Today, I’ve got a complete 007 James Bond movie at the end. Please stick around and enjoy it. It’s a recent movie too. “It’s no time to die”. It’s well worth your time to carve out and watch.
Now, on to other subjects…
You know, I inherited my father’s desk. Actually I inherited all of his desks, as he had three. And my mother’s desks.
And in my struggles of life, my siblings and relatives came and looted them away. All of which were sold to strangers for a pittance.
Maybe they were able to buy a pizza for the $2000 desk they sold for $5.
Some of them were really nice too.
Now, today in China, I don’t use a desk. I have various tables that I use. And I fight with my daughter for desk space. LOL.
I have long argued that all men should have a desk. It’s a place to plan, to work, and to organize. The old roll-top desks with all those little drawers, and cubby holes were perhaps the highlight of this item of furniture, but over time, as I have become more mobile and recognized that for each move, I would lose some of my possession, I now have a smaller list of “needs”.
It’s 2024.
I don’t carry a wallet, or anything like a watch any longer. I have a few notebooks and a handful of pens, but that’s all about it.
Ah.
But electronic reliance comes with it’s own troubles, hassles and problems. I will say this again…
But, you know, supreme reliance on a computer of cell phone comes with its own problems. And You all, should know what that means and what they are.
After so many hard drive crashes, system reboots, stolen products and police extractions, I do not trust data storage and histories on the computer at all. In fact, a actually loath them.
Anyways, back to my narrative…my father had his boy-hood desk stored in my paternal mother’s house attic. It was a glass bookcase, with a pull down writing desk. I thought that it was cool. You could store your books and treasures on one side, and then go about your business on the other side., and when you were done, you could lock everything up.
Pretty cool huh?
I still think that it is important to have a “space” a secure place that is free from intrusion and prying eyes. As well from a virus, or an electrical discharge. Call me old fashioned, but there is a certain beauty of having a quite space all your own, where you can set your coffee, tea, or whiskey down and think, read or write.
A desk.
About Desks
Do you dream about sitting down to write at an antique desk? Do you imagine being able to channel all the creativity of the people who have used the desk before you, and that somehow their words become yours?
What makes an antique desk so appealing is its tangible history. The marks, scuffs, and etchings of the people who sat there before you all add to its beauty.
It’s why these desks remain so popular with antique collectors and consumers alike – both looking for a piece of furniture steeped in character to complete their study or hallway.
What are the most popular antique desks?
When you think of an antique writing desk, you probably imagine a grand partner’s desk with ornate detailing or a slender ladies writing desk.
Antique desks date back hundreds of years, but the most popular styles were conceived between the 16 and 18th centuries, when furniture design really flourished.
Cabinet-makers like George Hepplewhite and Thomas Chippendale made their name during this period with designs that are still sought after today.
There are so many styles to choose from that it’s easy to get lost in the number of options:
- Pedestal desks
- Partners desks
- Bonheur de Jour (ladies’ writing desk)
- Secretaire desks
- Roll-top desks
- Bureau à Gradin
Every style of desk has its own defining set of characteristics that make it easy to identify (but a word of warning, these pieces aren’t easy to date so do your homework and make sure that what you’re buying is a genuine antique before you hand over your money).
How to identify an antique writing desk
In this section, we look at some of the most popular antique desks and their characteristics.
Pedestal desks
The antique pedestal desk has a flat writing surface with two pedestals on either side, that usually contain drawers. You might also see it referred to as a kneehole desk (so-called because of the space between the pedestals for tucking in a chair). The kneehole desk dates back to the Georgian period.
Partners desks
This type of desk was designed for two people to use at the same time with a large work area and drawers on both sides. Because it looks good from both sides, this desk would make a grand centerpiece in the middle of the room (just make sure you’ve got the space before you invest!)
Ladies writing desk
This elegant desk with slender legs shot to fame in the second half of the 18th century in Paris. It’s also known as a bonheur de jour, which is French for daytime delight.
This desk has a raised back that forms a kind of cabinet with a nest of drawers or sometimes open shelves with a mirror. An English-style desk will typically have mahogany drawer liners, but French models are more likely to be oak-lined.
Secretaire desks
Antique-style secretary desks are typified by their drop-down writing areas which usually have hinges. Some are made from exotic woods like rosewood, tulipwood, and kingwood, but other hardwoods became popular later.
Roll-top desks
The late 18th-century roll-top desk is usually made of oak, mahogany, or walnut. These desks are popular for their storage which includes drawers, shelves, and pigeon holes. Typically this storage is hidden behind a rolling door or a shutter, which retracts vertically.
Bureau à Gradin
This type of antique writing desk has tiers of small drawers and shelves along the back of the surface area. The Carlton House desk is the most famous example of a bureau à gradin, which was reportedly designed by George Hepplewhite for the Prince of Wales. What makes the Carlton writing desk so popular is the drawers that wrap around the desk in a U-shape.
How do you pick an antique writing desk?
When it comes to choosing a writing desk, consider how you’ll be using it. If you want a desk that you can sit at for long hours while you work then look for something that is big enough to fit your screen, a keyboard, and a laptop.
Today’s workspace is full of 21st century equipment that needs to be stored somewhere, not to mention the tangle of cables that come with it. Antique writing desks are not designed to accommodate electrical items, so think about where you’ll put your printer and other devices.
Of course, if you’ll only be sitting at your desk occasionally then you can buy something to suit the room’s decor without worrying about the functionality of the furniture. Consider how much space you’ve got available and whether the desk is designed to be positioned against a wall or whether, like a partners’ desk, it’s intended to be used as a grand centrepiece.
The juxtaposition of new meets old in interior design can make an impressive statement, but that doesn’t mean any old chair will work with your antique desk. To get the most out of it, choose your chair carefully. There are plenty of antique desk chairs out there that fit the bill.
Late 19th century swivel desk chairs with upholstered seats are some of our favourites.
Antique writing desks – the bottom line
Sitting down at an antique writing desk feels very different to sitting at an MDF table from a big budget store. When you sit at an antique desk, you’re joining a long line of people who used it before you to do something similar.
Whether you’re working, paying a bill, or writing your Christmas cards, doing it at a desk with a long history feels like it carries greater importance.
Is it the Marcos’ family has their entire assets in US and the US court is threatening them with freezing such assets unless follows US interest and goes against China? If is true, can this ruins the Philippine growth and prosperity or the other way?
Marcos’ huge inheritance in USA has been frozen by USA long before his father Marcos Senior died. Marcos Sr was a notorious corrupted pres in the world.
Instead of USA threatening to freeze his inheritance, it is more likely that USA may have used those frozen assets as a bail to fish Marcos Junior.
Money is 1 thing. Marcos Jr also had an arrest warrant in USA related to the his inheritance. He is temporarily lifted while he is president.
He was supposed to appear in a US court after his father’s death & while Marcos’ junior was still living in exile in USA. But he fled & sneaked out of USA & returned to PH.
If there were a threat, more likely it is not the frozen assets but his arrest warrant. I would guess.
Of course, Marcos is working for his personal interest at the expense of PH & Filipinos.
When former PH pres Duterte had no problems with China, there is no reason Marcos should have problem with China. There is no reason Marcos should provoke China because China has no problem with PH fishing in PH’s EEZ
Marcos conveniently twists UNCLOS & interpret fishing right in EEZ as sovereignty.
Anyway, Marcos is leading PH to a war with China & making PH a battlefield.
My crystal ball tells me that Marcos will not 1 cent from his inheritance. USA will cook up 100 reasons that USA cannot unfreeze the money. USA will confiscate the money to pay for US debts. But USA may cancel the arrest warrant after Marcos’ “hard work” to provoke China.
What is best reason?
USA & UK seized the assets of Russian oligarch after Russia invaded Ukraine. Their reason is that they will use the money to help Ukraine.
Now USA can seize Marcos’ assets in USA. May be the reason is that he is nice to China by not provoking China hard enough. Haha. USA has many smart people.
Ah. He found a keeper
Is Communist China really good? None of its citizens seem to protest anything.
Communist is not an accurate way to describe modern China. China isn’t really Communist. Don’t let the name of the party fool you.
China’s government is unusual in that it actually learns from its mistakes, adapts, evolves and improves. Western governments do not.
Despite mistakes made under Mao’s rule, the government has become one of the best in the world. The country has developed rapidly and peacefully. The people live much better than they did a mere 30 years ago.
So, yes, modern China is really good. Go visit China and see for yourself.
What happened at your job to make you think ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’?
Originally Answered: What was your "I don't get paid enough for this sh*t" moment?
I accidentally scanned the next woman’s deli meat because she hadn’t put a divider on the belt. The current customer said, nicely, that it wasn’t hers and I voided it. The next woman seemed agitated and complained again. I joked “I forgot my mind reading glasses at home. Next time I guess you’ll have to use the divider.” other customers chuckled but the lady turned red and raised her voice “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY”
I said, “don’t worry about it, it was just a silly joke.” I started scanning her stuff and she calls the customer service desk from her cell phone and starts telling a very dramatic version of my scanning and joke. The manager walks over after realizing this psycho is in the store. The woman is complaining about me and looking over occasionally “oh, double bag that one.” I had zoned her out and looked up to see her and the manager looking at me expectantly. The manager says, “well?” I asked, what? The manager says the woman wants an apology. And super nonchalant, I said “oh! Sorry.” then asked her if she was ready to pay. This pissed the woman off even more, that I was not crying from embarrassment or fear. She paid and starts yelling again as she’s walking backwards out of the store, to me “I hope whatever made you this way gets better!” I think, yep you’re leaving.
Manager pulled me aside and says “what do you have to say for yourself?”
I said in that Same calm tone “I don’t need this in my life.”
She says “excuse me?” I said, that customer was rude and unstable. She was drawing attention from other customers and detracting from their experience. She clearly was looking for an argument and nothing I could say would change that. The most I could do was ring her up and tell her to have a nice day.
The manager shrugged and said, just remember that sometimes we can’t say what we want to– and then walked off. She has been rude to me ever since but complains when I pick a shift to work that isn’t hers.
edit to add: this woman was psycho. People came up to apologize on her behalf after, and/or compliment me for staying so calm. Clearly some of you have not worked retail. Do it for a day and you won’t take her side.
