During my “great adventure” we landed in California in a university town named San Louis Obispo. And there we parked the van, and worked at a nearby chain restaurant named Carl’s Jr. Ah. being in our 20’s we had many adventures. Some good. Some bad.
Next to the restaurant was a park.
It was a beautiful park, and we landed there in Spring, and it was a glorious time. It was the mid-1980’s and (as they say) “the world was our oyster”. And indeed it was.
We would go into the park and frolic. I mean it. We would play as only 20-year-olds could. In beautiful days, with sunshine and blue skies and 1980’s pop music playing. Such as Cory Heart, Tears for Fears and Madonna. It was a unique and heady time.
One of the things that surprised me about California was just how many gay, queer and alternative lifestyle folks there were. Not that I cared, but Lordy! I was unused to the size and scope. This added a new level of the experience. One that I want to touch upon right now.
Well, in the park were bathrooms.
And there was one; an isolated one off the the side of a hidden glade. We would go to it to take a shower or bath from the water in the sink. After all we were still living in the van. And that is one way that we were able to stay clean. And let me tell you how important it was.
Anyways, from time to time, these lone single men would show up there, and ask me if I was there to give them a blow-job.
Yeah.
No shit.
Not once. Not twice, but perhaps a couple of times per week.
Well, it turns out that that little public bathroom was a hook up area for the local queers in the area. Well, of course I declined, and was very nice about it too. Different strokes for different folks.
But lordy!
California was so full of surprises!
Today…
China has imposed tariffs on American produce and products in retaliation for the tariffs imposed by the United States. This situation has led to a decline in support for Donald Trump in Iowa, as farmers are losing their market share in China.?
Without the tariff, US farmers already lost their market share in China, when Trump waged a trade war in his last presidency. Biden continues with Trump’s trade war.
Hence, instead of US produce, China buys it from other big agricultural countries eg Brazil & Argentina.
China does not need to impose tariff on US produce, because tariff will push up the price & it will be the Chinese consumers who end up paying most of the tariff.
US inflation is exactly what happens to Trump’s tariff on Chinese products.
What happens if you get caught without a building permit?
In my case, I built an addition on my house in a rural area of Colorado (Boulder County near Indian Peaks Wilderness Area). Building department never caught me and the issue only caught up with me when I went to sell the house. Boulder County at the time had a reputation for extreme delay and utter ridiculous nit-picking when awarding building permits. (Think telling you where you could and had to have bushes around the building sort of thing and delays sometimes exceeding a year.) Their planning department had gotten a bit full of themselves and became essentially a brick wall to most building projects. I decided to ignore them and just build what I wanted. (I would add that everything I did was 100% up to code and frequently exceeded code by a substantial margin.)
The upshot of it all was I had to pay for a token permit cost of $175 instead of the thousands they had initially quoted me plus another $175 fine. The kicker was that I didn’t increase the square footage of the house, just replaced an existing attached but uninsulated greenhouse with a 24′ tall and fully insulated atrium space along with some structural modifications to open the house up to the atrium. The one requirement was I had to open up some small patches in the ceiling drywall so the inspector could see how I attached the rafters to a major structural beam. Saved myself over $1400 in permit fees. 100% would do it again, but unfortunately the rules changed since then and they seem to want to insist on taking down whatever was built without a permit before approving a new permit.
Matt Taibbi On Tucker Carlson’s Show
This talk (video) with Matt Taibbi and Tucker Carlson is very interesting.
One question that’s come up (chapter 4) is who was running the White House during the last year. Biden obviously didn’t.
Tucker thinks it was Antony Blinken. Blinken is also said to be the one who pressed for a more aggressive war against Russia. The release of ATACMS missiles against Russian proper was on of the nonsensical measures.
Another one, Tucker says (44:12), was an attempt to kill Vladimir Putin.
I had not heard that one so far.
Recommended.
China, Japan hold high-level political dialogue in Beijing
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Takeo Akiba, special adviser to the Japanese cabinet and secretary general of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, held consultations under the China-Japan high-level political dialogue mechanism in Beijing on Monday.
Noting that China-Japan relations are at a critical stage of improvement, Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said the two sides should follow the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, stick to the right direction of improving and developing bilateral relations, and build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.
Wang said the Japanese side should establish an objective and rational understanding of China, honor its political commitment on the Taiwan question and earnestly safeguard the political foundation of China-Japan relations, urging the Japanese side to take concrete actions to implement the important consensus of “being each other’s cooperation partners rather than threats,” and promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral ties.
The two sides reiterated that they will abide by the principles and consensus set out in the four political documents between China and Japan and commit to comprehensively advancing the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between the two sides, reaching agreement to maintain high-level intercourse, dialogue and exchanges in various fields, and send more positive signals to the outside world.
The two sides believed that China and Japan, as two important neighbors with development closely linked to each other and highly complementary economies, should not and will not decouple, pledging to jointly promote the healthy development of economic and trade cooperation and the stable and smooth production and supply chain.
On the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the two sides agreed to accelerate the follow-up and implementation of the bilateral political consensus.
Stressing that China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and is a major country with the best record of peace and security, Wang said China will continue to uphold fairness and justice to prevent war or chaos in the region.
