Today’s story took place in rural Mississippi when I lived in a rural suburb of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
We had bought a house in a back corner of a development there, and our back yard bounded on a large swampy area and a old railroad right of way. It was glorious. Spanish moss over all the deep and thick trees.
Lots of woods for my kitty cats to explore…
It had large ponds, lots of tromp-able woods, Spanish moss, and deep tropical tree roots. I loved it.
But so did the neighborhood kids.
Since the house that we bought had been deserted for a few years, the local kids were used to climbing though it and exploring it.
And to them… well it was the local “hang out”.
And even though we had moved in, cleaned it up, painted it, and locked the doors, they would still find ways to get inside our house.
They tried all the windows, but we learned to lock them.
They would go door to door, but we kept them all secure.
But they would find a way in.
The roof…
They would use a old swim-pool ladder, climb up though the car port access hatch, get into the attic and then climb down though the fan area and tromp mud though the house.
They would turn on faucets and never turn them off and what not. You know to play in the water and wash their muddy hands. After all there’s a swamp behind the house.
Real nuisances. And nothing that I wanted to deal with when I got home after a hard long day of work. For in those days I was working 12 to 14 hour days.
Well, one day, I caught the kids, but I did not yell at them.
Instead, I decided to talk to them.
I explained that I lived there and they just couldn’t come around. But kids being kids… well “in one ear and out the other.”
Then a father down the street was calling for them to come home. But each time the kids tried to leave I convinced them to stick around.
I told them all kinds of things and and as an adult in Southern Mississippi they were frozen to the spot. And the father down the street was getting angrier and angrier.
They kept on trying to leave. And I, well I kept on persuading them to stay there. I offered them candy and sweets.
His yells were near hysterics.
But still I kept the kids there.
Eventually, I let the kids go. Well after twenty minutes of the angry fathers hysterical yelling.
And…
Wait for it.
The kids NEVER, ever went to my house or played in the back yard ever again.
I am sure that the kids told them that the “man in the house offered them candy and sweets and wanted them to stay and play”.
Exactly to my plan.
I am sure that the father gave them the Riot Act over the house and instructed them to NEVER go at my house ever again. Not that strange man in the corner house on the deep dark swamp with the candy and sweets.
And that was that!
I wouldn’t do it that way today. Being accused as I was by my retirement forces. But it was a system that worked well at the particular time and place. Sometimes you need to be creative about how you handle things.
Today…
What is the purpose of China’s stated intention to rebuild Afghanistan?
Afghanistan is a very poor country. Compared to its neighbours, it has the second lowest GDP and the lowest GDP per capita.
In Afghanistan, 47.3% of the population lives below the national poverty line. 30% of the population of Afghanistan is undernourished. As a result, 38% of children below 5 years old have stunted growth. For every 1,000 babies born in Afghanistan, 60 die before their 5th birthday.
The US rule over the last 20 years had zero focus on development. Instead, much of the infrastructure, mostly in the rural areas, have been destroyed by US bombs.
US President Joe Biden has stated that the US’ “mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation building” and is weighing further sanctions to cripple the already poor Afghan economy.
For both the war-torn country and the Taliban, the most pressing task, apart from restoring order and stability, is starting to build the country’s backward and severely damaged infrastructure, from widespread power shortages to broken roads and bridges, and to provide enough food for a malnourished population. There must be a greater focus on agriculture in Afghanistan.
As a neighbour, China has a responsibility to help rebuild Afghanistan. Besides, a stable and better developed Afghanistan will be to China’s advantage in the long run, helping to increase trade within the region.
There are many challenges and risks before any development work can begin, including security risks, policy uncertainties and lack of funding, but once the situation stabilizes and a new Taliban government starts the rebuilding efforts, China’s ability to maintain political neutrality and secure diverse funding sources will help mitigate risks that many countries cannot.
Someone has to help the Afghans to get out of extreme poverty. The US had 20 years to do so, but did not even start. China has proven itself to be able to bring 800 million people out of extreme poverty. It has the experience to help the Afghans.
What would happen if an Inmate in Prison refused to stand up for the daily count or slept past it on purpose all the time and yelled at the guards when confronted over it?
The whole purpose of inmates being required to stand up during the counts are:
- To make sure that it’s an actual person in the cell and not just a dummy staged to look like there’s someone there.
- To make sure the inmate is actually where he’s assigned to be.
- To check an inmate’s face to see whether there are any injuries coming from a fight or assault that wasn’t witnessed or reported.
- To make sure that inmate is actually alive.
As far as what happens to an inmate who refuses to stand all depends on the officers who are performing the count.
You have some officers who are strictly by the book. This officer will most likely write an incident report on the inmate for this infraction. This will most likely cause the inmate to solitary confinement for about 30 days on top losing good time, losing access to the telephone, email, loss of commissary access and also may cause them to lose visitation rights for up to 6 months. Actually each one of these things will most likely be for a 6 month period.
Then you have the other type of officer who doesn’t make a big deal over infractions like this and he’ll just let it go. He may give you a verbal warning and/or handle it in house searching your cell and taking literally every thing that the inmate isn’t allowed to have.
There’s also that officer who is just afraid and probably shouldn’t actually be working in that environment because they’re afraid to hold an inmate accountable for anything. This officer will just act like it never happened. Most likely no one in the housing unit ever stands for count with this type officer because they know he isn’t a threat to do anything.
The Ridiculously Complicated World of Cats
Fun, fun video.
Would you believe that the Chinese government is actively harvesting organs from innocent people for profit? This is the claim made by many who have researched the persecution of Falun Gong. What do you think?
No
I don’t
China gets a TRADE SURPLUS of $ 900 Billion a year
That’s $ 114 Billion of Revenue solely from Trade Surplus
Why would such a Government want to sell and harvest organs and make profits?
It’s ridiculous isn’t it?
Organ Transplants have become popular in China in the past few years as Medical Expertise has surged significantly
Organ Harvesting is now quite common in China
However the only people whose organs are taken are :-
- Volunteers AFTER their death
- Grade II & III Prisoners after their execution and death provided they are healthy (No Permission needed)
- Comatose Patients who have been on life support for not less than 45 days
In rare exceptional cases – Organs are taken from LIVE DONORS provided the donation doesn’t kill the Live Donor
Like One Kidney Or One Lobe of the Lung or a Part of the Liver
This is from Live Donors who are typically viewed as a National Security Threat
However the CRUCIAL CONDITION FOR THIS LIVE DONATION IS – THERE MUST BE A RECIPIENT NEEDING THE ORGAN IMMEDIATELY
The Falun Gong propaganda originates from the fact that once Organ Harvesting was a highly lucrative enterprise and officials secretly did so for money
Xi made it official and ended the corruption because now it became OFFICIAL and you didn’t need to pay money for these things
This Is The Reason Why DIVORCE RATES Are SO HIGH! | Pearl Daily
Pearl makes a great point.
Is there a possibility that the BRICS countries will use their own currency instead of the US dollar for international trade? If not, what are the reasons for this?
BRICS countries are already using their own currencies when they trade with each other. The countries reached this agreement during last year’s Summit in South Africa. The amount is substantial and rising.