Grilled Cheese and Bacon Mini Meat Loaves
Love meat loaf? Make it on the grill for a summertime treat!
Prep: 55 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef
- 1/4 cup Progresso® plain bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
- 4 slices center-cut bacon (about 3 1/2 ounces), cut crosswise in half
Instructions
- Heat gas or charcoal grill for indirect cooking as directed by manufacturer.
- Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix all ingredients except bacon. On work surface, pat mixture into 7-inch square. Cut into 4 (3 1/2-inch) squares. Top each square with 2 half-slices bacon; attach with wooden picks.
- Carefully spray grill rack with cooking spray. Place patties on unheated side of two-burner gas grill or over drip pan on charcoal grill (medium heat). (If using one-burner gas grill, cook over low heat.) Cover grill; cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly pink in center.
- Using spatula, turn patties over. Cover grill; cook 5 to 8 minutes longer or until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160 degrees F and bacon is crisp.
- Remove wooden picks before serving.
Notes
Use Italian-style bread crumbs for a different flavor. You could also use pizza or spaghetti sauce for the ketchup.
Center-cut bacon has had the fatty ends cut off. You can use slices of regular bacon–just trim about 3/4 inch off of each end. The half-strips should just cover the surface of each beef square.
Nobody Cares, Work Harder
On Tuesday, China and the Philippines held a bilateral meeting to ease tensions in the South China Sea. Do you think if those de-escalation efforts would work?
- The essence of the conflict between China and the Philippines remains unchanged. The fundamental contradiction between China and the Philippines on Ren’ai Reef is the ownership of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The differences between the two countries are also very clear, that is, the conflict between the Philippines’ attempt to actually illegally occupy the South China Sea islands and China’s rights protection.
- The Philippines has never given up reinforcing the hull of the “Sierra Madre” and building facilities on Second Thomas Shoal, and has never stopped delivering building materials and supplies for related operations to Second Thomas Shoal. That is to say, the Philippines is trying to regard the stranded ship as its territory, thereby truly turning “sitting on the beach” into illegally occupation.
- Sierra Madre has been on the Second Thomas Shoal beach for 25 years, Filipino soldiers have been living on Sierra Madre for 25 years, heavy metal pollution brought by the rusty Sierra Madre, Filipino soldiers produce daily household garbage, kitchen water, bath water, food scraps, bottles, plastic bags, feces and so on directly discharged into the coral reefs, which become the Second Thomas Shoal eco-pollution source, whose contaminated area stretches over a dozen nautical miles.
- China and the Philippines are currently holding the ninth meeting of the bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea issue. Judging from the details announced by both sides since 2013, this mechanism is a “temporary special arrangement” established by China and the Philippines after 2016. This is an effective way to manage differences explored by the two countries. On June 30, 2022, Bongbong Marcos came to power, and the new Philippine government led by him did not agree with the “gentleman’s agreement” between the Rodrigo Duterte government and the Chinese government. Overall, whether the “temporary special arrangements” can play a role depends entirely on whether the Philippine government abides by its commitments.
- Whether the US military will intervene on Second Thomas Shoal, it is very certain, they will not. Although U.S. politicians have repeatedly confirmed verbally that the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the South China Sea, the U.S. military can arbitrarily adjust its position, response, and the extent and methods of measures it takes based on its own interests and strategies. Judging from the parties involved in the recent conflict between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the US military has never been a participant, and the only participants are the American media. American media reporters are regular crew members of Philippine ships, and they are good at Preaching and distorted reporting.
THROUGH HELL – Motivational Video
Is the conservation of pandas a part of China’s foreign policy?
It is now. But it did not start it that way about 200 years ago.
In 1800’s, many Europeans came to China, esp Christian missionaries. They found pandas. An animal they never saw at home.
They started killing Panda to bring it home for display in their museum. Or they smuggled live Pandas from China to their home country.
Some of these smugglers were Christian missionaries.
Pandas were close to extinct at one point.
It was then that Chinese authority decided to protect Panda from killing & smuggling.
Panda dont make babies easily. As part of conservation, China sometimes needs to manually help them make baby.
Panda is a unique species. Some foreigners like to put it in their zoo for display/education & at the same make money, China also get into the business by renting panda to foreign countries.
It is mutual interest.
Have you ever conned a car salesman who thought he was going to con you?
My wife was able to turn the tables on a Ford dealership several years ago. She bought a used car from them and was quite happy with the car until it was totaled in a flood. Insurance paid out, so she bought the same model & make of vehicle from the same dealership with a 3 year extended warranty. This last detail will be important later: her 2nd vehicle was a different color.
From the day she drove the 2nd vehicle off of the lot, the brakes squeaked and the steering was loose. Despite taking it in for warranty repairs a few times, they refused to fix it & blew things off as just “dust on the pads”.
Shortly before her warranty expired, she took the vehicle back in for an oil change & inspection. The service tech gave her a $2,000 list of proposed fixes (including replacing the dangerously worn brakepads, a tie rod, & a few other big ticket items). She asked for a printout of the repairs with pricing. Then she asked why the repairs weren’t covered under the warranty.
The service guy told her that her warranty had expired over a year ago. That’s when she asked him what color her car was. [The guy had pulled up the older car in their computer system.]
Scammy dude quickly tried to backtrack & say that there was nothing really wrong with the brakes or other components and that they were just suggestions. But he had roasted himself with flagging some repairs as “critical for safety”. After he realized he was screwed, he suggested doing all the repairs just for the cost of labor.
My wife had to get a manager involved, but the dealership ended up doing a ton of repairs on her vehicle that they never would have agreed to do without trying to gaslight & con her. All covered under the extended warranty, without any labor costs.
I WILL MAKE IT – Motivational Speech
Do Americans actually compete with illegals for low-level jobs?
Perhaps my former son-in-law’s story might be instructive. He was employed as a framing carpenter in building construction, but was priced out by low-paid undocumented aliens.
He took a job in a local cabinet shop and made more money.
He liked “Cross-Fit” exercise, so on his lunch breaks, with the boss’s permission, he started making sturdy plywood boxes for cross fitters to jump on and off of.
His boxes sold so well that he left the cabinet shop and started his own business selling his exercise boxes on-line. I allowed him to operate from my home workshop.
His biggest customer was a local on-line retailer of sporting equipment. Before long, this company persuaded him to become their employee, with the promise of a big new wood shop, benefits, and steady money.
He went for it, but within a few months his new bosses outsourced production of his boxes to China and cut him loose.
The Chinese version of the boxes, I was told, were made with bad plywood, and the company lost a lot of customers. They attempted to hire my son-in-law back, but he was no longer interested.
He is now a state government employee, working full-time in the carpenter shop of a large local university for a decent salary and job protection and good benefits.
Rule No. 1: Never lose money.
Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.
I’ll never forget my father’s lesson. He told me, “Son, no matter how many material things you accumulate, you can lose them all.”
“What do you mean, Dad?”
“Your great grandfather owned a beautiful farm. It meant everything to him. One day, some crazy, corrupt government officials came and took it from him. He lost it.”
“He couldn’t get it back?” I asked.
“No, in fact, let me tell you another story. Your grandfather lost one of his businesses due to some powerful union leaders that came one day with three buses, and took all his workers.”
“How? Where did they take them?” I asked intrigued.
“By the time they retuned, they were forced to follow the unreasonable demands of the union leaders. Your grandpa’s business was never the same again. He had to eventually close that booming business. He lost it.”
I couldn’t believe the stories, “Has this ever happened to you?” I asked.
“Yes. You were still a young boy. We owned a lot. One day some people decided to build a street through our property so they could get to their property — isn’t that crazy?”
“With no permits?”
“Yes, no permits! We lost that land plus got a huge headache of legal fees. The lesson here, Son, is that material possessions can be lost. But remember this: NOBODY can EVER take knowledge away from you. Investing in your knowledge is the safest investment you can ever make.”
So, to answer your question, what is the best way to invest money when you don’t have a lot?
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. — Benjamin Franklin
ENJOY THE PAIN
What is the saddest thing you’ve ever seen?
When i was 12 years old my sister (she was 16) she began to experience abdominal pain. She never really told anyone about it except me (we were super close, like inseparable close). She thought that it was just because of her periods. As the months started to grow, so did her pain. I was freaked out so I suggested that we tell our mom but she said that she didn’t want to burden my parents (we were at a financial loss at that time).
So after about 65 days she couldn’t hold on so she decided to tell my mom. My mom got an appointment immediately and we rushed to the ER (Emergency Room). My sister was wailing in pain. The docs over there took an ultrasound scan and then an MRI and a couple of other scans, at this point my mom and I were crying that’s when they revealed that my sister had Pancreatic Cancer and that it had crossed Stage III. My mom literally fainted right there.
I was alone and scared and i had heard about cancer only in stories and books like fault in our stars. But when my sister was a victim i didn’t know how to react.
When my mom regained consciousness and calmed down, they told her that my sister was given a few painkillers and anesthesia for the time being and that we had to start with chemotherapy soon but that they were not sure that it would work. My sister did not know that she had cancer, the doc explained it to her usually merry face broke down.
They started chemo and her beautiful black locks which she was proud of slowly began to fall. She was a person of positivity so she told my mom that she wanted to EXPERIMENT her hair. She had hip length hair which she cut it to a bob then a pixie and then finally shaved her head. We both shaved our heads together.
She would never get a minute of sleep at night. On the 12th of December, it was my birthday, I ran home from school happily as my friends had given me a lot of gifts for my sister and me. My dad was there, my mom wasn’t, my sister was at the hospital, so I asked my dad to drive me to the hospital as I wanted to give the gifts to my sister.
My dad was looking really depressed but he agreed. When I reached my sisters room, she was screaming out of pain my mom was screaming for the docs. I went near my sister slowly she smiled at me even with too much pain.
