- Today's Fast Fact: voting is compulsory in Australia.
- Voting is a moral imperative in America. If it were compulsory, we'd see even less voters.
Major difficulties are becoming public at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA. Because of all the glass, people are calling 911 after walking into it and injuring themselves. Only the best and brightest for Apple.
- Good thing we have the internet. I saw a commercial with the phrase "dilly dilly" in it. How stupid, I thought, and went to look it up. To my surprise, it came from a Superbowl ad for Budweiser. Yeah, there's no way I would know that otherwise. Not many 'experts' can agree on what it means, but apparently it took flight after the commercial aired. Fascinating, in that it fascinates people. We are an incredibly complex and undeniably stupid bunch.
I mentioned Ryan Seacrest being among the throngs of men accused of sexual harassment. Headlines are starting to appear about how he is 'fighting for his life'. I thought the guy had a near-fatal injury... no... he is just fighting his accuser. Hollywood - always in search of a new low.
And speaking of new lows, the Oscar ratings took a nosedive. It could have been an all time low. And who deserves it more than a bunch of back-slapping celebrities, who use any old award show as a platform for their politics and causes.
Jimmy Kimmel didn't even bother being allegedly funny: he advocated gun control and, shockingly, bashed Trump and Pence.
- Speaking of gun control, Florida rejected a ban on assault weapons, favoring a vote to arm teachers. This might be the first thing to make sense out of Florida in ages.
- NRA membership is going through the roof.
Three daycare workers have admitted to giving children gummy bears laced with melatonin to get them calmed down for nappytime. The teachers were arrested. Asked for comment, the children yawned. Melatonin is pretty harmless, but still... it doesn't compare to my idea of valium lollipops.
Meanwhile Back in Rome...
- Father Luca Morini is on trial for allegations of blackmail, embezzlement, and other crimes. This shouldn't surprise anyone. The new and more fun item is that Francesco Mangiacapra, a male escort, has been providing services to Father Morini, who falsely presented himself as a judge. If the father's belief system is even a little bit true, I hope he comes to understand the power of the judge he's going to meet. When Mangiacapra (don't these people have any Smiths?), known to friends as Bob, found out the father's true identity, he questioned the financial source for all the lavish dinners and expensive gifts and reported Morini to his diocese. The diocese lept to inaction, awakening only after the case was shown on tv. The bishop suspended him and imprisoned him in his 200,000 lira house, built specially for him, with bills and maid included.
- This story has all the elements of a great book: blackmail, homosexual priests, lavish lifestyle, cocaine, orgies, and death threats.
- The only honest man in all of this is a male escort. There has to be a biblical lesson here. This will hopefully see prosecution. The top levels of the Catholic Church, along with the pedophile priests, are the largest international criminal gang in the world.
The presidential race in 2020 is heating up, first with Trump's announcement that he will be running. Maxine Waters has just announced that if Democrats win back the House in 2018, she promises financial reparations for black Americans. Is this woman possessed by some insane ghost? Has she missed her meds for a few years? She better be paying for this personally.
Foreign Aid
- For more years than I've been on the planet, there have been appeals and television commercials for money for starving children in Africa and elsewhere. Why is it that, despite all the money given, children are still starving? We send federal aid in addition to private donations.
- I just saw a commercial asking for aid for poor Jews in Israel. I am stunned.
- According to an expert on Israel's defense, the defense budget is $15 billion. The Israeli taxpayers pick up 70% of the tab. Defense Ministry income makes up 9%. The other 21% comes from you and me, fellow American taxpayer, to the tune of approximately $3.15 billion. Most of the aid comes as military equipment, not cash. This makes perfect sense, as the Military Industrial Complex gets a cut before the taxes stolen from the taxpayers go to a different country. We just signed an agreement for $38 billion over ten years.
- I don't have any means to figure out the financial demographics of my readers, and I don't care (although Google knows). We are barely getting by. My money is better in my pocket than in the government's, then in foreign countries' pockets. Imagine what you could do with this money... save, invest, treat the family to something nice, pay off bills. Instead we give it to other countries. Is this ok by you? We as a country cannot afford healthcare, yet billions hemorrhage out of the country every year.
- If you believe in foreign aid, send the money yourself. It's your money - do what you want with it. I never decided or ok'd or voted for my money going out of the country (or to most of what happens in the country).
- Which Congresspersons take the most money from pro-Israel PACs? An estimate of total aid to Israel - $138 billion. The Israeli-Palestine conflict has cost American taxpayers $3 trillion. I am not picking on Israel specifically - this is just the most egregious example of our money being squandered without really knowing it. Isn't it about time to keep our money at home, where it belongs, along with our military?
- If the American taxpayer had any real idea of what is being taken and where it goes, there would be rioting in the streets. After we turned the Kardashians off and finished our beers.
If you have been to Applebee's this year, look over your card's transactions. Point of Sale malware was discovered mid February. Most US restaurants were hit, but if you paid online or using self-pay tabletop devices, you're ok. Look over your transactions anyway - it's good practice.
- Even more to look forward to in England: a Member of Parliament thinks wolf-whistling, catcalling and unwanted attention on public transportation should be reportable as hate crimes. Be careful letting them know how you feel, lest you be reported for a hate crime.
Had to pick up some meds at the local pharmacy. Mrs lefty says some of the people there piss her off. Really? I get great service there. Oh well... Walking up to the counter, the nice lady asked for my name. I gave it to her, then mentioned Mrs lefty too. She said ok. She rang me up and gave me a total. Once again, I asked for meds for Mrs lefty too.