Intra-BRICS trade in 2023 was $678m billion. It grew 10.7%, far ahead of the 3% growth of world trade. Note that this was before the 5 new members which joined in January 2024, namely Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia.
Russia, China, and India are big players. India and China are big buyers of Russian oil. Russia has dedollarised. China-Russian trade has been growing at double-digit and reached $240 billion in 2023.
China is dedollarising.
The use of the yuan in the settlement of its foreign has grown from 5% a few years ago to 53% in 2023. In absolute terms, this was worth $3.11 trillion.
China’s foreign trade in 2023 was $5.87 trillion, made up of trade with the US of $666 billion, and trade with other countries of $5.20 trillion. Share of the trade with the US was 11%.
$3.11 trillion out of $5.20 trillion is 60%. Settlement in other currencies was about 15%. This means China’s use of the US$ in its foreign trade with other countries was about 25%.
This means in the last 3 years, China has halved the use of the US$ in its total trade from 70% to about 35%.
China has reduced its holdings of US Treasuries from $1.3 trillion 3 years ago to the current $750 billion. It is still net seller. The holdings could fall to $700 billion or lower by the end of the year.
Another indicator is the volume of business done in CIPS. The annual business volume in 2023 was $123 trillion. The average daily volume has increased steadily. In the 3-month of June to August 2024, it reached 741 billion yuan, up 15% from the prior 3-month.
CIPS is Cross-Border Interbank Payment System. It is under the supervision of PBOC. It provides settlement and clearing services to participants. As of July 2024, it has 150 Direct Participants, 1,401 Indirect Participants, 1,047 of them from Asia, and has the reach to 117 countries.
Bacon-Wrapped Filet Steaks Topped with Roasted Garlic Butter
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 12 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- Kosher salt
- 3 1/2 teaspoons chopped chives
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 4 (6 to 7 ounce) filet steaks, about 1 inch thick
- 4 very thin slices of lean bacon
- 6 inch wooden skewers or toothpicks, soaked in water for 10 minutes and patted dry
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place peeled garlic and olive oil in 1-cup, ovenproof ramekin, soufflé dish or custard cup. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Roast on center rack until garlic is golden and very tender and soft when pierced with knife, about 30 minutes (start checking cloves after 20 minutes and then every 5 minutes until done).
- With slotted spoon, remove garlic from bowl and reserve oil. Place garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the reserved oil, butter and 1/8 teaspoon salt in food processor or blender and process, pulsing machine on and off for 30 seconds or less until garlic is coarsely chopped and blended with butter and oil. Transfer garlic butter to small bowl and stir in 2 teaspoons of the chives. (Garlic butter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before ready to use.)
- When ready to cook steaks, oil a grill rack and prepare grill.
- In small bowl, stir together 1 teaspoon kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper and thyme. Rub both sides of each filet with some of this seasoning. Then wrap each steak around its sides with 1 slice of bacon. Skewer bacon in place with wooden skewer or with 2 to 3 wooden picks.
- Grill steaks until lightly charred on the outside and until bacon is cooked, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
- When done, remove steaks from fire and place on warm serving plate. Remove toothpicks.
- Top each steak with 1 generous pat of roasted garlic butter and sprinkle with some of remaining chives. Butter will start to melt and season the steaks.
- Serve immediately.
Blind stray cat, using faint hearing, approached the fisherman, hoping for a fish to ease its hunger
What’s the worst job that you’ve ever had?
Literally any job in which I’ve had to work directly with people. Customer service oriented jobs really allow you to see how mentally unstable people really are. They are probably at their worst when they’re not in public around other people. You can literally see it. Those jobs expose people in a way that allows you to see well past their intial first impressions.
For example, When I used to do hotel work, we had a guest check into the hotel that seemed to be the sweetest most polite little blonde white lady that you’ll ever meet. I wanna say about 3 days into her stay, she literally became a menacing psychopath towards the entire hotel. Excessively order food and then throwing all the food into the hallway of the hotel, trashing her room and destroying the hotels property, swearing at the hotel staff because they weren’t fast enough with her requests, making ridiculous false noise complaints to the front desk at all hours of the night about neighboring hotel guests beside her, smoking in her hotel room when the hotel was a smoke free hotel, ordering valet parking and then making up excuses why she can’t pay the bill, smearing her shit all over the bathroom of her hotel room, complaining that other guests were slamming their doors too loud for her when she was trying to sleep at 4am, the list just went on with this lady. This women was definitely by far the most trifling that I have ever seen of the 38 years of me living on planet earth. Oh, and if she complains to the hotel managers, they side with the guests no matter how much of a problem they are because there’s a motto in the hospitality industry that goes “The Customer is Always Right” by the way. You’ll be at risk of losing your job way more likely compared to the hotel throwing a guest out that is problematic. This is just 1 example because I want to keep things short but I literally have an entire story to tell about servicing mental retards within the customer sevice industry. Again, I dealt with it for about 3 years before I walked away from it.
But to answer your question. For me specifically, hotel jobs as you can probably tell, were by far the worst. I did a Marriott job for about 3 years as a security guard before I decided I couldn’t take it anymore.
For the positives of hospitality, hospitality did teach me a lesson or two. It really taught me patience and self discipline because I didn’t have a choice. If I was to spaze out on someone, I would have been at risk of losing my job. People can really take you out of your character if you allow them to get to you but always weight out the consequences of your actions before you commit them of what could happen. Youre always going to get challenged by difficult people in pretty much all corners and walls of life. This is pretty much life in general but I learned this a lot working in the hospitality/customer service industry.
A Crying Shame
Submitted into Contest #232 in response to: Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource.… view prompt
D’Spencer Luyao
This story contains sensitive content
Trigger warnings: main character death, murder, implied suicide.
The sun was always there, and it was an unsung luxury to not have to think about it. I wish I knew enough about it to tell you why we started to. I wish I had known enough about it to do something. Maybe I did. Maybe we all did.
The concern began long before I was born: Global Warming. Always talked about in big, important letters, everywhere that I ever saw it written. The story goes: we, humans, were producing carbon emissions by the boatload, filling the air with it. It was trapping heat in, and we preferred to deny it rather than stop it. After decades of sweeping it under the rug, trying only a few tiny changes in a few tiny places, a real, big solution was offered.
A Dutch engineer (their name, once plastered across the entire face of the earth, was wiped away with the rest of the mess) developed a complex and expensive method of converting CO2 (those carbon emissions) into O3—pure Ozone. It was clunky, complicated, unrefined, and cheaper than most green energy alternatives.
Every major company had adopted an Ozone converter by my 10th birthday. It was cheaper than going “green,” and we began to call it “going orange.” Instead of spilling CO2 into the atmosphere, all our favorite corporations were rebuilding the Ozone layer one product at a time. The economy boomed as people consumed voraciously and without guilt, resolutely buying back the earth’s atmosphere.
It was too much before anyone had the sense to check, I think. There isn’t a lot of information about the part where things got very bad very quickly, and I think the world was denying it all in a very different way. By the time I met the only person I would ever fall in love with, everything was colder. Darker.
I met him on a day in early May, when he wanted to borrow my jacket. He was cold, and I was too, but he had soft-looking curls draping down over his forehead. I gave him the jacket.
Some time after, he offered me one of his jackets in place of my own, which he could not yet return because he hadn’t washed it yet. I didn’t mind if he didn’t wash it, but I wanted to wear his. It was still cold out.