Her last words to me were, “I love you, take care of tiger (our 1 year old dog) and mom and dad, it’s time for me to see grandma and grandpa in heaven”. She died at 16:07pm on my birthday. I cried for almost a month and I still cry for her every single day but not in front of my parents because I know that if I cry they will cry too. I hope she found a peaceful place! A MESSAGE TO MY SIS – I LOVE U ABBY pls come back if u can I miss you every second of my life.
KILL YOUR EXCUSES – Motivational Speech
Have you ever been arrested or taken into custody for something you didn’t do?
I was arrested for what a US Assistant Attorney (AUSA) indicated in the formal charges was a million dollar fraud case. I was fingerprinted, photographed and processed in as an arrestee. I was held for 9 hours while they processed me.
The AUSA alleged that I had, over the course of a few years, embezzled more than a million dollars and that the “amount could well be much more as they were still counting” but at this point, “couldn’t locate the monies.”
I was only 36 years young and didn’t have so much as a traffic ticket as an adult. I had a traffic ticket as a 16 year old.
I knew the federal agency I worked for was targeting me for opening my mouth about waste, fraud and abuse at the highest levels, but I never thought they would stoop so low as to make up charges and have the power to convince the AUSA to indict me.
How wrong I was. How naïve I was.
An attorney who was representing me in a civil case against my agency, called a friend of his who was a white collar criminal attorney at a big law firm in the city and asked him to meet with me.
I didn’t think the gov’t would indict me so we had a good chat, but during this “chat” he scared the dickens out of me and I ended up throwing up on him!
He indicated that the federal gov’t was surely going to indict me even with no proof, no evidence. I could get 10 years for each count of fraud. He said, “they do it all the time.” I had a career, but no monies to pay his firm. He said, “don’t worry about it, we’ll work something out.”
I was indicted for 27 counts of fraud with no evidence to support the charges.
The trumped up criminal charges were to try and scare me away from the civil case.
However, since I had worked for the gov’t for years, I had about 12 boxes of paperwork related to my job, etc. The criminal attorney asked me why I had all this “proof” and I indicated that I work for the U.S. government!
In reality, I always kept copies of anything I signed as I have a mediocre memory and my memory is complicated by a migraine condition so I lose memory on a regular basis, similar to an epileptic seizure disorder.
Long story short, the federal judge threw out all the indictments (with prejudice) and lashed out at the AUSA indicating “if you ever bring a case such as this to me again, I’ll have your law license revoked.”
Be That guy.
What is the best thing you saw someone do when they got fired from their job?
A friend of mine, let’s call him Mike, a 5-year mid-level executive of an IT company was unceremoniously removed from his office when a new manager, let’s call him Fred, took over the company. Now both Mike and Fred came from another company, where Fred, then an “ass”piring Newbee did his best to take over Mike’s position and was unable to do so. Mike eventually left the company when his current company offered better compensation.
Six years passed and Fred, who rose after Mike left, was able to get a Senior Level position where Mike was working. For no reason, Fred on his first day fired Mike, the claim was insubordination, as Mike did not offer him a “Good Morning” as they passed each other in the hallway.
Mike who was already planning to set up his own company, went to his office, packed all his things, turned over his keys to HR, and left. A week after he was busy preparing his new company, using in part his separation pay. Unknown to Mike, several other employees in his division, learned what happened and resigned.
Now Mike was handling “Special Accounts” and he approached them saying he was no longer working with the company and was moving on. He did not tell them he was setting up his own company. It was also later learned that several of Mike’s co-workers came to work for him.
When Mike left, the company wanted to get him back, Mike said he would, only if they removed Fred and replaced him with another manager. The company would not do so.
Not a year later, Mike became bigger than his old company, who after Mike left slowly disintegrated when some clients left. Some did transfer to Mike’s company, many others found other groups. At this time, the owners of Mike’s old company offered to merge with Mike, who after consideration agreed.
You know the first thing Mike did? He went to Fred, said Good Morning, and gave him his options – either to resign or be transferred to a smaller branch about 100 miles away. Fred opted to resign.
Yeah, karma is a b****!
GOING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES – Powerful Motivational Speech
It is clear to the world except the US & its Western puppets, that it has a short time before the total eclipse of the dominion of arrogance, US & W. Europe. Will Putin and Xi be new world leaders, will it include India? Will Biden open be a doorman?
I think USA knows. That is why it is struggling to hang onto its “empire” for as long as possible.
That is why USA hysterically suppresses China thru sanctions, trade war, US puppets etc.
W Europe also knows. Some continues to stay by USA. Some turning to China. Poland, for example, is 100% pro-USA. But it asks for Chinese investment in EV in Poland.
Putin & Xi for sure will be the new world leaders.
India? I personally do not see that in the foreseeable future because it is far too behind Russia & China, both economically & technologically.
India’s propaganda skill is good though.
Have you ever had such a close call it makes your skin shiver everytime you think about it? If so, what happened?
I was about 11 or 12 and the last two lessons of the day were hockey practice. Now our hockey field was away from the school but in walking distance. When it was finished we went home straight from the field as we all lived local. I had to go along a road with houses both sides but then there was nothing but fields both sides for about a mile until you reached a busy t junction. When I reached the quiet stretch a car pulled up alongside me, and the male driver opened the passenger side door and told me to get in. I said no so he started to get out the car and with that I ran for my life literally. He chased me for a bit and then gave up as I was nearing the junction. He turned his car around and drove off. I think of it now and again and wonder what would have happened . I may not have reached my 75 years of age. For some reason I never told anybody as I remember feeling it was my own fault for not going the long way round. In hindsight I know I should have done. I hope he didn’t succeed in abducting anyone else . I feel guilty about not saying anything but at the time it never entered my head because all I thought about was getting into trouble with my dad as he would have gone berserk.
Have you ever “fired” a doctor? How did you go about leaving your doctor and finding another one?
Yes I did, in the middle of my second pregnancy. I was around 4 months pregnant and was having a sonogram done to check on the progress of the baby. Of course that particular day, my future daughter decided to curl up in a ball with her back facing my stomach, so the sonogram technician was having a tough time getting a read on the blood flow in the umbilical cord. We tried everything we could to get her to move, but she was already showing signs of stubbornness and stayed put. We tried for over an hour, and let’s not forget that you have sonograms done with a full bladder, so I was in pain. Finally the technician said she would give it her best shot and make a note in the report that the baby was blocking access to the cord. I agreed, we finished, I peed and went home.
A couple of days later I was shocked to receive a phone call from my OB/GYN’s office informing me of my referral appointment at the Perinatal/Neonatal center in a city over an hour away (I lived in a rural area). When I asked what the referral was for, I was told they couldn’t tell me and I would have to discuss it with the doctor at my next appointment. And I informed them that the referral appointment was prior to my next meeting with the OB/GYN and I would not go to it without knowing what it was about. They insisted that I had to go. I said if it’s that important then the doctor can call me himself and explain why I needed to go, if not then I wasn’t going and I hung up. As you can imagine, my stress level was now high and I couldn’t imagine what was actually wrong when everything had been fine so far. Next thing I know, one of the Nurse Practitioners from the office calls to talk to me. Again, she cannot tell me why I was referred; only the doctor could. So, I said, either the doctor calls me himself or at 4 pm tomorrow I will be coming into the office to pick up a copy of my files to take to a new doctor.
I was not surprised when the doctor never called me, and as promised, I showed up at 4 pm the next day to pick up a copy of my records and told them to cancel the referral appointment and all future appointments with the practice. Once I got home, I sat down and read my file and figured out why the doctor had referred me and it was wrong. First, he saw the numbers for the blood flow in the cord, but didn’t bother to read the note about my daughter blocking it so assumed she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Next, he used a certain test based on the size of her head and length of her spine and decided she was undersized. With multiple nurses in the family, they quickly pointed out that the tests he used to determine the size are not valid until the fetus is at least 20 weeks old, and she was only 16 weeks old.
So, I took this information and made an appointment at a new OB/GYN practice. With my records and a new sonogram, they confirmed that the first doctor had been wrong and the baby was progressing on schedule.
I never regretted leaving the doctor that made assumptions, used the wrong tests, and failed to communicate with his patient.
Did you know there was something wrong with your health, but no one believed you, until one day you received a correct diagnosis?
This is a Christmas story. And it’s not my story, but the story of a young man who was helping his mom in the kitchen, preparing New Year’s Eve dinner.
When at some point his mom dropped something on the floor, he was the first to bend down and pick it up. That was a typical Mark thing — helping all the time.
But when he bent down, something snapped in his neck.
A lump occurred on one side of his neck, but he had no pain, and felt fairly okay. (But still.)
And it’s not that his family members did not believe him when he said that something in his neck had snapped — some even proposed to drive him to a hospital, just in case — rather, it was an inconvenience on New Year’s Eve, and it did not hurt so how bad could it be, right ?
And as no one was insisting, he took his bike and rode to the hospital himself. By then, the lump had considerably grown, but nobody had noticed that (or maybe they ignored it altogether).
They would never see him again.
When Mark arrived, he collapsed near the entrance of the ER. And there was nothing the ER doctors and nurses could do for him, although they tried, and tried, and tried.
Later, the medical doctors discovered that Mark had Syphilis — a fact which was (most probably) unknown to him — and that he had developed an arteriovenous malformation (an abnormal tangle of blood vessels) in his neck. As he bent over to help his mom, the tangle had snapped, and bled him to death within the hour.
And ended Mark’s story, on New Year’s Eve.
It’s Supposed To Be Hard | Motivational Video
What did someone say/do that made you close down your account and go to another bank?
My husband was trying to claim a work pension, and needed a form completing and stamping by our bank. A simple form, just requiring the bank’s name, address, sort code, IBAN, etc. and his signature. He went into his branch and they refused to stamp it, saying it was policy not to stamp any document that wasn’t theirs. He shrugged, said ok, and then asked for help completing the simple form, as he has Parkinson’s Disease and can no longer control a pen. The clerk refused to help. My husband asked to speak to a manager and he too declined to help my disabled husband. The reason he gave was ‘we might make a mistake.’
THIS WAS THEIR OWN DETAILS!
If they don’t trust themselves to write out their own name and address, why should we trust them with our money?