It is hoped that all parties will jointly resist non-regional forces inciting confrontation in the area and take concrete actions to safeguard regional peace and stability, Wang added.
What are the biggest obstacles preventing people from moving between wealth classes?
In the US it’s their mindset.
A girl I knew in high school was on fire about getting filthy rich.
I went in the Army. She went to college.
When I got out she was close to graduating.
Then she got hired by a bank.
She was never a girlfriend. We just liked to drink together. She felt safer with a guy with her.
All through the beginning of the 80s she was trying to talk to me about 401k. CD’s were paying 15%.
I wouldn’t listen. Just wanted to party.
She was giving me advice on stocks like Home Depot. Apple. In the 80s.
By 1983 she hit her first million dollars.
By 1990 it was multi millions.
I lost touch with her for awhile.
In 2000 I was in a store and saw a New Jersey magazine with an article. “50 richest women in NJ.”
She was one of them.
I was doing ok by then. Stopped my nonsense and got serious about wealth.
She was well into the 1%. Owned rentals all over the shore. Racehorses. Several bars
I looked her up through her sister. We met up.
I was starting to become wealthy.
We talked about that. Her sister and brother just work 9 to 5. Pay the bills. Call it a day. My friend always knew she was going to be filthy rich. Way back in 8th grade .
Just mindset.
That’s it.
You don’t have to know anybody or be connected or do anything shady or illegal. Just mindset.
Pay attention.
Read.
Learn.
You can make just as much money off a crashing market as a booming market.
She just made a killing on crypto.
I can’t give you her name. She would kill me. She’s married to someone very famous. You would recognize it right away.
She went from our little neighborhood to world class.
We had one other guy in my high school that did the same. I didn’t know him well. He was always talking about owning the world too.
He’s famous. Married to a super model.
Mindset. Neither one of them came from money. They’re not particularly good looking. Not particularly smart or talented. Just determined.
Chinese DeepSeek AI System Just CRUSHED American AI Market & It’s FREE!
French Baguettes
Yield: 2 baguettes
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Measure carefully, and place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a bread machine pan in the order recommended by the machine’s manufacturer. Select Dough/Manual cycle.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover. Let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
- Punch down dough. Roll into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough in half, creating two 8 x 12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side. Roll gently back and forth to taper ends.
- Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make 1/4 inch deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover. Let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
- Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
What was your strangest experience in an American ghetto?
I was pregnant, and as big as a house. My car broke down in the barrio (Cubans, I think) when an old man got up from his porch, came down to the car, and fetched me back up to his porch to sit in his chair. “Come! Sit! No worry; I fix!” And for the next hour and 20 minutes, he worked on my car, in the heat of the afternoon, while I sat, bemused, in his chair.
He called out to his neighbors. Two other men came down to help. They argued in Spanish too fast for me to follow, with lots of hand-waving and raised voices. At one point, he suddenly stopped, went inside while his neighbors kept poking at my car’s innards and arguing, and fixed me a sandwich. He sent someone for parts.
Finally, he climbed inside, and started the car. Then he got out, beaming as he helped me down off the porch and into the driver’s seat, and told me it was good to go. I tried to get him to take money, for the parts at least, but he refused. “Name your son Jesus; after me. It was fun. Thank you for letting me help.”
“But, why? All of this! The help, the expense?!”
“You’re like the Madonna. Pregnant, far from home, in need of help. So, I helped. It’s for Her I do this. And, it was fun; Thank You!”
I burst into tears. Christian charity, hospitality, and gentlemanly behavior, for the love of God. So, I thanked him again, and drove off.
PS:I had a daughter, not a son, so no, we don’t have a baby Jesus. To protect her privacy, I won’t tell you her name.
Some nice selected pictures
What is the experience of being a veteran in the United States Army? Do veterans often miss their time in the military after retiring or leaving? How do veterans typically feel about this?
On my first day in the Army in 1972 everyone in my basic training company was asked if they could drive. I raised my hand along with a number of other people. We were all pulled out of the group and made to use a rotary manual push lawnmower and mow many acres of land, everyone else was given the day off. I disliked the Army from that day on. I had the opportunity to go to Officer Candidate School when I completed basic training but I would have to add one more year to my contract. I never got over the lawnmower incident and wanted to get out after the three years I agreed to. I discovered the Army was not much of a meritocracy and would have never made a career out of the military. What do I miss most out of the Army? The answer is absolutely nothing! Actually, I liked shooting weapons but that was infrequent after basic training.
Now to the other side of the coin. The Army really taught me the, “ completion thing” and doing was I was expected to do and never say quit. I wanted to attend college and become a psychologist. I had to work full time and go to school full time for seven years. Many times during those years I said, “this is too hard, I can’t do it and I am going to quit.” I would then think, “you made it through Army basic training, you can do anything.” That got me though my Master’s Degree. The GI Bill paid for my Bachelor’s Degree and about half of my Master’s Degree. I went on to have a fairly successful life. I attribute all of the successes in my life to my three years in the Army. I very much doubt I would have ever amounted to half as much were it not for my three years in the Army.
