!

Expand full comment
Dec 24, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

“Trillion Dollar Paint job” remains the sample article I recommend for folks who want to read a unique voice. And now I’ll be using nice guy Stasi. Keep up the good work.

Expand full comment
Dec 24, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

Mike, Many thanks for what you have been doing since the beginning. You were my introduction to Substack and a great one it was. As a tech leader in health IT for many years, (real stuff, not most of the pabulum out there) it has been fascinating for me to see the waves of development and pretenders come and go

So we will trust that you are prophetic and that the last wave of pretenders is waning. Much of the current pretending is about AI, incidentally. For every actual advance, there are literally hundreds of organizations saying "We have AI!" and "Our AI is better than your AI!" (Sort of where "big data" was a few years ago.) Mostly fraud to find a greater fool, but bad for the industry and the world as a whole. I generally point out to folks that we have yet to master artificial stupidity -- necessary before we really get useful AI. But there are dots of light in the heavens...and the forward march is, one hopes, inexorable to something that pushes the last five to ten years surge to mediocrity (or worse) behind it.

Have a wonderful Holiday! And thanks again for enlightening all of our lives.

Expand full comment

merry solstice!

worth noting that it was not a few weeks after hereticon (cheeky, fun) that recode tried to imitate it (cruel, tragic)

Expand full comment
Dec 26, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

You had me at Chesa Boudin ( hello ) back at the start of the journey. I honestly miss P.J. O’Rourke and some posts get sooo close...but I digress. I want to see the Pirate come out swinging with a full breakdown - after I enjoy the rest of the week - of ChatGPT and the imminent demise of original free-response history essays, human code reviews, and lengthy background checks. Open the pod bay doors Hal...

Expand full comment

One thing I think about a lot this year is your "Extract or Die" post and its contrast to Kevin D. Williamson's U-Haul admonition. I was born and have lived my whole life in Phoenix, Arizona. I have seen it change dramatically over the years and become less and less 60s Goldwater and more and more 80s Goldwater. I've contemplated moving in the last five years but have instead resolved to fight for my city and state, despite the influx of Californians following Williamson's advice.

Thank you for your work! I most appreciate the clarity you provide and the attendant provocation that occurs when I disagree.

Expand full comment
Dec 25, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

Thanks for the recap… I just found you at Fifth Estate. Looking forward to going back and reading some key stacks.

Expand full comment

Great work this year, Mike - yours is my favorite Substack find of 2022. Just had a chance to catch up with some posts I missed before subscribing, and was really impressed by “Freedom is for Nazis” - a great take, very well said, especially the paragraph that includes the line, “There is only free speech, with proponents of liberty and detractors.” 💪

Expand full comment

Merry Christmas, Mike! Have a happy new year full of new writing. Can't wait for the craziness!🙏

Expand full comment
Dec 29, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

Firm handshakes Sir 🤝

Expand full comment
Dec 25, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

Merry Christmas!

Expand full comment
Dec 25, 2022Liked by Mike Solana

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.

Thank you for authoring Pirate Wires!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Expand full comment

An excellent meta-post (let's take back that word now that Z-man is cratering)!

Merry Christmas, best wishes for a cracker of a New Year 2023, and God bless you!

Expand full comment

Thanks for all your great writing this year. You are a voice of sanity :)

2023 going to be even crazier and I'm sure Pirate Wires will continue to be a guiding light to us all. Godspeed!

Expand full comment
Dec 24, 2022·edited Dec 25, 2022

Merry Christmas.

Keep up the great work.

2023 will be very bumpy indeed. The market, technology, the war, supply chains, media implosion, the border crisis, Biden pivot to the center, climate reparations, energy policy, the federal reserve, crypto, etc... … …

Expand full comment
founding

Happy Holidays and thanks for another engaging and provocative piece.

Expand full comment