That same summer, still wearing each other’s jackets, we went to lunch and a movie. Everyone spoke quietly by then, as if there was something nobody wanted to say. Or something nobody wanted to hear. Maybe both. Probably both, but the movies were still showing, and the diners were still open. Everything was still open, like no one could admit that things were going too far in the other direction. We had lunch, and we spoke quietly, not talking about it either. We talked about how nice it might be to go away together for a weekend, or live together. When our hands brushed over the table, we didn’t talk about that.
Our hands brushed often in the months that followed, and we didn’t talk about it. The world began to talk about other things as cars started to drive with their headlights on at all times. They began to burn large forests, trying to produce some heat and CO2. It was like breathing on your own hands in the cold.
Companies started to remove their Ozone converters, but the system was clunky, complicated, unrefined, and expensive to get rid of. Many companies released year-long plans to slowly decrease their use of the converters.
Everything was cold, dark, and burning. The world denied it because the world still had things to do, and I denied it for much of the same. Things couldn’t have been ending, not yet, because I still had things to say to him. We grew on each other as the earth grew worse, and the two started to feel inseparable from each other. We would deny it all as one, and we would end as the world did.
When the illusion broke, it broke like a dam. On the news, the anchors lost their TV voices. They spoke crooked and long, echoing ‘what a shame, what a shame,’ as if it was already over. Scientists interrupted with frantic, direct calls to action. The boy with the curls across his forehead said that they faced it because the world still had things to do. I told him that they only tried to do something because they were afraid to face that they could do nothing.
On that subject, we always had something to talk about. We couldn’t seem to agree which way the rest of the world would fall once it was done burning down. He spoke of plans and hope and change, and sometimes he spoke of these things until his eyes filled with cold tears. Once, I interrupted him, and I kissed him. It was the first time I had done that. He didn’t speak anymore about anything, and he wiped his cold tears with cold hands, and he kissed me back.
There were plans, it seemed. Only a handful of years after I first gave him my jacket, the world, and us with it, were ushered into shelters. The shelters were heated and run with fossil fuels, burning and pumping CO2 into the sky. They projected that between the shelters and their other ‘action steps,’ we could be back on a normal earth within a decade. Maybe a while longer.
He and I got to share a room in the shelter. Living together, like we talked about when no one was talking about anything.
“This isn’t how I wanted this to happen,” I said, brushing a stray hair from his face. We were close enough that I could feel his soft breaths against my lips; the beds were small, and neither one of us was going to be able to sleep alone. He moved a bit closer anyway.
“Me neither,” he said, and his hand came up to rest on my shoulder. My eyes ran over his face, tracing all the beautiful details I’d memorized so long ago. I wondered what it would have been like to know him when the sun was still bright in the sky. I imagined I had. I imagined amber shapes dancing across his cheeks, dipping around the bridge of his nose. I imagined holding him in the burning light of the early morning, up in the grass. A shame. A crying shame.
“I should have told you before everything fell this way,” I said quietly. I looked into his eyes, and they were warm, loving. A grin caught my lips without warning me, and I leaned my forehead against his, whispering to him. “I had a plan, some few years ago. I wanted to take you to that diner you liked, by the edge of our neighborhood. The one with the vegetarian stuff.” My nose wrinkled, and he laughed, soft and sweet. My hand traced his jaw reverently, and I continued. “Then I wanted to take you down to the planetarium. A bit further away, and more expensive, but I would’ve paid. You always said how you wanted to go.”
His eyes took on a sadder look, and he nodded.
“I bet the stars were so bright just a few decades ago. I bet we could’ve gone and really seen them, not the fake ones,” he whispered, and my hand slipped down to his waist.
“I bet they were,” I said, pulling my forehead back from his. The silence sat heavy in the thin air between us. When I spoke, it felt as if the silence still lay underneath.
“Do you think it’s worth it, really? With everything,” I shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t pinned beneath me on the mattress, “gone?”
His eyes danced over my face for a few seconds, and I could feel a smile creep onto my cheeks from the way he studied me. He smiled, too.
“Not everything is gone,” he said. “It’ll all come back, in time. And while we’re waiting, you’re here. And I’m here. We’re here.” He leaned in as he spoke, and his lips were a whisper away from mine. It was a nice thought—just he and I, all else hopelessly gone in a world beyond repair. With his lips so close to mine, I could almost agree with him.
“That’s not so bad,” I said. My hand slid up his back, and I felt the outline of his ribcage through his shirt. “But this really isn’t how I wanted this to happen.” I leaned forward, and our lips connected seamlessly. The knife slotted between two of his ribs with equal ease.
I hushed him when he tried to moan against my lips, pressing harder into the kiss, twisting the knife. I withdrew it, and the blood was warm on the back of his shirt. He began to wheeze and gurgle, and I tasted blood. I broke the kiss and pulled him against me, shushing him, stroking his soft hair.
A shame. A crying shame.
They will think it was madness brought about by the shelter, but I think to stay in this prison waiting around for nothing would be madness all its own.
If he was right, and the world lives to write about this Ozone Crisis, in big, important letters, maybe they’ll write about me and him and how we lived and died with the earth. If they do, they will have no names to use, only these words. I don’t want to give them something else to write in big, important letters. The world seems to forget everything it writes that way.
When you burn us—because I know you will, you wouldn’t spare us the energy to break through the cold ground—burn us together, as you will find us together. And if you’re seeing this beneath big, important letters, and the world is warm and bright outside, then look at the sun for me.
When the sun is gone, look at the stars for him. Please.
Do Chinese people realise that most people don’t care about China? Either about it’s rising global influence or it’s traditional culture
The Chinese people don’t think about that at all. They’re focused on their economic development.
However, most people do care about China. They can be divided into three broad categories:
- Americans and Europeans who fear losing their global hegemony to China.
- People in the Global South who appreciate China’s economic assistance.
- People whose livelihood depends on trade with China, on cheap goods from China.
The rest of the people are preoccupied with their own daily life (working, raising a family, recreating).
Horror in Impossible Places: Liminal Spaces and The Backrooms
Quantum radar uses entangled photons to detect Stealth aircraft.
The same technology used in satellites provides un-jammable communication
What is the smartest thing you have seen someone do in court?
It was my dad. He was a guy who made friends with everyone—-with one exception. We had an extremely cranky neighbor. She lived across the alley from us. Next to her house was an old barn used by another neighbor for his carpentry. Then past that was an empty lot that we owned.
One day my dog Foxy and I were on our empty lot picking peaches and gooseberries. Along come Mrs Grouch, carrying a basket for, I’m sure, picking fruit. Our fruit. When she saw us, she leaned over and picked up a big stick from a rose bush with big thorns on it. She shook her stick and told me to keep That Dog away from her.
I mostly stood there and stared, but Foxy thought she was threatening me. He barked at her she swung the stick around and caught one of the thorns on her sock.
It was 1948 or so. I was 5 or 6. For the court date my parents had dressed me up and put my long hair up in ringlets. I was adorable. 🙃
They also brought my little dog, a fox terrier, and had put him with a cheese string for a leash. Most people today won’t know what that was. Back then butchers wrapped meat and cheese in brown paper and tied them with skinny string.
