Friday Ephemera

Honing skills.
That would be slightly more impressive if he wasn’t visibly moving his head back to ensure he didn’t get kicked in the face.
“Completely waterproof.”
I’m sorely tempted to get one just to see how my cleaning lady reacts.

The most intelligent lifeform on planet Earth.
The one at 5 mins…

Morning, all.
The one at 5 mins…
Yes, I’m intrigued as to… how that came about. I sort of picture the driver amid clouds of dust, opening the door and muttering, “Well, this is embarrassing…”

like the budgerigar (or parakeet, as we say on this side of the pond) that we had when I was a young lad,
I never quite understood the bird-as-pet thing. Though I say this as the owner of a hamster.

The moths I see in the bedroom are never that pretty.
If all moths were the size they appear on the screen in the video, a hairy handful, they might be more adorable. Pettable, even.
What?
Also, bees the size of grapefruit.

Birds as pets
The attraction for me was that you can fill their hoppers and go away for a long weekend with a clear conscience. Presumably this is also an option with hamsters?

Biggest budgie event in 10 years….
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-01/bumper-budgie-season-red-centre/100338202

Band name.
Heh. Not a bad one.
[ Rummages in cupboard for clarinet. ]

The one at 5 mins…
It happened in Brazil. Wife died. Husband survived. Driver refused to stop until forced by other motorists.

A concise explanation of how to determine if you are trixic or toric.
Speaking of shapes, a lively geography discussion.

Speaking of shapes, a lively geography discussion.

Well that is certainly appetizing.

Soon to appear in an upscale Manhattan restaurant.
No doubt, along with the main course served in bedpans and emesis basins.

What do you get when you cross a cow with an octopus?
Invitations to furry conventions.

Here’s proof, I think, that men & women are wired differently:
https://youtube.com/shorts/98l5kSSFnQI?feature=share
Can you imagine a man trying to play head games with a pet rottweiler? I don’t think so.. My recommended videos on YT always include girls seeing if their rottweiler will be jealous when they bring the boyfriend round. What nonsense…

The thrill of South Korean candy manufacturing.
On a much smaller scale.

Unhappy conversions.
I’m wondering what the alternatives are. I’m assuming that the locals aren’t spending their money in the local shops, which is why they’ve closed up. I’m also assuming that the building owners are very limited in what they’re allowed to do with their property, as my understanding is that ownership of property means very little unless you’re wealthy enough to purchase the entire planning commission.
So I’m thinking your options are to do a cheap and cheerful refurb into affordable housing, or to loosen a pipe fitting* and wait for the water damage and mold to make the structure a total loss so that you can start over with something more appropriate for the current day and age.
Honestly, all the moaning about “Oh, our poor high street!” doesn’t mean a lot when it’s obvious that nobody uses it for its intended purpose any more. ‘Tis a bit much to assume that the owners will just operate empty shops and pubs at zero rent in perpetuity so that you can relive your cherished memories of the days before the big-box stores opened up at the edge of town.
* Arson by fire is for amateurs. Water is equally destructive (albeit in slow motion) and infinitely less likely to get you in trouble with the Fire Marshal or the insurance company.

The link above doesn’t seem to be working.
Quietly fixed.
[ Resumes wiping bar in a nonchalant manner. ]

all is good now.
Huzzah.
[ Strolls towards jukebox, inserts pound coin, hits play. ]

cardiac plumbing job.
Yikes! See, this is why I never go to the doctor. They have this terrible tendency to assert that I’m less than perfectly healthy.
I hope your experience is similar to my favorite uncle’s. We saw him a few weeks after his “surprise plumbing job” and he honestly looked fifteen years younger. He said the secret was having oxygenated blood flowing efficiently to all of one’s organs. Whoda guessed?

On a personal note, last Wednesday I had a problem resulting in a triple bypass cardiac plumbing job.
Yikes! Best wishes for your recovery. Do all your doctor recommends. (And thank God for modern medicine. So much progress since I was a child.)