It gets worse. As a ‘vulnerable’ customer, we asked for a marker or flag to be put on our account, so it would show up every time he needed banking services and they would know he needs extra help. In spite of having been assured that the flag was there FOUR TIMES, every time we phone in or visit we are told that there is no such flag on our account.
It gets worse. My husband went to Australia recently, to visit a dying friend. While there his phone malfunctioned so he couldn’t make calls. The bank spotted what it thought might be a fraudulent transaction and asked him to verify the transaction. Because he couldn’t, they cancelled his internet banking, leaving him with no access to money. He borrowed someone’s phone to call them and explain. There was a power outage at the bank’s end. He was cut off and they would not call him back.
I tried calling them but they wouldn’t speak to me, even though it was a joint account. I spent 90 minutes begging them to call him and talk to him, but they said they couldn’t. I asked to speak to a supervisor but they said there wasn’t one. I went into the branch but they wouldn’t discuss it wth me. The advisor got up and walked away from me saying she couldnt help.
My husband had to go into a branch in Australia and beg them to loan him some money, and eventually they loaned him enough money to get home but while he was there he needed the bathroom (he’s on diuretics, and when you gotta go, you gotta go!) but they wouldnt let him use the bathroom and sent him to McDonalds next door, which was closed. He was in such distress that he went back to the bank and said he wasnt leaving until they let him use the bathroom, even if it involved soiling himself in public. They let him use the bathroom pretty darn quick, but imagine being reduced to having to threaten that before they would show a little common humanity.
This was all very stressful and stress makes Parkinson’s worse, and makes the medications less effective, so it’s a double whammy. It’s taken him nearly a month to recover his health.
So.
Next week, we’re off to the bank next door to our current bank. Amongst other things they have a disabled bathroom on the premises, and a dedicated member of staff for helping customers who need a bit of support.
Such a contrast. Our current bank has lost five accounts and many thousands of pounds because of this, plus the FCA and the local news station have got involved and the Consumer’s Association have taken it up. So, lots of bad publicity for HSBC and Hurray for Nationwide!
NO MATTER HOW HARD IT GETS – Powerful Motivational Speech
1) 80% of people would write their name if asked to write something with a new pen.
2) If a person laughs at a low quality joke then he is suffering from loneliness.
3) The big toe indicates the nervous weakness hidden by the other fingers, indicating that the person wants to be unnoticed by many.
4) Psychology is the first 6 seconds of meeting with someone, the first impression about him is formed.
5) It is a proven fact that our response to any situation is capable of radically changing that situation.
6) Many times someone’s indifference indicates his utmost care which he does not want to express.
7) If you write down negative thoughts and throw them away like garbage, your mood will get better.
8) In 90% of cases, those whose handwriting is bad are more creative than usual.
9) It has been proven that orange helps reduce anxiety. That’s why doctors recommend eating an orange before going to work.
10) Never reveal your goals to anyone. It produces the equivalent effect of achieving goals in the brain.
11) When surrounded by plants, the brain releases certain chemicals which increase the thinking power of the brain. That’s why walking in the garden is part of some psychiatric procedures.
12) The conversation of the parents with the child becomes the language of his mind.
13) 8 positive statements disable a negative statement.
14) If someone’s foot is back towards you during the story-gossip with many people, then it should be understood that he is interested in you.
15. If a girl likes you, she will play with her hair while talking to you.
16) You will rarely die in your dreams, if you die in your dreams then you have started something new in life.
17) Dream is a conversation between you and your subconscious mind.
Why do you think President Zelenskyy did not address Viktor Orbán’s proposal for a ceasefire in his statement?
Zelensky wanted ceasefire 1 months after the war started. But USA & UK stopped him.
Below is my earlier post
On 2024/6/10, in a CBS interview, US senator Lindsey Graham said Ukraine is sitting on a mineral mine that worth US$10-12 trillion (on eastern Ukraine).
He said the West cannot afford to lose (the Ukraine war). The West must win the war. Make sure Russia & China cannot access Ukraine’s mineral mine.
He recalled that former pres Trump sent military aid to Ukraine in the form of loan.
Back in 2022, Washington Post reported that the Ukraine war was about national mineral & energy wealth esp lithium which is important to make weapons.
That is, the war is just a tool to rob Ukraine of its rich resources.
No wonder, more than once, USA & UK stopped Ukraine from peace deal with Russia. Ah…h, it is about c o l o n i s a t i o n of Ukraine. About m o n e y.
No wonder in early 2024, when Ukraine is clearly losing the war, Europe spread fear of Russian threat to Europe. They must sent (ground) troops to Ukraine to make sure Ukraine will not collapse. Ah…h. It is all about splitting Ukraine’s mineral mine. Russian threat is just smoke.
The collective West is a robber, at the expense of human life & suffering of Ukrainians.
Democracy is just a slogan to hide their evil face too.
So from now onward, dont ever support democracy movements around the globe. Otherwise you become the devil’s accomplice.
Read “America’s Deadly Export – democracy” by William Blum.
MEN’S LIFE IS WAR – Motivational Speech by Andrew Tate
Have you ever put your child in a daycare only to take them out shortly after because something didn’t feel right?
I enrolled my children ages 2 and 4 in a day care and something didn’t feel right.
I asked to sit in and observe and while they did NOT like the idea, they allowed me.
I was appalled.
The level of discipline was extreme for that age.
When children sat in a circle, if they so much as moved a leg or a hand, they were reprimanded. They had to sit exactly cross-legged with hands folded or they were humiliated.
They ran the vacuum every 20 minutes because cleanliness was important. If one crumb hit the floor it was unacceptable.
If a child cried, they were exiled. But the worst was seeing one of the teachers hold a child’s face into the rug for speaking out of turn.
The two hours I was there, I did not see one child smile nor laugh, nor was there any noise at any time.
I then met with the head of the school and expressed my concerns.
She told me that strict discipline was the way to build responsible adults.
I told her that I was withdrawing my children and she threw a fit.
She threatened to sue me for slander if I told anyone else my opinions, and of course, she kept the one month in advance I had paid.
I did tell a couple of other parents what I had seen, and one told me “We don’t have the luxury of finding someplace else like you do.”
Another did not see anything wrong with the extreme discipline.
The next week, I walked in to another preschool.
It was loud, there was finger paint everywhere, and the kids were all laughing and smiling.
I had found my home.
Is America going through a leadership crisis?
What a polite way of saying that the entire nation is in free-fall, and has been on auto-pilot, run by ignorant, unskilled, and unelected idiots for the last few years. Um. I would say “yes”, with a rapid nodding of the head and rather elaborate hand and arm movements.
Shorpy
Who is blocking the cultural exchanges between China and the United States?
A few days ago, four students studying in the United States and scholars attending academic conferences were checked when they entered the United States, and finally three visas were revoked and repatriated. The students and scholars involved are from science and engineering backgrounds. Two of them participated in the research direction related to artificial intelligence (AI).
China students studying in the United States have been harassed, searched and repatriated by the United States for no reason, and related incidents have been continuously exposed by Chinese and foreign media, which has caused increasing international influence. Recently, two senior officials of the American diplomatic system have responded one after another, but what they said seems contradictory.
In an interview, U.S. Ambassador to China Burns denied the above allegations, saying that the United States issued about 105,000 new student visas to China citizens in 2023, and “more than 99% of the student visa holders successfully passed the examination of the Immigration Bureau”. Just a few days ago, US Deputy Secretary of State Campbell publicly admitted that American universities are restricting China students’ access to sensitive technologies. He also expressed the hope that China students would come to the United States to study humanities and social sciences instead of “physics”.
Burns and Campbell, who should the outside world trust?
You should choose to believe the facts.
When China students entered the United States, they were held in a “dark room” for interrogation, their computers were detained and their mobile phones were searched, which “felt like a lamb to be slaughtered”. Studying in the United States is discriminated against, monitored, prevented, investigated and even prosecuted. All kinds of experiences are not only exposed by China, but also reported by many foreign media such as The Guardian, AFP and Washington post. Reuters quoted some western academic circles and non-governmental sources as saying that “the deterioration of US-China relations and the concern about the theft of American technology have undermined scientific cooperation and made China students suffer unwarranted suspicion”.
Burns listed a pile of data to show that the US Embassy and Immigration Bureau are “unimpeded” in treating China students, but “occasionally make mistakes”. He even went back and claimed that it was China that made it more difficult for China students to go to universities in the United States.
His statement doesn’t even support the voice of America, the mouthpiece of the US government. The media quoted an American scholar as saying that the US Customs has more “investigation power and experience” than Burns’s the State Council system, and customs officers may find “something that the State Council has missed”. In fact, some of these so-called “missing things” are extremely absurd, including a China student who was suspected by the US of “collaborating with Wagner” because he talked about the Ukrainian crisis on social software. The bigger part is the “black box operation”. From beginning to end, international students don’t know why they were investigated or why they were repatriated.
This operation in the United States is said to want to communicate, but in fact? While talking about promoting exchanges, at the same time, driving China students out. Isn’t this a naked double standard? To put it bluntly, I just say it well, but I don’t really want to communicate at all. Isn’t this duplicity a typical “double standard”? Isn’t the United States doing this just to muddy the water and then confuse the fish with the pearls?
The United States prides itself on openness, tolerance and academic freedom, claiming that “science has no borders”, but it politicizes and weaponizes academic research, abuses the concept of “national security” to suppress and persecute China students, infringes on the legitimate rights and fundamental human rights of China citizens, creates a “chilling effect” and poisons the atmosphere of cultural exchanges between China and the United States.
The consequences of this double-standard practice are not light. First of all, it has seriously damaged the rights and interests of students in China and frustrated countless young people with dreams. Secondly, it sends a very wrong signal that the United States does not sincerely welcome China people. In the long run, the friendly exchanges between the two peoples will be seriously affected, which is definitely bad news for the long-term development of bilateral relations.
To solve this problem, the United States has to show some sincerity. First of all, stop the unwarranted investigation and repatriation of China students, and give others a fair and just environment. Secondly, the US government should introduce some policies to encourage cultural exchanges between the two countries, such as increasing the number of scholarships and simplifying visa procedures. Finally, the American media should also report more positive news about the friendly exchanges between China and the United States, instead of exaggerating the opposition all day. Only when all aspects of the United States show sincerity can Sino-US exchanges really get on the right track.
Promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States is an important consensus reached at the meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States in San Francisco. It is beneficial for both China and the United States to enhance mutual understanding and deepen mutual ties through cultural exchanges, and the people of the two countries also have urgent practical needs for this. Politicizing the study abroad program and scientific research cooperation will do great harm to the cultural exchanges between China and the United States. The image of the United States in the eyes of people in China and the world depends fundamentally on what the United States is doing. Obstructing and destroying cultural exchanges will damage the international reputation of the United States.
HARD TIMES CREAT HARD MEN (MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH)
What were the last words you heard someone say before they died?
Just before my MIL went into a coma (and then died after a few days in hospice), the doctors wanted to examine her again. They asked all her children to leave the room. When I turned to leave, she grabbed my hand and frantically pleaded with her doctors to let me stay. They complied with a smile and she became very calm. When finished, they left and my MIL whispered urgently, “I need you to get an envelope of papers from my desk and make sure the General gets them! You’re the only one I can trust!” She worked many years as a Civil Servant at an Air Force Base but had been retired for over 30 years. I promised her I would deliver the (non-existent) papers and said, “I’ll do anything you need. I love you so much!” She sighed with relief and said, “I love you too! Thank you! For all the years we’ve loved each other!” Her kids went in to say good night and left. I stayed until she felt sleepy. She never said another word until she died. That was 13 years ago and I still miss her like crazy!
EDIT: My MIL was in her 90s. Her mind was wandering back into the distant past. There were NO papers except in her mind. The point of the story has nothing to do with the non-existent papers.
ADDITION: June 8, 2024: My husband died last night after a long illness. He was so tired of his struggle to keep surviving. His last words were “Give me a minute. I just need a little nap”. He slipped away so fast that he didn’t even close his eyes. Rest in peace with your mother.
Nobody Cares, Work Harder
Japanese man sentenced to 20 strokes of the cane and 17.5 years in prison for sexually assaulting a female student in Singapore.
A Japanese man, aged 38, was sentenced by the Singapore High Court on the 1st to 17 years and 6 months of imprisonment and 20 strokes of the cane for charges including rape, for bringing a drunken female university student to his home and sexually assaulting her.
This is the first known instance of a Japanese person being sentenced to caning, according to the Japanese Embassy in Singapore.
The Japanese man, who worked as a beautician, brought a drunken female university student in her 20s to his home in a taxi in December 2019 in a busy downtown area. The two did not know each other. The student was in a state where she couldn’t stand on her own due to vomiting, but the Japanese man engaged in lewd and sexual acts in the elevator and his own room. He also filmed the acts and sent them to a friend.
The student is still suffering from PTSD as a result of the incident. The judge stated, “The crime was cruel and brutal. Considering the seriousness of the offense, the sentence should be severe.”
According to the Singaporean court, caning is only imposed on male offenders under the age of 50. The maximum number of strokes that can be administered at once is 24.
AGAINST ALL ODDS – Elon Musk (Motivational Video)
What happened at your job to make you think ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’?
Originally Answered: What was your "I don't get paid enough for this sh*t" moment?
I worked as a delivery man for IKEA the year after I finished my conscription. They had just recently set up in my town, and had some excellent deals on delivery, which people used to the fullest extent. I wasn’t even working for IKEA, but my company was hired to take some of the load of IKEA’s own delivery organisation.
So my partner and I used to get the trucks prepacked, and our job was to drive it to the customer and unload. The rule was basically that we should deliver it to the correct room, but nothing more than that.
The day starts being odd because we only have one address on our paper, when usually it is about 6–7. This turned out to be correct because it was to a family that had ordered absolutely everything from IKEA to a two-story house. Beds, sofas, desks, every machine for the kitchen, washer, dryer and so on. I don’t remember exactly but it was a few tons of stuff being delivered.
One item caught my eye: Two marble counter tops, with a total weight of 600 kg (that is about 1300 pounds for any colonials reading). It could not be right, so I forgot about it for a minute.
When we get to the house, the whole family was there — not to help us of course (because the husband had a sore back) but rather to inspect our job. They insisted that we line up every single packet with the label in a direction so they could inspect the delivery before we left. This was even after my partner explained to them that if there is anything wrong with the delivered packets they had to report it to IKEA, since we only deliver and can’t bring anything back.
They of course refused to listen, and instead ran around looking at labels before we even emptied the truck, hoping to somehow get a correct count of every item while also really being in the way while we moved stuff. This almost escalated to a violent confrontation with the husband.
[Edit: I want to specify what the problem was: The delivery option only says that items should be delivered to a single chosen point by the customer inside the house, so if you order a new bed, you can get it into your bedroom. We went out of our way to put the items in the correct room, because of the husband’s back problem, but we had no obligation to do so as one delivery = one delivery point.
But this wasn’t enough for them; they also wanted us to sort and stack items and if a package did not have the labels in the correct direction they would demand we rotate it, so they could ‘inspect’ before they signed off the delivery. They would do this while we were carrying other stuff, and did so for the smallest packages.
Them signing off was that the delivery had been completed, not for the contents of the delivery being correct. So they made us do a whole lot of work so they could inspect something they actually did not sign off on.]
Any way, we get to the marble counter tops and, yay, there are actually two of them, with a total weight of 600 kilos. I don’t know how much each weighed, because one was smaller than the other, since we were far, far away from any assistance, wanting to get away from the horrible family and being really young and stupid we decided to get the counter tops inside. This took a long time, basically moving it inch by inch. Without any help or gratitude from the family we got it inside, my partner with some back pain and me with a knee that felt weird.
Once we got back to the office, we told the boss, who called IKEA and learned that they had used eight people to load the counter tops on the truck, but only ordering in two people from our company. There was apparently some screaming from my boss, and then he told us that we would never take another IKEA contract again.
So it was actually more my boss who said we did not get paid enough. And he really was looking out for his employees. I miss him sometimes.
PROVE EVERYONE WRONG – Motivational Speech
Why is China’s rise so hard for the US to counter?
It’s too late. America’s decision to counter China’s rise is akin to “closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.” Facts have proved time and again that China’s technological development can’t be halted.
Several efforts have been made to curb China’s rise since the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, including limiting China’s development in nuclear weapons, space, satellite communication, 5G, commercial drones, electric vehicles (EVs), etc. All failed. Today, China has some 540 satellites in space and is launching a competitor to Starlink. When the US restricted China’s access to its geospatial data system in 1999, China simply built its own BeiDou, which is today better than GPS.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has attempted to construct a unipolar world centered around itself, using military, economic, and cultural means to maintain its global hegemony. However, with the rise of emerging countries like China, this unipolar structure is facing unprecedented challenges. China’s development model, deepening international cooperation, and contributions to the global governance system are gradually altering the balance of international power.
In this context, the strategic game between China and the United States has taken on new characteristics. After a period of strategic patience and low profile, China is now more actively participating in international affairs. Through multilateral platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS cooperation, China is promoting the establishment of a more just and reasonable international order. Additionally, China’s rapid development in fields like technology and the economy is challenging the traditional advantages of the United States.
The United States, on the other hand, is attempting to curb China’s development through trade wars and technology wars. However, these measures not only harm China’s interests but also incur significant costs for the United States itself. Internal political divisions, the rise of populism, and the undermining of the global multilateral system are weakening America’s international image and influence.
In this struggle, Europe’s role is particularly critical. French President Macron’s visit to China and his public criticism of U.S. policies indicate that Europe is seeking greater strategic autonomy and does not want to become a vassal of American unipolar hegemony. This stance reflects Europe’s aspiration for a multipolar world order and is a strong response to American unilateralism.
Moreover, many developing countries and emerging economies play an important role in this contest. Their positions and choices in international affairs often run counter to U.S. unipolar hegemony policies. These countries are more inclined to support multilateralism and international cooperation, opposing any form of hegemony.
This struggle is not only a contest of power but also a clash of ideas and models. Concepts such as “Chinese modernization” and “a community with a shared future for mankind” proposed by China are gradually becoming hot topics in international discussions. These ideas emphasize cooperation and win-win outcomes rather than zero-sum games.
In this contest, China has demonstrated strategic wisdom in being “daring to fight and good at fighting.” While safeguarding national interests, China is also actively seeking areas of cooperation with the United States to achieve common development. This strategy reflects China’s confidence and its respect for international rules and commitment to peaceful development.
What general knowledge might save your life one day?
- If some one is trying to rape you and you were in this position
then stretch your hands horizontally as far as you can, this will bring the person close. Then hit him on the nose, as hard as you can, with your head. If your mouth is close enough, then bite his nose without hesitation.
2. If a dog is going to attack you in open place then,
- do not run, dog can catch you in no time( since it is open place).
- do not look into its eyes( animals can sense fear).
- do not show your back( showing back is a sign of fear).
- grab a stick if possible. Stand straight and be in attack mode. Walk backwards slowly until you are out of attack zone(200 meters is dog’s attack zone).
- In case dog bites you and your body part is in its mouth, then
- Do not try to remove your body part, dogs will only bite and will insert their canine teeth but they cannot peel your muscle because they don’t have much capacity in their jaws( some dogs like bull dog and doberman are exceptional they have well built muscles).
- Stray Dogs are usually weak, the strongest body part in their body is neck muscle.
- So don’t pull your muscle from their teeth(in fact you cannot)
grab its neck and pound it to ground. - Shout louder and gently remove your muscle.
3. Suppose you rammed your car into an electric-pole and live current wires on your car then,
- Do not panic. Your car tyres are made up of rubber and will work as an insulator. The metal surface of the car acts as a Faraday cage due to which the electric field inside the car is zero.
- Do not step out of the vehicle,if you do so you will complete the circuit between wires and earth and you’ll be fried in no time.
- Pick up the floor mats in your car and throw them on the ground where you could reach by jumping
- Make sure you cover maximum area with mats
- Open car door widely( roof top is preferable) then jump onto the mats which you placed earlier.