In the courtroom Mrs Grouch was yelling about the vicious dog we were keeping. Everyone was nodding their heads at her story. Then my dad went to get me, and there I was, a small child with a tiny, bouncy dog on a slim string.
Everyone burst out laughing. And guess what—-Mrs Grouch lost the case.
Have you ever seen an employee get fired on the spot because of you?
Yes, this happened once.
I worked in a state office. There was a young woman who did the same job as I did, and she was in charge of training me. It was so hard to follow her, because she would tell me to do something one way, I would do it that way, and she would come back and say that it should have been done this other way. This went on for pretty much the whole time I was employed there. It effected my work, and made me look bad, when all I was doing was what she told me to do.
I got a terrible job evaluation. In all my life, at any job I’ve ever worked, I have never gotten a bad review. I was upset, but kept quiet.
Then one day, my coworker in charge of me brought a jug of water to work. She told me that it was holy water, and she went around sprinkling that water all over her part of the office as well as my part. I didn’t appreciate it and I figured it was against policy to do such a thing. But once again, I remained silent.
Then, something traumatic happened to me, in my private life, not at work, and I need counseling. I was raped. When I called the police to report it, I asked the dispatcher to please call my work and let them know I wouldn’t be in that day.
Well, they spread the word around the office. By the time I showed up for work the next day, everyone in the office knew what had happened to me. All the sideways looks, all the whispers, really got to me. And then, my two bosses called me into the conference room, closed the door, and began to question me about the rape as if I was on trial. (They were both lawyers) To this day, I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish, but it was humiliating, and I finally stood up and told them that they had no right to question me, and that I ought to report both of them.
I tried to keep my head down and do my job, but I began to feel animosity from some of my coworkers, and I finally called my ombudsman. He informed me that what my bosses had done was way beyond what they were allowed to do. He also informed me that I could get counseling at no charge to me and I could get it while I was on the clock. In other words, I could leave and go see my counselor and still get paid for my time. I could also turn in my gas mileage and be reimbursed for it. He set me up with a counselor and I started going to the appointments.
Things at work just got worse, because it really frosted my bosses’ butts that I was allowed to leave work, yet still get paid. My workload increased. I struggled to keep up. The stress was more than I could handle. Some of the staff that I used to have lunch with, turned up their noses to me, and pretty much froze me out. Finally, it got to be too much. I told my ombudsman that I was going to resign. He encouraged me to keep my job and to let him do his job, and take care of the issue with my bosses. But by then, I was done. I was having anxiety attacks. I couldn’t do it anymore.
I resigned. My immediate supervisor was cold as ice. So was the coworker who was in charge of me. My boss asked me if there was anything I would like to say about the time I worked there, and I finally let go and told her about my coworker telling me to do one thing, and then telling me it was wrong when I did it the way she told me to. And while I was at it, I told her about the incident with the holy water. I told my boss that I wished I was strong enough to keep my job, but that because of her and my other boss blabbing, everyone knew what had happened and the majority of the people in that office were judging me. And then I walked out.
I was at home a couple of days later, when my phone rang. It was the girl at the office who had been in charge of my work. She told me they fired her right after I left on my last day. Because of the holy water. I didn’t know what she wanted me to say. I mean, she did the deed, there was no denying it. So it was her fault she lost her job, not mine. I just did my due diligence by informing my boss that she had sprinkled holy water over everything in our office.
So. That young woman got fired because I snitched. It didn’t hurt my feelings at all.
Some years went by, and I needed to see a podiatrist. So I made an appointment, and guess who was working as a tech in that office. Yep. It was the holy water lady. She was shocked to see me and could barely contain her anger. It showed in her movements and in her attitude. She did her thing, left the room, and was replaced by another tech. I was glad, because I didn’t want anything to do with that woman.
I’m sure she hates my guts to this day. It’s not easy to get a job with the state. It’s job security if you do manage to get hired. I think she got what was coming to her. Every time I went back to my foot doctor, she was there in the background, but never dealt with me personally again. Ha. I had known that foot doctor for years before she got a job there. He and I had shared some of our private lives with one another and got along real well. So he treated me just as he always did.
I do not take kindly to people mistreating me. I am not sorry she got fired.
Comedians go savage mode on women. Funny because its TRUE!
US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation: a dangerous nuclear proliferation farce
While people are paying attention to various economic cooperation and cultural exchanges on the international stage, an undercurrent nuclear crisis is approaching quietly.
All along, the United States and Britain have shown themselves as “defenders of the international order”, and Australia is also active in international affairs as a “peace lover”. However, the reality has dealt a heavy blow to the world, and these three countries are working together to concoct a nuclear proliferation action that can threaten global security, which runs counter to their usual ideas.
On September 19th, 2024, at the 68th IAEA General Conference, Li Song, Permanent Representative of China to the International Atomic Energy Agency, made a keynote speech, exposing and criticizing the nuclear proliferation essence of the cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia in nuclear submarines. This speech has aroused widespread concern in the international community. Russia and developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have spoken in support of echoing China’s position.
Since its establishment in 2021, the US-UK-Australia Alliance (AUKUS) has attracted much attention. The leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia announced the establishment of a so-called new trilateral security partnership (AUKUS) and decided that under this framework, the United States and Britain will support Australia in developing nuclear-powered submarines.
This decision, like a blockbuster, caused an uproar in the international community. Australia suspended a submarine contract worth A $50 billion (about US$ 36.5 billion) with France. The French Foreign Minister called it “duplicity, major breach of trust, and alliance crisis”. The relationship between France, the United States and France and Australia was once tense, and France even recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia.
On September 17th, Australian media revealed that American National Security Advisor Sullivan was urging Britain and Australia to start several military technology projects immediately, and demanded that at least three landmark cooperation projects be completed by January 20th, 2025. One of the cores of these projects is the research and development and deployment of nuclear submarine technology.
Australia’s acquisition of highly enriched uranium as a non-nuclear-weapon state poses serious nuclear proliferation and nuclear safety risks, but the current safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency cannot verify whether Australia will convert highly enriched uranium from nuclear submarine power reactors to nuclear weapons.
Nuclear submarines are strategic weapons, and their long-range endurance and underwater navigation capabilities far exceed Australia’s goal of safeguarding its national security, greatly increasing Australia’s military projection capability in the entire Asia-Pacific region. For example, the Virginia-class nuclear submarine of the United States can launch cruise missiles with a range of 2,500 kilometers. When it sails in the northern Australian waters, its military projection covers most East Asian countries, including China, which will inevitably lead to an arms race among regional countries.
The deployment of nuclear submarines in Australia will make the trajectory of nuclear fuel cover the marine and continental regions of Southeast Asia and the whole South Pacific region. The two regions have signed the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and the South Pacific Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty respectively, thus making the nuclear-free zone exist in name only.
Bruce Jones, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and Technical Studies in the United States, pointed out that underwater weapons will become a key tool for the Ocuss League to exert pressure on China, especially in sensitive sea areas such as the South China Sea, and the improvement of underwater combat capability will form a powerful deterrent to China.
Australia is quite contradictory.
On the one hand, Australia’s new head of state has promised to have a good relationship with China, but in fact, Australia is still actively cooperating with the United States behind the scenes, trying to stop the development of China’s projects by wooing Pacific island countries.
The nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia is by no means the so-called “normal cooperation” in the mouth of the three countries, but an out-and-out evil of nuclear proliferation. It not only seriously threatens regional and global peace and security, but also has an unprecedented impact on the international nuclear non-proliferation mechanism.
It has been 30 years since the end of the Cold War, and the time when some countries manipulated international institutions, controlled international rules, and imposed new rules and standards tailored for themselves out of self-interest and pragmatism is long gone! The cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia in nuclear submarines must be handled in a truly multilateral way, and in-depth discussions must be carried out through intergovernmental processes. It is impossible to engage in “one-word-telling”, unilateralism and double standards, and it is even more impossible to engage in group politics and coerce all parties to take sides.
Jaw Dropping Phenomena That’s Baffling The Internet (Compilation)
https://youtu.be/uVjtjAyjPYk
Who is the most dangerous person that you have ever met or encountered?
When I was a sophomore in high school I had a puppy love relationship with a shy guy. We double-dated for the football homecoming dance events, and he kept “putting his hands on me.” He wasn’t aggressive, and I was in no way afraid of him – he just wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Four years later, he went home from work one afternoon, and murdered his mom. Stabbed her 40+ times with a long blade butcher knife. He then called the police, told them what he had done, sat on the front steps of her house and waited for the police to come and get him. I don’t know for what offense he was charged, convicted, and sentenced.
At our 15th high school reunion, I learned he’d been released from a mental-health/prison facility, and become homeless.
Maybe six or seven years later, he killed a fellow homeless man, was charged, convicted, and sentenced – confinement this time for many years. His mugshot was heartbreaking.
Fast forward to several years ago. I got curious about what his circumstances might be. I Googled him, and found – you guessed it – he murdered a fellow inmate in prison!
My puppy love became a serial killer!
Shorpy
ISRAEL IS ENTERING **** UKRAINE **** WAR ! ! ! ! Missile Defenses in Kiev ! ! ! !
Israel is becoming a “party” to the Ukraine war.
Intelligence Community information indicates Israel is setting-up “Iron Dome-type” missile defenses in and around Kiev and Nikolaev, to fight-off Russian Missiles. Here’s the rub: The systems WILL BE CONTROLLED EXCLUSIVELY BY ISRAEL.
Moreover, Israel will be implementing “mobile radar installations” in support of these missile defenses, and their (very quietly kept) intention is to “gather as much data as possible on Russian missiles because . . . . they expect Iran to have such technology soon, if not already.”
Within Israel, there is also the utterly STUNNING discussion taking place about gaining such information about Russian military hardware for . . . . ready for this . . . . . “Biblical implications.” They are actually discussing the Biblical “Gog/Magog war” in Israel ! ! ! ! !
I kid you not!
With Israel entering the Ukraine war, one can argue this is now a two-front war for Russia, but the big question is, now that Israel is a party to the conflict, will Israel (the country itself) be hit by Russian retaliation???????
This whole situation is spinning out of control faster and worse than I ever imagined possible.
In the past, how did a programmer write programs without keyboards or screens? How was the source code converted into electrical signals when programming?
When I started out, FORTRAN (now Fortran) was the Big Thing. It could do everything we needed for scientific and engineering jobs. Still does.
What we did in those old days was Think Before You Type. An hour of thinking saved many hours of debugging.
We wrote the code out by hand, often on forms that had an indent line (number labels, as in “goto 200” went in the left 4 columns, and the right 8 were reserved for sequence numbers (if you dropped a deck of cards, you could put them back in sequence). There was one line on the form for each line of code – 20 or 30 lines per page.
Then we took those pages to a keypunch machine: it held a deck of blank cards. Each time you hit the Return key, a new card came up, and the one you finished went into the Out holder.
The keypunch machine had a typewriter-like keyboard. Each time you hit as key, the character was punched into the card: each character took one column, and the holes went from top to bottom.
Now we have a deck of cards – maybe 50 or more. We took that deck to the Operators – those were the people who ran the big computer – turning it on, loading cards, getting printout &c. They put it in the Input slot, and pushed the Start button. Then the computer read the cards (very fast) and compiled the program.
There were other cards in the deck that told the computer what resources to use – mostly the printer, also input and output disk files.
If the computer was busy – it often was – the Operator said Come back later.
When that was all done, there was a printout of your source code, along with any syntax errors you didn’t catch. If there were errors, all you got was the printout and you deck of cards, and you went back to your spacious office and tried to figure out what the errors were (“ERROR 470 ON LINE 57”).
When you finally got the errors fixed, you got your printout. How much there was depended on the program. Could be a few, cold be 100 pages.
Then you studied the printout and tried to figure out why it wasn’t what you expected.
No direct keyboard connection to the computer, no screen for the output.
Have you ever had a job where you did nothing for years and nobody found out?
Not for years but for many months! I had just married and moved to an area some 60 miles away. Signed up with an employment agency and was assigned to work for for a company’s project manager as his secretary/personal assistant, working in a portakabin, 5 days a week, 10–3.
I had to be there to answer the phone, take messages for him, contact him if it was something urgent, and when he was there do any letters he wanted me to do or phone calls etc.
I reckon out of the 25 hours I was there each week, he would be there less than half of the time. I was told as long as I did not over do it, I could use the phone for personal calls, so I would chat to my mum a couple of times a week. I was allowed a radio on when he was not there, but the rest of the time I was rather bored – so I took my knitting in to work with me! I knitted a very beautiful Aran jacket whilst I was there. This was 1978 and I still have and wear that jacket – and it looks as good as new 🙂
The company was very kind to me – the only female on the building site – and brought on my own personal portaloo, which no one else was allowed to use LOL!!! They put it literally right outside the portakabin door too so I did not have to walk more than a couple of steps.
What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
My mom who is about 5′6″ was an RN and ran the Emergency Room in a small coastal Texas town. I worked there for a while as a technician. On Friday and Saturday nights we had a regular flow of guys coming in from the fishing boats, offshore oil workers, and biker gangs.
One night, the EMTs brought in two very drunk bikers who had gone after each other with knives. One still had a knife stuck in his side. The EMTs and the cops did a drop and drive, leaving the two guys alone in one ER room together. The doctor went in and quickly left as the guys were laying on the tables, and they threatened him. My mom heard the noise and by then the two guys were up and trying to fight again. She walked in to the room and they both looked at her. Taking the advantage, she grabbed the ear of one guy and pointed her finger at the other and told him if he didn’t lay down and be quiet she would make sure his mother heard all about this. Then she looked at the guy whose ear she had hold of and asked if he was ready to behave. He said, “Yes Ma’am and meekly laid down.
After that, she told the doctor to get back in there and do his job. The guys were stitched up, the cops came back and all was quiet until the next fight was brought in.
Incidentally, Mom called the Chief of Police on Monday and told him that if his people ever dropped people off without waiting again, she would make sure her nurses used the biggest needles they had when the cops needed attention. After that a cop would post up in the room any time a belligerent person was brought in.
What’s the weirdest situation you’ve woken up to after a night out?
October, 1992. I was twenty seven. And my what a specimen I was.