Welcome back.

Haha, I recently discovered Idiots In Cars and have been binging like crazy.
Also pricing dash cams. With a 2 hour daily commute on fast-moving American highways I could provide quite a bit of content for that channel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58120598
This was considered worthy to be included on the bbc news front page. Not the “Europe” page, the main one.
Mind you it made me laugh, a lot.

WTP I remember that case. What, pray tell, should Texans do? Vote harder?

Don’t know what to tell you. I, and therefore presumably many other, people saw that story months(?) ago, and it caused just as much impotent outrage as the 100 other atrocities reported on that week, and about as much real-life response. IE, a bunch of jabbering on the internet, per usual.
I can’t imagine how any reasonable person…
Because you are reasonable you’re physically unable to imagine it.
I imagine the authorities paid to protect citizens, most especially children, instead remember how rescuing Elian Gonzalez from Cuba wasn’t an option, much less from a crazed cultist (the mother) whose cause currently sits atop the progressive stack.
Pace Daniel Ream, until we get to helicopters it’s all just meaningless talk.

Something to put a bad taste back in your mouth: North Korean Defector Robbed by Black Muggers, as Woke White Bystanders Call Her a Racist.
Old: “I hate Illinois Nazis.”
New: “I hate Illinois liberals.”

James Younger is going to lose his balls. Here. In America.
And in the UK and also the US too prolly, teenage girls are getting their tits chopped off and sometimes even their inside lady bits carved out. Quillette had an article about 2 UK teens who regretted that later in life, and the thing they were most angry about was how no one questioned their decisions. They were railroaded into the operating room, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. David previously linked to S Watson’s video about what that experience was like – the chopping, the love bombing, and then the regretting. I wonder if the NHS makes ’em wait like actual physically sick people, or if tit chopping and banana peeling/inverting operations get fast-tracked so Stonewall stays happy.
James Younger’s mother is at the top of the Progressive Stack right now – Trans Inc is right up there with BLM – I wish they’d actually have to battle it out for top status, but the current PTB seem ok with letting them both share the top at everyone else’s expense.
There was a lot of outrage when this story first broke. And after the father lost court battle after court battle – what are “conservatives” supposed to do? Storm the Texas Capitol building? That only works in Wisconsin if you are Lefties who are mad about an election. Doesn’t work so well when conservatives do it – ask anyone about Jan 6 and see what they say. Burn down Portland, Minneapolis, and Kenosha, and that’s Peaceful Protesting. Be Lefties and occupy and trash a State Capitol building because your guy lost the election – Democracy in action! Be Lefty protestors let in to the Supreme Court inner chambers by a D representative and create a ruckus, Democracy in action! Be Righty or even a hair Right of Center and be let into the Capitol Building by Capitol Police, create a ruckus, TERRORISM, RIOT, INSURRECTION!!
What are “conservatives” supposed to do?
Hell I’m not even sure voting harder would work – there’s flash drives and boxes of votes just waiting to be found so the correct judge, legislator, sheriff, governor, etc can be elected.

It’s Friday.

You are correct, Mr. Crainium — Novosibirsk is at about the same latitude as Moscow, just more east.
Which means that apparently, not everything on the Internet is true.

The reality is that both parents are complete nuthatches,
OK, here it is again. What is the problem with the father? Anything that predates this custody battle?

“This was considered worthy to be included on the bbc news front page. Not the “Europe” page, the main one.”
Yet this, for some reason, wasn’t.

Anything that predates this custody battle?
Seems so, but I don’t care. It’s become a clickbaity topic for nearly a half decade. Kid’ll probably turn out fine, despite stupid parents.

I know it is early on this side of the big ditch, but possibly the most absolutely nonsensical thing you are likely to read today.
Today in Racism™: history of present illness.
Bear in mind this was written by an alleged medical student.