- Make sure you remove two legs at once( keeping one leg inside may complete circuit).
- Don’t walk over there just slide your feet like jam over bread( you need greater knowledge in physics to understand this).
4. Keys
Car keys are the deadliest weapons one could hold.
If someone tries to kill/harm you, then stab him in eyes with key.
5. You are driving a car and your brakes failed,then
- Do not kill( turn off) the engine in panic as turning off engine will lock your steering then you can’t change your path to avoid collisions.
- Do not change your gear to “neutral”, just decrease the gears sequentially. If you are in 80 in 4th gear, blip the accelerator a little (do not keep pressing it) and shift to 3rd. The car will slow down due to engine braking. Like wise do that with the rest of the gears.
- Once you have attained impact sustainable speed, try hand brakes. If they failed too, collide your vehicle with a similarly sized, parked car because Car fronts are designed to absorb shock (structurally weaker) and hitting a similarly sized car will distribute the momentum evenly
- Else collide it with a tree or pole( make sure you wear seat belt and have air bags).
YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE – Powerful Motivational Video 2020
What is the most ridiculous thing you had to deal with regarding an HOA?
The last community we lived in, the HOA was horrible and they singled people out. For example, there was a small fence that divided the backyard of our townhome from the back yard of our neighbors townhome.
It was just a small wooden privacy fence about 12 feet in length. The fence was old and began to lean over a bit. The neighbor complained to the HOA about the fence, saying it was our responsibility.
The HOA tried to fine us and I pulled out the book that came with the house. The fence was clearly on her property and I showed this to the HOA who then dropped the fine. Problem was, the fence was no longer a problem….they never fined the neighbor or even request she repair it.
I do have a funny HOA story.
Our new neighborhood has an HOA but they aren’t too heavy handed. When we moved in, the previous owner stored their trash cans on the edge of the driveway by the house. I put them in the same place as the previous owner but the HOA president didn’t like this. He sent letters (no fine) saying the trash cans needed to be behind the fence in the back yard (only the back yard is fenced and not the front).
I somewhat argued with him and asked him to clarify what exactly this rule was….and it’s the trash cans cannot be visible from the street.
I clarified that they didn’t have to be in the back yard but out of view and he agreed.
He did argue that because our house was on a turn, they’d still be visible on the side of our garage. I told him to consider it handled but asked for that in writing (in which he did).
Some friends of mine own a fairly popular fence and deck company. While I had to pay a little, my fence and deck folks helped me solve the problem:
This is the view from the side of our home on the street at the bend:
This is the view from the front:
And here is what it actually is:
HOA president was pissed but I stayed within the rules he set.
Why does China refuse to communicate with Taiwan’s government?
PRC has made clear for 70 years that the One China principle is the red line for all and any relations with China. And that applies very clear to ROC also.
So, when KMT accepted that ROC also means China without specifying what that China means, PRC showed maximum flexibility and agreed to talks resulting in the 92 Consensus. But with DPP refusing to accept the One China principle and their leaders even refusing to accept they are Chinese, there is no possibility of PRC accepting talks.
PRC is prepared to negotiate and accept the status quo only with the One China principle. Anything else is a restart of the PRC/ROC civil war to settle the Taiwan issue. ROC has not much time left to start talks based on One China.
PRC prepared to retake Taiwan for decades and PLA is now ready to do the job. If Taiwan separatists continue on current path, there will not be a ROC soon. Lai’s inauguration speech defining ROC/PRC as two countries not subordinate to each other already breached PRC’s One China laws and the red line. PLA can take actions once the orders are given.
space fire
Submitted into Contest #8 in response to: Write a story about an adventure in space. … view prompt
Irene Park
Chapter 1
How to become a rich man after being stuck in prison for seven long, excruciating years.
As Peter blankly sat on his bed inside of his incommodious five-foot-by-five-foot maximum security jail cell, complete with sparking electric fences and menacing guards surrounding the whole cell, he began to throw random objects at the electric fence, watching them slowly burst into miniscule flames and leave trails of smoke until finally fizzling out.
Out of boredom and an act of defiance against the orders of guards and the king, Peter repeatedly threw objects at this evil faced encasement meant to entrap him: Mice, rocks, scraps of food. Anything he could find to slowly pass his time in jail.
He yelled out to the guards, “Someday I will be out of this jail and you’ll be under my control and power instead of the other way around.”
But, every day, the guards kept their stance and tolerated Peter’s hopeless cries of defiance, annoyance and boredom. Little did Peter know, he would be free and rich sooner than he had expected and meant in his words.
Suddenly, he heard the echoing stomping of their studded metal boots of the kings’ royal guards march down into his quarters, the filthiest area where all the worst criminals were kept in the farthest, darkest corner seventy-five yards away from all other civilians. Countless criminals resided there after committing gregious crimes such as arson, murder, and robberies, all sinking into their own endless pool of shame, regret, and dismay.
Peter felt surprised by this, knowing that the kings’ royal guard thought very highly of themselves and would never draw near to the presence of grimy delinquents and be subject to their shame and indignity, afraid that their guilt would impinge on their own pride and self-respect.
Suddenly interested, Peter avidly sat up and heard the turn of the lock to his cell click open, something that he had not heard for seven long and excruciating years. Seven long years of guilt, shame and contrition due to his wrongdoings. He had been twenty years old then. Young and foolish, he had everything he could ever want: a good family, abundant money, and all the latest tech. But, Peter still wanted more and more.
So, he decided to rob people of money, murder people he got into the slightest arguments with, and finally his biggest misshap– trying to steal the Makepiece Diamond of Zirca, which was one of the most valuable diamonds in all of the galaxies. Peter had planned everything to go according to his potentially flawless plan. He had infiltrated the king’s palace and the treasury where the diamond was kept. Just as his hand was about to snatch the glittering, clean-cut Makepiece diamond, he smelled a foul gas in the air, and he realized he had set off a tripwire that released knockout gas. The guards had come rushing in, stomping and frantically pouring into the small room and brought young Peter to the filthy catacombs where he still inhabited seven years later:
“Halt. You are officially under arrest by the kingdom of Zirca. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used as evidence against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and you have a right to consult an attorney before being questioned and to have an attorney present. If you can’t afford an attorney, which evidently you can, one will be appointed to you.”
Seven years later in his jail cell, startled, Peter’s mind began swarming with millions of hypothetical reasons and questions. Is this a chance to freedom? Am I being sentenced to death? Why am I being summoned?
The royal guards with crisp white uniforms etched with their rankings: general, commander, agent, or so on, each with matching badges that signified they were of the highest class of military personal and pins. Gold trimmings neatly marched along the neckline and cuffs, stitched so perfectly they seemed to be pressed into the uniform. The proud guards spat at Peter and gruffly shouted, “Get up, you purple haired buffoon. The king wishes to see you, though we don’t know why he would want to see a dirty, ragged, wrongdoer like you. Now get up, and don’t make us ask twice.”
Peter quietly stood in confusion, curiosity, and bewilderment, and let the guards drag him to his death–or freedom.
Slowly lumbering up the moss covered stairs, feeling the stares of equally infamous criminals as himself, glancing at sparks flying off of many other electrical fences, new criminals with snarling faces thrashing in the guards arms.
Peter felt the guilt he had controlled and held in the jail of his own heart for seven long years come to light as he walked the walk of his own shame to the king’s court.
After what seemed like an eternity, or more precisely, 458 feet, 30 flights of stairs, and more than a hundred jail cells like his own, he finally saw the dazzling lights of thousands of crystal chandeliers, servants serving the king to all his miniscule whims, mellifluous music floating through the air from a grand harp, and finally the throne itself.
Peter started muttering to the guards that clenched his arms so tightly.
The king’s throne was a magnificent piece of work and the centerpiece of the throne room. Dripping with jewels such as clear-cut diamonds, forest-green jades, ocean-blue sapphires, dazzling sea-green emeralds, deep violet amethysts, ice-blue topaz, and fire-red rubies, it reflected a thousand rays of light, while being placed in pure gold.
Peter gaped in awe to the regal king that comfortably rested aloft the magnificent golden throne and meekly bowed out of his own humility and respect. The king, although aged and ancient-looking, he had an extremely wise mindset, and made decisions for the best of his planet. He had a great, wispy white beard, flowing robes of shimmering gold, and a grand crown on his head.
The tension of silence between the king and Peter at that moment became stifling. All servants, jesters, and guards sensed the palpable tension between the rotten criminal Peter and the royal, regal, wise King of Zirca. As the silence started to become almost unbearable, and static sounding, the king’s booming voice finally rang out.
Suddenly hearing the king’s echoing voice, Peter quickly glanced up at him. The king spoke to Peter and announced, “Peter, son of Circa. You have murdered countless families, looted many of my finest ships, and have attempted to steal the Makepeace Diamond of Zirca. For this, you have had been sentenced to life in prison. But, unfortunately, our planet is dying. Our Fire of Hestia has been stolen by the people of Titan. I am recruiting you to retrieve it for your freedom or death. Now, young Peter, what is your response?”
Hearing the name of “Fire of Hestia,” Peter’s mind clicked, and he finally realized why he had been brought up from the catacombs, left to rot, but instead given a chance of freedom. The Fire of Hestia was a relic from when the whole universe had been created. It powered all life on a planet, and without it, a planet could rot and die away slowly. Peter looked out the king’s grand windows, and saw that the whole landscape had changed since he had been exiled into prison. It looked dark, gloomy, and somber. Before, it had bursting with life: Foliage everywhere, children laughing, picnics taking place everywhere. But now that the Fire of Hestia had been stolen by the Titanians, the planet of Zirca was dying.
True, there were other relics across the universe that powered other planets, but the Fire of Hestia was special. It was the only relic powerful enough to give life to such a gargantuan planet such as Zirca and the people of Zirca the comfort and pleasure it needed.
Peter silently debated in his mind of the decision he should make. Shall I go after The Fire of Hestia in this quest? Should I spend the rest of my life rotting away in my shame and mildew? His hands became clammy, and his throat suddenly felt parched. But, Peter knew what he had to do to save his home planet and all those inhabiting it.