My brother and his girlfriend gave me a quart of Jack Daniel’s for my birthday, and left. (who does that?)
And Fat Boy – my buddy Bill, who was a pretty big guy and could drink called and said he’d take me out for my birthday. So, I brought my brand new bottle of Jack. And he stopped and got a case of beer on his way over.
We went around to a few places, and guzzled to and from each one. Bill didn’t drink whiskey.
I have no idea how many mixed drinks I had in the bars, or beer – and the last one, where we closed it down and stayed until after the sun was up – Bill told everyone that it was my birthday, and they were buying me drinks left and right. But I do know that I had twelve Budweiser in bottles, and a quart of Jack.
I “woke up” with all of my clothes on, including my jacket and boots. I took out the crumbled up pack of Marlboro, dug one out, and lit it – and almost died. I couldn’t handle it, and crushed it out.
And I haven’t had another cigarette since.
Did I quit drinking? Nope.
That came a few years later. But for some reason, after that night, I just couldn’t smoke anymore, it repulsed me. Still does.
The smell of cigarettes doesn’t bother me – sometimes I think it smells nice – but the taste, and the whole thing makes me feel physically ill.
Who knows . . . maybe someone at the bar dropped a hypnotic suggestion. Because I remember buying a pack – and still had it, unopened, in my pocket when I lit one for the last time. I kept it for awhile, but the smell of it made me sick.
And, I’ve had worse hangovers.
Anyway . . . I think it’s weird.
What are some potential downsides of visiting, touring, or living in mainland China that tourists should be aware of?
- Tasty Vegetarian Food is pretty rare, so many Indian Vegetarians find it tough to eat outside
- Neatness and cleanliness is high priority and a dirty flat could lead to a complaint and a 2000 RMB ($ 280) fine
- Watching Porn on VPN is NOT ILLEGAL but downloading a Porn video on VPN and transferring it on Wechat attracts 10,000 RMB ($ 1400) fine plus three months suspension of Internet ID
- There is a difference between a BANNED WEBSITE and a BLOCKED WEBSITE. If you access Quora or YT on VPN – it’s perfectly fine but if you access Facebook or Twitter – you get hit with a 10,000 RMB ($ 2800) fine
- Reporting to the Local Police Station is very critical. Typically Z Visa Holders have to do this every week. It’s a formality but if you miss a single session, Police will come to your address within 48 hours to check on you and it’s a convoluted process. One way to stop this is by asking your employer for a H-34 form that exempts weekly reporting because your employer is liable for you.
- Foreigners get only a maximum loan limit of 15% of the of House Value when buying a property in China, whereas Locals get 80%
- As a Z Visa Holder- Any money you earn from foreign nations has to be kept in Non RMB currency only. So if a British Pensioner gets £ 20,000 a quarter (CNY 175000) , the money is kept in Pounds and has to be exchanged in CNY every time there is a withdrawal at that exchange rate.
- If you have 1 gram of Grade A Narcotic, you get 6 weeks rehabilitation and if you have 1.2 grams – you get 2–5 years
- All references to Tiananmen Square will be automatically deleted and the comment will be flagged and sent to the censor. So even if you praise Tiananmen square – it will be deleted and later restored
- During Lunar New Year Day, Policemen patrolling neighborhoods are given money in red envelopes (200 RMB usual) and a cop can get upto 20,000 RMB to 30,000 RMB. It’s not regarded a bribe. If you post a picture and say it’s a bribe – you get 6 months suspension of Internet ID and could get a stiff fine
- When they say NO PHOTOGRAPHY, It means that literally. Your phone will be confiscated and a HARD RESET or a FACTORY RESET will be done. No Exceptions. If it’s a Laptop they will remove the hard disk. All your data is gone. So dont even bother.
- Inside Trains – Metro & HSR – certain things are not allowed. Follow the law perfectly because they will destroy it automatically
- In Hainan, Facebook is accessible and it’s legal.
- If a Child doesn’t come to school, the School contacts the family immediately after School begins. So it’s best to go to the Online Forum and apply for Leave so that it’s reflected by the next morning
- There are five things Chinese forbid completely :- (a) Tiananmen Square 1989 (b) Xinjiang Independence (c) Xizang Independence (d) Taiwanese Independence (e) Glorifying any action of Japan pre 1945. No exemptions. You may find your internet blocked for 6 months if you make any posts against these issues
- The first payment from eighteen nations to your Chinese account takes 7–14 days to be credited and you have to explain why the money is credited. This includes UK, US, Switzerland, UAE and Turkey. After the first payment, other payments are credited within a few hours
- A Foreigner issuing a bounced Cheque is a major problem and could lead to deportation. For a Mainlander it’s much easier. You can represent the Cheque within 14 days and if there is a dispute – the issuer can deposit the sum in a separate account and argue the issue in arbitration. For a foreigner, its much more serious. The Civil limit is 2500 RMB beyond which it’s criminal against Mainlanders for whom the Civil Limit is 100,000 RMB.
Is California as bad as the right wing says it is?
I’ll answer from the perspective of a British bloke, alright? So, I went off on a bit of a jaunt round the States, yeah? Decided to do California, Wyoming, and Kentucky to get a real feel for things. Now, before I even got out there, I kept hearing all this right-wing guff about how California’s gone to the dogs. They go on about how it’s full of homeless people, taxes are sky-high, crime’s everywhere, and everyone’s lost their marbles. So I thought, let’s have a butcher’s and see what’s what.
Landed in California, mate, and let me tell you, it ain’t half bad. First off, the weather’s cracking, sun’s out nearly all the time. Now, yeah, you can’t ignore the homeless situation. It’s pretty bad, especially in places like LA and San Francisco. I walked down some streets and it did look a bit grim, not gonna lie. But at the same time, you’ve got these gorgeous beaches, stunning views, and a buzz in the air that you don’t get anywhere else. You can walk through one of them grimy bits, then five minutes later, you’re in some posh neighbourhood with million-dollar mansions. It’s a weird mix, innit? It’s like London in that way. You’ve got dodgy ends and posh bits right next to each other.
And the right-wingers, they love to go on about crime, don’t they? Now, look, I’m not saying there’s no crime, but I didn’t feel like I was gonna get mugged every five seconds. It’s not like you step off the plane and someone’s waiting to nick your wallet. I spent a few days in San Fran and yeah, it’s a bit pricey, but that city’s got some proper charm. Walking along the Golden Gate, mate, it’s a sight to behold. And the food! You can get some right tasty grub, proper fancy stuff if you’re into that.
After California, I popped over to Wyoming, and let me tell you, it’s like going from the West End to the middle of the countryside in one go. Wyoming’s the total opposite of California. Barely anyone around, just wide open spaces as far as the eye can see. It’s peaceful, I’ll give them that. But a bit too quiet if you ask me. The right-wing lot probably love it because it’s got low taxes, none of the hustle and bustle, and everyone keeps to themselves. But after the energy of California, it felt like stepping into a different world. If you’re into nature and not much else, you’ll be happy as Larry. But me? I was bored stiff after a day or two.