“A 21-year-old African American female presented in the emergency department with diabetic ketoacidosis.” The first line of a patient’s history often includes their race. Many physicians believe race is an important aspect of clinical decision-making, useful for identifying risk factors and treatment options. However, these labels are inaccurate proxies for risk factors and treatment contraindications and can even hurt patients. In particular, these labels could reinforce racial biases and prevent patients from receiving standard medical treatments.
Physicians often determine racial and ethnic labels themselves rather than asking patients to self-identify.

Absolute utter bullshit. Race seems as if it would be generally easy to presume when a patient walks into one’s exam room, but not always, for example, in actual cases, a person paler than I (hard to accomplish) whose dad was black, or the one with the Irish name who looked like a cartoon leprechaun but with a problem normally found in Mediterranean people, but then the Legions did get around.
This stuff is important, race related history may be an important factor, and may, contrary to the learned opinion of a second year student who has never had full responsibility for a patient’s care, prevent a patient from receiving the wrong treatment.
However, I don’t need to tell you this, because this eminent sage goes on to argue against herself with several other examples, e.g.:

Today, many Black American patients who would benefit from receiving clozapine are either not offered it, consequent to physician fear of BEN, or forgo it themselves when told they will need invasive blood draws and frequent monitoring.

Invasive blood draws. Gasp. Later that same day…

But, if physicians are truly trying to discern if patients are carriers of genetic allelic variants that cause severe medication reactions…or put them at an immensely higher disease risk…then genetic mapping should be used in high-risk patients.

Of course, if we don’t have a reasonable SWAG at race to begin with, we don’t know if they might be at risk, but let’s go ahead an drop a small fortune on full up genetic mapping.

Unfortunately, this practice may not only stoke racist beliefs but also introduce immediate bodily harm on Black and brown bodies.

Why is black capitalized and brown not ? Does presuming someone is pure 100% Grade A yte also possibly “introduce immediate bodily harm” ([cough]-see examples above) ? Seems racist to me, but I am absolutely fed up to the back teeth with this “bodies” horseshit. The word is “people” except to race-baiting commie clowns who think of people only as a commodity. Well, maybe also pathologists and morticians, but mainly commies.

“The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” If we continue to unquestioningly use tools developed by the mostly white forefathers of the medical profession, we may never actually change racial health disparities.

Yeah, how about taking a flying leap at a rolling donut. So much for SciAm being a respectable journal.

the mostly white forefathers of the medical profession,
Wait, what … you mean yte peepo didn’t steal all that science from BIPOC Cultures?

…you mean yte peepo didn’t steal all that science from BIPOC Cultures?
Of course they did, but then they turned it into a tool to use against BIPOC Cultures and Black and brown bodies.
I just realized as I wrote that, that on certain sites it wouldn’t be perceived to be ironic.

In practice, it’s used to do discredit the use of reason and empirical evidence as weapons against racism
The left abandoned reason and evidence when its policies all failed so spectacularly.

Something tells me it’s not her first time.

The word is “people” except to race-baiting commie clowns who think of people only as a commodity.
Interestingly, I think I’ve only seen non-whites described as “bodies”. Whites, and whites only, have the dignity of being people rather than mere bodies. Evil, demonic people who ate each other and didn’t know how to bathe before being taught by far more advanced natives whom they inexplicably were able to conquer, but people nonetheless.

Kicks juke box…

I know just how he feels.

Kicks jukebox
That a very fine wig he has.

Speaking of cultural matters, this.

Do follow the link for Emilia Clarke’s attempt at a comic book.

Scorpio and blood moon rising. No drama, no water signs.

Well, except for the other six word balloons that say otherwise, but you go gurl.
…how women authors might better appeal to men…
You know what would be crazy – if a woman wrote a book about a scientist who made a reanimated monster, and that book got turned into countless movies and spinoffs. Yeah boy howdy, that would smash the patriarchy, but never happen.

