Apparently what caused all the problems was a domino effect of sorts from yet another defective part, this time the heat sink for the processor. It wouldn’t fit properly, so the slightest shift (I have a super old desk) moved it enough for the CPU to overheat & the motherboard to fry. The last thing to replace is the CPU, and I am 99.999% POSITIVE that the mothership will be back on track. Once that thing works I’m not opening it again.

That out of the way, here’s something that might or might not become a regular feature: in-progress book reviews. Right now I’m reading “Radicals for Capitalism” (their term, not mine), Brian Doherty’s history of the libertarian movement. So far, I do find it interesting for all the people that I still hadn’t heard about, like the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education. One story in there that’s particularly amusing is Lysander Spooner apparently having had a rival letter carrier service back before it was illegal to do so on a level playing field, only to be ran out of business by the State. Sometimes it really is that simple.

Doherty does slip up in one respect: of the anarcho-Left roots of libertarianism are kinda glossed over, with only a passing mention of Benjamin Tucker, meanwhile Rand gets a shout in two three different sections. This doesn’t ruin it, but it does sorta tip off his particular bent, though in the immediate term I don’t nitpick. It’s worth finishing, so I will.