She stood there a second too long. I could see a lone wheel turning. I could smell the winter fragrance of twigs burning, along with the plastic bags from the leaves. She probably has some sort of illness from too much plastic bag burning. Finally it hit her, in Extra Slow Motion, that there were two customers sharing a last name. She pulled up the bag, stopped again, and said there were more. At least we were moving forward, I thought to myself. Finally I managed to pay and escape the place. I suspect her boss was monitoring her performance... I couldn't see him but I heard anguished cries from the back room.
When you send an email with two questions, only the first one will be answered. It's the rules and I didn't make them. When you call someone, they're not really listening after Hello. Try this: next time you call someone, after they answer, say, "I'm going to murder your pets Hi Bob, how's it going?" Next time at the pharmacy, I'll say to her, "Hey, those are some prodigious tits Can I have meds for the leftystrats, please?"
She stood there a second too long. I could see a lone wheel turning. I could smell the winter fragrance of twigs burning, along with the plastic bags from the leaves. She probably has some sort of illness from too much plastic bag burning. Finally it hit her, in Extra Slow Motion, that there were two customers sharing a last name. She pulled up the bag, stopped again, and said there were more. At least we were moving forward, I thought to myself. Finally I managed to pay and escape the place. I suspect her boss was monitoring her performance... I couldn't see him but I heard anguished cries from the back room.
When you send an email with two questions, only the first one will be answered. It's the rules and I didn't make them. When you call someone, they're not really listening after Hello. Try this: next time you call someone, after they answer, say, "I'm going to murder your pets Hi Bob, how's it going?" Next time at the pharmacy, I'll say to her, "Hey, those are some prodigious tits Can I have meds for the leftystrats, please?"
Around the Dial
things heard on tv or radio
- "...he believes that there's a sub-atomic particle, not yet discovered by science, called the pyrotron, that crashes into another particle", causing spontaneous human combustion.
- Is that motorcycle helmet New Zealand/Australia certified?
- "Oh no" duhhh duhhhh - a 'special' dog mascot for a UK insurer
- yur INE als (urinals)
Does advertising reflect reality? Is it manipulated? Is there an agenda besides selling you things?
I ask because I'm starting to see mixed-race relationships on commercials. This is an interesting item to me because it's never been on tv. It is also antagonizing to some of the alt-right, who see it as an agenda. If the alt-right is getting itself into a tizzy over this, they better stay away from UK tv, where it's absolutely normal. Their heads will explode when they observe the black and white lesbian couple selling whatever they're selling. One was in the bath and the other was sitting on the toilet, clothed. It's amusing to watch groups lose their Stuff over things like this.
What would be interesting to me is UK advertisers using attractive women to sell something. They certainly live up to their stereotype.
- It's not that I don't trust manufacturers and users, but I don't trust manufacturers and users. I've written of flaws that allow Bad People to access things like pacemakers. Here's a related matter: researchers found vulnerabilities in a machine used to access and adjust pacemakers. Apparently the software used to run it is full of holes. The manufacturer was notified, and took its time in fixing the flaws. Meanwhile the machines were vulnerable, hence the pacemakers too. Now apply this to The Cloud and Internet of Things. This is the future of security.
Best Headline:
Zebra hit, killed by car near Ostrich Festival
- Ask yourself this question: does the world need Neil Diamond tribute bands?
The staff and hopefully readership of ThermionicEmissions would like to thank the SE PA weather forecasters for another dead-accurate feat of prognostication. The rumblings started early this time. Talk was over 6" at least. Philadelphia closed schools a day in advance and went to Emergency Mode, where all cars had to be removed from the street on Snow Emergency Routes. This is a very important step for Philadelphia, as it needs to keep routes unobstructed for cleaning and emergency traffic. Also, the Parking Authority loads up on fines and towing fees. The store shelves were picked clean and there were lines of 13 per lane. Full Panic<tm> was in effect.
The forecasts stated that the snow would start the night before. In an exceedingly rare occurrence, they were correct. By the next morning, it was coming down hard. The flakes were huge and wet, adding up to 2" per hour, which is really A Lot Of Snow. After getting the mail, I looked like half a snowman. Marshall, being black, looked like the Abominable Snow Span.
The snow continued for a while, stopping just short of their forecast of 12" or more. And when I say just short, I mean about 2-3" total.
On one hand, we're all glad this wasn't worse. Extricating the cars will be less heart attack inducing (remember - the highest incidence of heart attacks is after shoveling, so don't).
On the other hand, most women will tell you 2-3" ain't 12", with a far-away look in their eyes.
On the third hand, if the local weather forecasters said it will be light sometime in the next 24 hours, I wouldn't put money on it.
The forecasts stated that the snow would start the night before. In an exceedingly rare occurrence, they were correct. By the next morning, it was coming down hard. The flakes were huge and wet, adding up to 2" per hour, which is really A Lot Of Snow. After getting the mail, I looked like half a snowman. Marshall, being black, looked like the Abominable Snow Span.
The snow continued for a while, stopping just short of their forecast of 12" or more. And when I say just short, I mean about 2-3" total.
On one hand, we're all glad this wasn't worse. Extricating the cars will be less heart attack inducing (remember - the highest incidence of heart attacks is after shoveling, so don't).
On the other hand, most women will tell you 2-3" ain't 12", with a far-away look in their eyes.
On the third hand, if the local weather forecasters said it will be light sometime in the next 24 hours, I wouldn't put money on it.