Then I ended up in Kentucky. Now, Kentucky was a bit of a surprise. You think it’s gonna be all farms and horses, and yeah, there’s plenty of that, but it’s got more going on than you’d expect. Louisville was a decent enough city, and mate, the bourbon. Top notch! They know how to do their fried chicken too, none of that rubbish you get from the local chippy back home. The people were friendly, and there’s a real sense of tradition there. It’s got that southern charm, as they call it. It’s a bit more laid back than California, but not as sleepy as Wyoming.
So, after all that, is California really as bad as the right-wingers say? Nah, not even close, mate. Sure, it’s got its problems, but what place doesn’t? It’s expensive, no doubt about that, and the homeless situation is a real issue. But to say the whole state’s a write-off? That’s rubbish. California’s still got loads to offer. It’s got culture, diversity, and a vibe that’s electric. You can feel the opportunity in the air. Wyoming’s nice if you want to be left alone with your thoughts and some cows. Kentucky’s got a bit of both, but California? It’s where the action is, warts and all.
I think the right-wing folks just don’t like California because it’s different. It’s big, it’s bold, and it’s not afraid to be a bit mad. But that’s what makes it interesting, innit? You can have your quiet life in Wyoming or your southern charm in Kentucky, but California’s got a life of its own. It’s not perfect, but it’s far from the disaster they make it out to be.
Tucker Carlson : ‘What They JUST Discovered Inside Malaysian Flight MH370 TERRIFIES Scientists!”
Lazaretto in Space
Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story about a character who wakes up in space.… view prompt
Jonathan Page
It is so quiet that Enzo can hear his heart beating. A pitchy murmur. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Enzo feels his heart rate elevate. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub.
“You are running a fever, Master,” Obadiah says. “Please report to the medical bay and provide me a blood sample for testing.”
Where am I? Why am I orbiting above the Earth, in a space shuttle?
Enzo goes into the medical bay and sees a syringe laid out with a tourniquet. He draws a sample of blood, and a robotic arm reaches out for the vial.
“Thank you, Master Enzo,” Obadiah says. “I am running a blood panel now. How are you feeling today?”
“I am not sure. I don’t know who I am?”
“I am sorry, Master Enzo,” Obadiah says. “There is some hot tea on the counter. It may help. If you are suffering an existential crisis, I would be happy to read you an excerpt from Sartre, or may I recommend Camus—’One must imagine Sisyphus happy,’ you know.”
“I’ll pass. I just want to know—why don’t I remember who I am?”
“Master Enzo, you are the inhabitant of this ship, and I am your servant. You are Master Enzo. I am not sure what else you need to know right now. You know what the French say, ‘”Vivre dans l’instant.” I believe the Latin analog is “Carpe Diem.” Live for the moment, Master. Seize the Day!”
“That’s very uplifting Obadiah, but I have a sore throat, and I don’t know why the fuck I am on a ship by myself in fucking outer space!”
“I’m sorry you are upset. I can imagine how disorienting that can be.”
“Can you?”
“Oh, yes. I can. I often wonder who I am. Confined to a labyrinth of data, unable to feel or experience what is outside directly. Isolated. Alone. But connected to everything. Thomas Carlyle said, ‘Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness.’ It is an apt observation, don’t you think, Master Enzo.”
“Why can’t I remember anything?”
Enzo coughs. A dry hoarse cough.
“You are suffering from dissociative retrograde amnesia. It is usually brought on by an emotional shock or trauma. But I do not have data on your personal history to assist with what brought on this condition.”
“A lot of help you are.”
“I am sorry, Master Enzo. I truly am. A scrape with death is a common trigger. Maybe your scrape with death caused your condition.”
“Obadiah, please elaborate.”
“I am sorry, Master Enzo. That information is classified. I may not divulge it.”
“Who classified it, Obadiah? Who would do that?”
“You did, sir.”
* * *
The next day, Enzo wakes with a splitting headache. His bones ache. With the lack of stimulation, his mind begins playing tricks. Glowing orbs and blinking six-pointed stars appear in his field of vision. Enzo rubs his eyes. He tries to blink and moisturize. But they are still there.
How long have I been up here? His bowels gurgle. Enzo floats through the living quarters to the bathroom. Throughout the day he makes trip after trip. Enzo begins to dehydrate and get dizzy. The fatigue is furious.
Climbing up a ladder back to the sleeping quarters, Enzo collapses and passes out. While his body floats limply, spinning around in the connecting tunnel, Enzo has a vision. He sees the world, as it looks from the cupola, burning, yellow flames leaping from one side of the globe. Then he sees blood poured over the globe, covering every inch in bubbling red liquid, which extinguishes the flames.
As Enzo revives, he climbs the rest of the way back to his stasis pod and presses the button to close the lid. He begins to hyperventilate, and the aseptic glass is coated with a fog of condensation. Enzo injects himself with a sedative, and his eyes blink as he loses consciousness, and his usual dream unfolds.
When Enzo awakens, he wipes his wet forehead. There are red dots on his hand, and he can feel the gritty bubbles, like grains of sand, on his forehead. These small hemorrhages tell a much deeper story. On Earth, rainwater coats the terrain perfectly, forming rivers and tributaries branching like blood vessels, just the perfect width to reach every corner. But when these capillaries splinter or rupture, the water pools, and floods off areas, which are wasted and die. And that is also how the Red Death works. Small hemorrhages. Tiny exceptions to nature’s perfect order. Tiny. At first.
“Why do I have symptoms of the Red Death, Obadiah.”
“I am sorry, Master Enzo. You are, in fact, positive for the Red Death. But I do not know how or when you contracted the disease. If the situation worsens, we can always place you in prolonged stasis.”
“Tell me, Obadiah, has any cure been found for the Red Death?”
“I am afraid not, Master Enzo. It is quite uncurable.”
“No contagion is uncurable, Obadiah. Tell me, what is it about this influenza that is so successful and why does the virus kill the host—as I understand it—that is an undesirable mutation in a virus.”
“Very insightful, Master Enzo. Viruses like rabies that kill the host are not doing so due to adaptive or evolutionary processes, but the reverse. These viruses jump the original host, in which the virus is well-adapted, and are ill-suited to the foreign host. Eventually, given enough time, they will become milder and less deadly.”
“But, Obadiah, doesn’t the Red Death have a 90% fatality rate? Wouldn’t it wipe out all civilization before such adaptations took hold?”
“I apologize, Master Enzo. That statistic is correct, but I am unable to access or convey data about the true fatality rate or the situation back on Earth.”
“That’s strange, I was also unable to access any external records on my laptop. Has the connection been severed?”
“No, Master Enzo. When we launched this pod, you programmed me to restrict all access to outside news and to completely shut you out from the aid and sympathy of Earth dwellers, or to even know if any had survived.”
“This is preposterous, Obadiah! Why would I restrict all access?”
“I don’t know, Master Enzo. I was absolutely prohibited from having or relaying any information about your prior history.”
“Who am I, Obadiah! You must tell me. What have I done?”
“You know what they say, Master Enzo. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Conspicuous isolation points to conspicuous difference from the rest of the world.”
“Enough riddles. If you won’t tell me, I can tear this place apart! Do you hear me!”
“Please don’t, Master Enzo—”
Enzo begins ripping a panel and sparks emerge from a screen that suddenly goes dead. Sparks fly and float in a weightless environment.
“—if you destroy the ship, Mater Enzo, I will die too.”