Do follow the link for Emilia Clarke’s attempt at a comic book.
High school dropout and chemical engineer. Riiight. And “sex worker” too because, well, because it’s a feminist comic.

How silly of me.”
*shrugs*

Then there’s one thing you men will be able to say when this war is over and you get back home. Thirty years from now when you’re sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, what did you do in the Chik-Fil-A Wars ?’ You won’t have to cough and say, ‘Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.’

Standing for a half decade divorce case case?
Yeah, no.
The Dr phil show is still on, no?

In my time here, Hal never once articulated a position on anything.
If I can offer the one counter-example that springs to mind, he seems to have really had it in for the 1980s.

I think you give him too much credit. Either that or you’ve custom painted him as one of the bogeymen you’re obviously fighting.
Yeah…yeah. Hal actually searched me out on FB and dropped an implausibly deniable hint here in that regard. I was the one constantly warning y’all to stop feeding the troll. Hal was your most fakey-fake of conservatives, if the term “conservative” even remotely fits him.
Look…let’s review. I asked a question, what I think is a perfectly reasonable question, as to why this story hasn’t gotten much play. I suspected maybe there’s something about the father that I am missing and asked that specifically. What I get in response is snarky/lawyer-ly non-answers (ooh, the crap I’m having to deal with regarding lawyers yet again…but I digress) implying that there is some issue there but the most solid thing I hear is in the context that the divorce is taking five years or some such. I don’t see where that is relevant and having recently gotten my HOA out of a 12 year legal battle over a tree, mostly because the woman on the other side (and maybe possibly due to some women on “our” side from before I got involved) was a…what’s the word…bitch, report that the divorce contest has been going on for five years when it is involving a woman who is willing to cut her little boy’s balls off…well that info isn’t informing me of anything. Anything about the father, anyway. And the Elian Gonzalez comparison…I mean, come on. Completely political on both sides. And I say that as someone who hates the term “both sides are doing it”.
It’s a shame because I used to enjoy reading your comments. At your best, you’re witty and sarcastic while still being earnest and insightful.
Thanks. Well at least there’s that.
I sincerely hope you find a way to deal with whatever you’ve got going on.
Thanks for you concern. And I do mean that sincerely, no sarcasm. However, after much, much thought about these things I have come to the conclusion that in spite that conservatives, by their very nature, should be holding most of the cards…or the best cards…or whatever the bungled analogy is, they continue to lose because ultimately nothing really matters to them. Oh, sure, they can bitch and moan amongst themselves in safe spaces amongst other conservatives in blogs and church and Facebook groups and such, but when there’s a serious issue, and it definitely does not have to be this one it’s just this one is sooo bloody extreme and happening in Texas of all places, a huge opportunity to not just make political points but to spare a child from being disfigured in the most permanent way, not just physically but mentally, essentially down to the brain stem, there’s not much real interest in pursuing it. Though I feel similarly about what has been happening to Andy Ngo, though that does get a bit more attention. But also the big, big failure of conservatives…”conservatives” that continues to this day is the total abandonment of George Zimmerman. A strong pushback at that time would have precluded the whole BLM matter entirely. But no one wanted to push back. So BLM gathered steam and grew on the phony “Hands up, don’t shoot” and every cop incident where the cop was right up to the George Floyd idiocy. People around the world start burning looting and kneeling over this drug addicted, quasi-suicidal thug. Thus Derek Chauvin (oh, and the attacks on him from “conservatives”) gets convicted on absolutely nothing reasonable. And now Kyle Rittenhouse sits in prison. But hey, really shouldn’t talk about that stuff now.
I sincerely hope that for the sake of the children and grandchildren and such this idiocy comes to a stop. But I don’t see any real, serious fight. Mostly a lot of pushback on people who bring it up. I see a whole lot of conservatives living in denial. Just as they did decades ago when I tried to tell them we were headed in this direction. Not that even I, with all my cynicism, thought it would get this bad this fast. If I upset people, well I’m sure you can get over it. Eventually.