Peter responded in an equally regal voice, knowing that he had been chosen for one of the most difficult and important quests in all of robbery history. Despite the fact that he felt weary, bone thin, hunched over, had matted hair, ragged clothing, smelled of the sewers, and a single shoe he boldly said, “My king, I am honored for this opportunity and I am willing to accept. But, only with added compensation. I would like 100 bars of pure gold, new clothes, new shoes, and a new spaceship to get to Titan. You must give me my demands, otherwise I shall not perform any services for you.”
The king replied after some thought, “Although that is quite a handful of treasures that you demand to have in exchange for your service, the planet needs you. I realize there is no other thief as clever and stealthy as you. I shall supply your extraordinary demands in return for the Fire.”
Peter conclusively announced, “Then I shall accept this quest and go out to find this Fire of Hestia.”
What is weird in America but normal in the rest of the world?
I grew up in Europe but have been living in the US for 30+ years. These are some of the things I noticed:
Leaving your left hand on the table when you eat. In Europe, it’s considered good manners, in the US it is considered weird.
More recently, women have begun shaking hands when they meet, but not so long ago, this was considered weird in the US, while in Europe, it is absolutely normal and considered polite.
Sitting at a table with a stranger in a restaurant is not unusual in Europe. This is how people meet. Friendships have developed that way and even marriages. In the US, every one sits at a separate table. If someone came and asked if they could sit at my table, I would consider it weird.
In Europe, you park your car and walk to your destination. In the US, we expect front parking. For a business not to provide parking would be considered weird. In that same vein, Europeans get out of the car to post their mail or make their bank deposits. They don’t typically have drive-through tellers or mail boxes.
These are just some of the things that come to mind. I’m sure there are many more, if I stop to think about it.
BECOME A SAVAGE – Motivational Speech
As a disabled person, has anyone ever confronted you over your parking in a disabled spot?
Yes. It happened this last Tuesday. It was amazing. Like… nobody is gonna believe this crap amazing.
I was doing the monthly big grocery shop( one week has the biggest item list where the other three have the smaller more perishable ones)
I was also, am also, coping with one the worst illnesses I’ve had in awhile. It’s not catching… unless I were to not wash my hands after a poo… which is just gross. I’m actually headed to the hospital for admission tomorrow.
In any case, I am disabled, and was feeling even more disabled than usual when the chick confronted me. I got out of my car, sans cane, to unhook my child from the car seat, right behind me, and into a cart. A cart that some considerate soul had decided NOT to take to the cart corral. So I eagerly bumped it with my car and grabbed it on exiting my vehicle. It was 2 feet from the car. I can handle 2 ft without support.
Anyway, I’m putting my kid in the cart and leaned in to snag my quad Cane and my sundries and this middle-aged lady comes flying up and kinda pushes me with her body. Shouting that fat is not a disability and I need to move my flipping car( she used more expletives but I don’t care to)
I restrained myself from pushing back with my butt and instead just bring my quad Cane out rather swiftly and set it down firmly. on her foot. Oops.
Then I replied “ no, it’s not. But my congenital spinal defect and the Degenerative Disk disease that come with it ARE”.
She didn’t actually listen. She posted herself right in front of me for about 3 minutes and kept shouting at me to move the car. I’m guessing her hormone shot was delayed or something. But she wouldn’t let my son and I pass, being more able bodied than I am she was pretty freaking quick. So I stood there considering whether to use my screaming child’s cart to ram into her. But a nice security-looking guy saved her.
He came out and asked us what was going on. She started ranting at him about the fat b in the disabled spot… he calmly raised his hand, then walked around the car to my windshield, saw the placard. Walked back and asked me if I’d like to have her arrested for harassing a protected class.
Turns out he wasn’t a security guard. He was just a police officer who stopped in to flirt with the coffee gal at the cafe inside on his break. He saw the ruckus and went out to check.
I told him my son and I just wanted to grocery shop safely please and away we went. She actually tried to chase me again but he body blocked her.
It was amazing. I bet if I’d got it on camera people still wouldn’t believe it.
I don’t think she got arrested or anything. But I know she wasn’t there when I was done shopping. Which wasn’t that long either. That was store number 2 that day. My first store is always A Big Box Store.
What are some sarcastic one liners?
“Well, Governor, we use fewer horses and bayonets than we did in 1916.”
(Above: President Obama explains how Battleship works while Governor Mitt Romney thinks about how he’s going to cheat)
During the third Presidential debate, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were sparring about various topics relating to the Obama presidency, with Obama quite obviously defending his actions against an onslaught of criticisms, some valid, from Romney.
However, the moment that sparked one of the first political memes of this decade was brought about by a ridiculously idiotic “accusation” from Romney:
Our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We’re now at under 285. … We’re headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That’s unacceptable to me.
If I was debating Romney, and I was the current President of the United States, I would probably make some statement about how our naval global dominance is currently asserted, and that we don’t necessarily need all of our ships to assert it.
I am not Barack Obama, who returned fire with this blistering comment that became the first prominent political meme of this decade:
You mention the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. We have these things called aircraft carriers and planes land on them. We have ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. It’s not a game of Battleship where we’re counting ships, it’s ‘What are our priorities?
If you were grading a paragraph on factual accuracy, on brevity, and on pure, unadulterated savageness, I don’t think you can score higher than what Obama just said. Not only did he completely destroy the point that Romney was making, he also explained to him what an aircraft carrier and a submarine was.
I believe we need a new nickname for Obama: The Roaster-In-Chief. He burned Romney so bad that Mitt looked like one of his steaks at a barbecue. Romney didn’t even know how thoroughly he was ruined in that moment. It was glorious.
I MUST NOT QUIT – Powerful Motivational Speech
- You are going to meet a lot of fake friends in your adult hood more than when you young.
- You are on your own, nobody is there to struggle with you, but many people are waiting for you arrive.
- Everybody replies with “I am doing fine”, after being asked “How they are doing”, but in the reality, “Nobody is really doing fine” because everyone have their struggles.
- Unfortunately, Intelligence doesn’t mean you will be rich! There are a lot of ass holes out there that are doing better.
- We are all going to die, I believe this has been said many times.
- One of the risk that is difficult to predict is marriage. It is always difficult to predict the end of the tunnel even with lightening’s. This is comparable with “Marriage”.
- Do not compare yourself with anybody because we are born with different opportunities. Remember nobody chooses their parents!
- If you cannot appreciate what you have now, you will never appreciate what you aspire to get later.
- Real education is more than just acquiring a college degree, while college prepares you for the job mindset. You have to prepare yourself for the challenges in this world by educating yourself through investing in yourself.
- Arrogant and prideful people usually have more problem in life because they are unteachable people.
What measures can Taiwan take to protect its fishing vessels from being detained by China’s coast guard in the future?
Ban fishing for 4 months from May to Sept is an INTERNATIONAL consensus, so as to allow immature fish to grow to adulthood.
1, China follows the intl consensus. But not Taiwan (or Philippines for that matter)
So Taiwan is wrong to begin with.
2, The fishing net is supposed to have big holes to allow immature fish to escape the net, while caught.
The net of the detained Taiwanese fisherman does not pass the intl “rule”.
3, The detained Taiwanese fisherman happened to have trespassed the Chinese territory & was in Chinese waters.
4, When Taiwanese patrol boat came to rescue the Taiwanese fisherman, the patrol also has entered Chinese territory.
Back to the question.
What Taiwan should do is to comply with the international rule. Educate its fishermen.
Be kind to the immature fish & let them grow to adulthood.
WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE QUITTING – Powerful Motivational Speech
Have you ever beaten a lawyer on a legal question (or if you are a lawyer, have you been beaten by a lay person on a legal question)?
Ex employee suing us. We investigate and counter allege fraud.
He appoints $700ph lawyer. I represent us. I’m not a lawyer.
Denny Crane mocks our allegation of fraud. Says I don’t understand the elements of fraud. I remind him that I’ve done insurance law and disputes for a decade, and lots of contracts in my job. I indeed know a great deal about the elements of fraud as a former insurance exec. Said he didn’t make a mistake with [paperwork] 713 times. Remind him that he needs to prove 713 honest mistakes whereas we can lose 712. We only need 1 count of fraud to stick. Or one lesser charge of fraudulent misappropriation / theft by finding, or forgery, or any other included charge and his life is effectively over.
The genius move was a settlement offer of $0 plus Denny Crane’s legals in getting to first mediation.
Denny’s equation is
- Talk the L, be paid handsomely and not have to explain to the other partners that he blew a billable day, OR
- Risk a far more expensive zero fighting and losing, getting his client jailed and paying an adverse costs order himself OR
- Fight and win a very improbable case, likely earning nothing in a corporate bankruptcy and STILL writing off his fees.
Suddenly Denny is telling his client to accept $0 on a case he said was a slam dunk a week earlier.
His settlement was half what our big city law firm wanted just to READ the claim, not defend it.
What is the most unusual and incorrect reason you’ve had the police called on you?
I trained some Firemen in HazMat Response at a little fire station in a very small town in Alabama where we own some land. After training I asked to get some pictures of the “gang”. They agreed and I went to get one scary looking quiet fellow out of his chair to join the group. He gave me a scowl look and said, “Don’t you dare take my picture”, I didn’t.
Later the Fire Chief apologized and told me that the fellow is the Sheriff. I asked if he is always this threateningly grumpy and the Chief said, “Oh yah. We love him.” I asked why and he said he keeps that town clean as a whistle. He went on, once two young guys bought a farm and after planting season was over the Sheriff went to their place late at night and knocked on their door. One guy was there and answered the door. The Sheriff said he wanted to come in and look things over. The guy said no, go get a warrant. The Sheriff told him he can do that, but he would have to wake up the Judge and that would make the Judge angry. If the Judge gets angry that makes him angry, and when he is angry he has a tendency to get trigger happy and start shooting things. The Sheriff told him that he was sure the two were drug dealers since they both drove fancy cars, never planted anything or had farm equipment, had strange hours/visitors and didn’t introduce themselves to their neighbors ( a thing in small town Alabama). The guy let him in and the Sheriff found lots of drugs. Things work differently in small town Alabama, don’t mess with the Sheriff.