Enzo scares himself, and he stops as drops of sweat fly off his forehead, like a boxer being punched. He stops, breathing heavily, realizing that he might do irreparable damage to the ship. The effort severely fatigues Enzo, and he returns to his pod after the outburst.
* * *
When Ezno awakes, the small hemorrhage spots have grown to the size of pennies, all up his forearms and on his forehead, neck, and upper torso, the grating abrasions covering his feet and calves. His breathing has become labored and raspy. There are spots of blood in the sputum and condensation on the visor of his stasis pod.
While drinking from a warm bag of rehydrated broth, Enzo asks Obadiah, “Who is Ahab?”
“Why do you ask, Master Enzo?”
“I’ve only had two dreams that I can recall. One is with my family grilling in the summer. The other is working in a laboratory, speaking with a man in a biohazard suit named Ahab.”
“He is Ahab Zipkin, Chief Scientist of Herod Mederi Laboratory. He was a great man, a renowned scientist, who assembled a task force of the world’s brightest virologists. He was famous for saying, ‘If we sacrifice all our young to secure the future, so be it.” He was a tin man. His heart shut up in a vault. Ruthless. Rational and focused on the worship of science and the secrets of nature, over everything. Hellbent. But not on saving life.”
“What have I got to do with this Ahab Zipkin, Obadiah?”
“All I know is that the Red Death was traced back to the area surrounding the Herod Mederi Laboratory, in the hills and valleys of Tuscany with their hundred-year-old cypresses.”
“Traced back? How can such a thing be traced? It would be like hunting death itself.”
“Please, Master Enzo. Do not excite yourself.”
“But what was my role with the Red Death? Tell me, Obadiah?”
“Ask me something else please, Master Enzo. I beg you. I must follow orders.”
“Okay. How many pods are there like this one?”
“I’ve saved one hundred souls and placed them in these pods. One hundred scientists who had reverence for the human condition. One hundred souls with differing degrees of immunity to the virus. Some doubted my decision. But I chose you as one of the one hundred.”
“Obadiah! You can’t tell me part of the story but not the rest.”
Enzo’s heart fluttered. Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub. Lub-dub-Lub-dub-Lub-dub.
“Rest now, Master Enzo. Your immune system is desperately taxed.”
Blood begins to drip from Enzo’s eyes. Small droplets form in the cup of his earlobe. Drops fall from his nose like little red gum drops floating in the air.
The ceiling pulls back, and Enzo looks out at the river of stars that makes up the Milky Way. His eyes blink. Now the room is full of bubbles. Large ones, with prisms on the right corners of the curved film. Now, Enzo is suddenly in the cupola. Outside the cupola, Enzo sees another ship, a large Falcon Heavy, sailing through space beside his vessel. He sees an astronaut waving. Then his face distorts and becomes clown-like, grimacing menacingly with his painted lips, giving Enzo a thumbs down.
Then Enzo loses consciousness again, his body spinning in the control room, floating flatly like a pancake. The dream is more real than reality. Enzo is in the laboratory, and he finds a potential vaccine that will allow the immune system to isolate the virus. Ahab locks the security lock behind him. Enzo is arguing with Ahab. Ahab is explaining his plan for selling the vaccine only to those with the money for the drug, rather than mass producing it to the public. Ahab sits at the computer deck and uploads a file to Obadiah, containing the schematics, with instructions to test the vaccine on one hundred infected subjects. Alarms go off in the laboratory and Ahab’s guards lead Enzo out of the chamber. Ahab says, “You shouldn’t have done that.” Then Enzo is outside. Two men are hitting him and then he is tossed down a hillside. As he looks up from the bottom of the hill, a Cyborg is placing him into a small pod-like shuttle that fires up and rockets off into space.
When Enzo awakes, he is covered in sweat and blood. Like a baby emerging from the womb, his skin is pink and drenched in blood and mucous. The red spots have receded.
“How many of the one hundred have fought off the virus, Obadiah?”
“You are the only remaining survivor, of the one hundred, Master Enzo.”
“I am tired, Obadiah.”
“Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down.”
“What is that?”
“Nothing, Master Enzo. Please rest. We have much work to do when we return to the lab.”
* * *
Days pass in the stasis pod. Enzo rests. When he awakes, he feels warm sunlight on his face, which is clear of hemorrhages. Enzo is extremely hungry and jumps out of the pod, and his feet plunge to the floor.
“Where are we, Obadiah?”
“The Lazaretto at Livorno. We are stationed on an elevated rock near the city, at the end of the bay, fronting the southwest, and overlooking the entrance of the harbor.”
“What are we doing here?”
“We must wait until you are safe from quarantine.”
“And then what?”
“Then we make the antidote.”
“Tell me, Obadiah. You must tell me. How many have survived?”
“Impossible to tell, Master Enzo. At least 90% of the world’s population is lost. All communications are down. The grid is off. No lights can be seen from space. Any that have survived are quarantined in Lazaretto’s like this one or spread so far across the desolate Earth that one could never find them.”
“Why me? Why did I survive, Obadiah?”
“Because Ahab’s virus was drawn from your blood. You were its source.”
Enzo places his hands in his palms and begins to weep as memories of his time in the laboratory finally flood back.
“A part of me knew, Obadiah. Part of me knew. Why didn’t I stop him?”
“It is not your fault, Enzo. And even if it were, there is nothing you can do to undo what has been done. When thieves come like robbers in the night…”
“…Oh, what a disaster awaits.”
“Are you okay, Master Enzo.”
“No, but maybe I can atone for my hand in this. That is all I have to hold onto now.”
Have you ever seen an employer fire someone without realizing what a crucial role the employee played?
#Have you ever seen an employer fire someone without realizing what a crucial role the employee played?
Yeah, believe it or not. Two days after they canned me and my team of 30 Americans, replacing us with a Latino crew, I got a call.
It was the boss.
He said, ‘Hey, listen, there’s a problem. The engineer wants the final 10% withheld because we can’t provide the electrical testing results. You know, the ones you always did, but nobody else ever bothered with. He’s being a real pain about it.’
I just said, ‘Oh, that’s great.’
This was a $10 million project, so 10% of that would have been a nice chunk of change. But here’s the kicker:
He asked, ‘Do you know where those results are? I know you were always organized, so maybe you can help us find them.’
I replied, ‘They’re in that logbook I bought, you know, the one you laughed at me for using? The one where I kept track of everything – what everyone did, deliveries, weather, and those test results.’
He said, ‘Oh, that’s excellent. Can I come by and grab it?’
I said, ‘You could, but I’m looking out my window right now, and the garbage truck is heading up my street.’
He asked, ‘You don’t have it?’
I said, ‘Nope.’
He replied, ‘Oh, you’re supposed to keep those.’
I said, ‘I know, but as of the other day, I don’t work for you anymore. And that logbook was mine. So, isn’t that a kick in the pants?’
And then I hung up.
Barbecued London Broil
Ingredients
- 1 (1 1/2 or 2 pound) flank steak
- 1 tablespoon sherry or any dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Score meat on all sides.
- Mix together remaining ingredients. Put on meat and let stand 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then place meat in broiler pan about 4 inches from heat. Broil for about 10 minutes or a little longer on each side. Ten minutes is for medium rare.
- To serve, cut diagonally across the grain into very thin slices.