To all who will say that is illegal, not fair, against the suspects rights, improper entry, can’t be done, sets up a suit for dismissal and all kinds of other legal beagle stuff, you are correct. But that is not the way it works outside of the Big city in small town Alabama. The two guys never came back, problem solved.
I like it there, they just handle things with sensibility not legal meanderings. If more law enforcement were allowed to use sense instead of being forced to follow incredible legal guidelines which work against both sides, we would have much safer places to live. A police state you say? No, a safe place where kids can learn to drive four wheelers on back roads, shoot guns, climb trees and play in the rivers and lakes. Like the good ole days.
Butter Basted Fork Tendered Steak
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 sticks Salted Challenge Butter, divided
- Ribeye steaks
- 3 feet butchers twine per steak
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in a bowl or plastic bag. Reserve 1 tablespoon of seasoning for basting butter and set the remaining aside to season the steak.
- Using a fork or a meat tenderizer with needle blades, probe the entire surface of steak on both sides two to three times.
- The steaks will flatten during tenderizing stage so you will have to reshape steak with the twine. Gather steaks with your hands and pull them in to reshape them.
- Once reshaped, snugly wrap butchers twine around perimeter of the steak three times and tie it off. Trim excess from ends.
- Season steak with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon spices per side based on preference, and let the meat rest for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.
- Melt one stick of Challenge Butter and combine with one tablespoon of seasoning.
- As steaks are resting, preheat grill to 500 to 525 degrees F.
- Spray one side of steak with nonstick cooking spray and place it on the grill. Cook for 2 1/2 minutes.
- Spray top side of each steak with nonstick spray, flip and baste with butter/seasoning mixture. Grill for another two and a half minutes.
- Flip the steaks and rotate them 90 degrees, baste with butter mixture and grill for another 2 1/2 minutes.
- Flip steaks, baste and check internal temperature. Cook to desired doneness. (125 degrees F for medium rare, 130 degrees F for medium, or 140 degrees F for well done.)
- Remove from grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add a dollop of Challenge butter and serve.
Notes
Loren and Cheryl Hill are world champion pit masters who have competed on the professional BBQ circuit for last eleven years. “The Smoking Hills” earned 3 World Championships in 2015: The American Royal Invitational, World Food Championships BBQ, and World Food Championships Overall
WHEN LIFE IS HARD – Powerful Motivational Video
Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen.
Don’t you quit.
As a police officer, what’s one criminal you will always remember dealing with that stuck with you till to this day?
An old time heroin addict was in jail and sent me a note saying he wanted to talk to me. He said that he was tired of the way he was living, and wanted to change.
He said that many times he had either been shot or stabbed and had been using heroin for 20 years and couldn’t quit. He said that the only way he knew of was to burn all of his bridges by informing on everyone. That way no one would deal with him. He wanted help getting on methadone, I told him I would help him as best as I could. I called the methadone clinic and arranged for someone to talk to him.
He bailed out of jail and called me one morning, with some information. He said that there was a burglary at a certain business and business machines were stolen. He said that those machines were at a construction site inside of the superintendent of construction’s office.
I got a crew and went to the office and saw the machines, and asked about them. The superintendent said they were the company’s and that he only used them. There were several machines, a IBM typewriter and other items. I noticed he only had one hand and asked him to show me how he used the type writer. He attempted to use it which I knew it wouldn’t work as the cord wasn’t plugged in.
I called the company and spoke with the president and described the machines to him. He said none of them were his and they didn’t have equipment that I mentioned. The informant called several more times with an arrest being made each time.
Another time the informant called to tell me that a stolen truck-mounted compressor and a huge stolen farm tractor was at a certain farm which was about 75 miles from our city. I called the Sheriff’s office for that county and spoke with a Deputy Sheriff who said that I needed to speak with his Captain. The Captain told me that this farm was owned by the man who owned one of the largest private farms in the state and was friends with all of the big wigs in the county including the elected Sheriff. They went to the farm and confiscated the equipment, and said they would present the case to the District Attorney who was supposedly also a friend of the farm owner. I never heard back about what happened to the case.
The informant testified in several case he had given me information on, was accepted into the methadone program, got a job and I never again heard from him except a phone call. He said thanks, and was clean of drugs after a year and a half.
What should someone absolutely not do when in Australia?
This occurred 15 years ago.
Our family went on a month long road trip around Australia with a sprinter. We started our journey in Perth, Western Australia, then drove along the South West Coast through Albany. We then continued east towards Adelaide, eventually made several stops at major cities in the South-East coast, that is Melbourne, Sydney and then the Gold Coast.
As we were headed for Darwin and about to cross the Northern Territory border, we stopped at a gas station to refuel.
It was night time and we were literally in the middle of nowhere.
My dad entered the station to pay for gas, then the cashier asked my dad if we were planning on driving through out the night.
And when my dad said yes, he told my dad that he should not drive at night time and instead to opt for a rest at the motel because it’s dangerous.
He told us that there’s kangaroos roaming at night time.
My dad thought the Australian man was joking, so he ignored the tip and decided to continue the drive.
At that time, my dad thought that if he continued that night he could avoid the traffic and reach Darwin faster.
Plus, my dad was a pretty experienced driver.
We left the gas stop; my parents were on the front seat while my brothers and sister was at the back seat asleep as we cruise towards NT border at night time.
Few hour later, I heard a loud THUMP.
I woke up and saw the car slowly being pulled to the side of the road. There was smoke coming out of the trunk.
I remembered looking outside the window, seeing emptiness. It was dark and all I could think about was how we were going to die.
My dad went out of the car to check and what do you know?
We had crashed a large kangaroo.
There was a dead kangaroo inside our engine bay.
Two things died that night: the kangaroo and the car’s radiator.
We were forced to spend the night in the middle of the desert while we waited for a truck or anyone to pass by.
You know what? No truck came until morning time, perhaps avoiding the kangaroo that roams at night time.
So here is an expensive lesson we learned that night:
- Kangaroo are crepuscular meaning that they are mostly active at dusk, dawn and night.
- At night time they are attracted to light, or should I say headlights. It is common for Kangaroos to jump at incoming vehicle only to freeze (or blinded) by the light.
- If you are planning to drive at night time in the outback, drive slowly and extreme caution.
- There is an item called the Kangaroo Whistle that emits high frequency noise used to repel Kangaroo.
- Avoid driving at night all together and take the gas station tip and rest at the motel.
The kangaroo was pretty much as big and the road looked something like the picture above.
All images taken from Google Images
PS: We were rescued by trucker who stopped by to help us reach road assistance. We were directed back to the nearest gas station and met the man that warned us about the kangaroos. A “told you so” moment but he was helpful and eventually we were driven to a small airport and flown back to Perth. The car was transported to Perth along with our belongings. There was a hefty price tag on the repair but luckily it was covered by insurance.
I forgot which town was our last gas stop, but will update once I figured it out.
EDIT, Kangaroo Facts:
21–26 km/h is the average hop speed for kangaroos and it can go up to 71 km/h.
Illustrative art
A lady goes to her priest one day & tells him:
”Father, I have a problem. I have two female parrots, but they only know to say one thing.”
“What do they say?” the priest asked.
They say, ”Hi, we’re hookers! Do you want to have some fun?”
”That’s obscene!” the priest exclaimed,
Then he thought for a moment……
“You know,” he said, ”I may have a solution to your problem. I have two male talking parrots, which I have taught to pray and read the Bible…
Bring your two parrots over to my house, & we’ll put them in the cage with Francis and Peter. My parrots can teach your parrots to pray and worship, & your parrots are sure to stop saying that phrase in no time.”
”Thank you,’ the woman responded, ‘this may very well be the solution.”
The next day, She brought her female parrots to the priest’s house….As he ushered her in, she saw that his two male parrots were inside their cage holding rosary beads & praying…
Impressed, She walked over & placed her parrots in the cage with them…
After a few minutes, The female parrots cried out in unison:
“Hi, we’re hookers! Do you want to have some fun?”
There was stunned silence…
Shocked, one male parrot looked over at
the other male parrot & says…
‘Put the beads away, Frank, Our prayers have been answered !!!
What is the most badass thing your parent has ever done?
When I was 15 years old walking home from highschool, I used a short cut and walked down the alley behind our house to save time.
When I got about a block away with the back of my house in sight, an older man who lived at the corner came out and stood in the middle of the alley facing me and began to make rude gestures and vulgar remarks in Spanish .
He was in his late 20s, and I thought he didn’t speak english. He was really into his performance, dry humping the air and making dirty sound effects when my dad decided to take the trash out.
My dad made a gesture to me to be quiet, as he walked up behind him. I had no idea what he was going to do. The man didn’t hear my dad as he walked up behind him. I did not believe what happened next.
I watched my dad walk up to the guy and jump into the air holding his body sideways and (without a running pace) kick the man in the back of the head knocking him down to the pavement (asphalt) . He put his foot on his head and pressed his face down on to the asphalt and bent over to tell the man if he ever heard him talk like that to his daughter again he would regret it.
And guess what?
The guy spoke English for the first time in his life (lol) saying “yes sir”, “I’m sorry sir”, “it won’t happen again sir”.
I think he broke his front teeth in the fall? So in a sense, he got his teeth kicked in for having a nasty mouth in front of a young woman. My dad said the punishment fit the crime and I never had trouble with that man again.
My dad was a superman my whole life. He had a natural build, arms bigger than his head and a quick response in defending people he cared about.
He played baseball until his late 50s and laid brick and block at 74. His last project was a pergola with 14′ beams in our backyard. He built it with end stage small cell lung cancer at 75.
I watched him pick up a man by the back of his shirt and the seat of his pants and throw him out of the produce section for insulting my mother at a grocery store.
He took on three men to save his friends store from being looted during the riots in Los Angeles, then stayed by himself during the fires to board it up.
He was a war horse all the way to the end in 2016 when he died at home due to complications (cancer).
Great movie (Free, full length)
007: No Time to Die – James Bond | FULL ACTION MOVIE | English FHD
This is the all time classic fun with Bond. James Bond.