Man Decides Not To Raise Cheating Wife’s Lover’s Baby And Is About To Get The Wrath Of Her Friends!
What is the best thing you saw today?
Disclaimer: I am going to be quite deep.
Yesterday evening, a boy of around 16–17 years oldwas selling cucumber. I asked him to give me₹ 10 worth of cucumber.
So he picked up three cucumbers, peeled them off, cut them from the middle into 4 parts and applied salt, masala and lemon on them.
I was just noticing him and thinking about how one could do such a hard work for just ₹ 10.
So I asked him how much he earns, and he said about 150 to 250 or 300 in a day. I was quite shocked knowing that he just earns 200 approx on average.
So I advised him with a business model.
Me: Why don’t you start another business? You earn very little over the hard work put in.
He: I don’t have money to setup any big business.
Me: Ok listen to my idea, think about it and let me know if it suits you.
He: Ok.
Me: Go and buy a Patanjali Amla juice and some plastic glasses. Sell it outside the park in morning by diluting Amla juice with water.
Your investment will be much less. The people who go for morning walks in the park are obviously health-conscious. So they will definitely buy it. Along with Amla juice, sell your cucumber as a salad along with carrot, cauliflower and tomato by garnishing with lemon juice .
In this business you hardly need 500 rupees. Just give it a try.
He: Ok, I will try.
Me: Yes sure. (But I thought he would not even try)
Today in the morning I went to the park, was quite late and saw him surrounded by many people. I went to him and asked for a glass of Amla juice. He smiled with tears and gave me a glass of juice. He didn’t take any money from me but I forcefully handed him some and told him not to involve the relation of friendship or whatever in business.
Later when his stock was up:
He was counting money and told me that he earned a profit of ₹1100 within half a day.
The happiness in his eyes made my day 🙂
Thanks for showering love with upvotes , do checkout my other answers.
Believe in your Karma ..!! It’s your well wishes or my some good karma but through this answer I reached a point where I & my team are making 20k–30k per month and some times more than this… How ? Read this answer..
Vinayak Gupta’s answer to Have you ever experienced karma in real life?
Cherry Nut Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup nuts
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped candied cherries
- 1/2 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet.
- Beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Divide dough into 4 pieces. Make bars by rolling dough into a long log. Place 2 logs to a cookie sheet. Brush tops with mixture of egg yolk and water.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
- Cut logs into 1/2 inch slices. Return to cookie sheet and cook until toasted, about 20 to 30 minutes.
What turned you from a conservative to a liberal?
What turned me from a conservative to a liberal was watching people I knew fail.
I had a brother-in-law who was a construction welder. He was a very hard-working, can-do kind of guy, with a good skill that got him lots of good jobs. Then the economy tanked and there were no construction welding jobs at all. He ran up his credit cards waiting for the stock market to stabilize, but it didn’t. He borrowed from his relatives, but you can’t do that forever. He tried a couple of work-at-home jobs, even buying some metalworking machines. He learned specialty welding for aluminum and stainless steel. Nothing worked. The further into debt he sank, the more depressed and hopeless he became. He went on medicaid. Don’t know if he quite got to food stamps or not. Didn’t ask, because he’s got some pride. The American Dream was snatched out of his hands, not by his choice.
I had another brother-in-law who had a job microfilming records. It was a specialty job that paid a good salary. Only technology changed and people stopped microfilming stuff. He was laid off and couldn’t find work microfilming. But he was a can-do kind of guy. He went to community college, and learned to repair electronic circuitry, a course authored by major employers in the area. Only, people don’t troubleshoot to the component level much anymore; they swap boards. So his new training, recommended and sponsored by the state and the state’s big employers, didn’t make him any more employable than his old training. Then his wife died of cancer. Took a couple of years, and at the end, he stayed home to hold her. When she died, he was broken. He lived off her life insurance and his life savings for five years, until all the money was gone. He went through a recession where he couldn’t find any work. He had dreamed of a career forging fancy knives, and actually got pretty good at it. He built his own machinery, because this kind of machinery you cannot buy. But the market is very thin for fancy knives, and either you’re Michelangelo, or you starve. He underestimated the time it would take to become commercially successful. The American Dream failed him about three times in a row.
My brother set up a shop selling magnetic tape to the recording industry in Seattle. His specialty was having every conceivable kind of analog recording media in stock. He did a steady business with the local TV stations and recording studios. But digital whittled away at his business, until there were only half-a-dozen formats. He completely reinvented his business as real-time recording for demo tapes and such, to basically the same customers. That was quite successful for a time, until technology changed again. People stopped making demo tapes and started sending .mp3 files. He ended up 45 years old with no marketable skills. He sank into drugs and depression. He became an agoraphobe.
I’m a software developer, and one of the most employable people I know. But when the Great Recession hit, my job went away and nobody was hiring. It’s not like I was being beaten out by better-qualified candidates, there were just no jobs to apply to. Of course I could have gotten a job flipping burgers or clerking for $10/hr, but what good would that do when I had a disabled wife and four children, plus a mortgage to pay.
When I was less experienced in the world, I thought the same things a lot of conservatives think, that people could work if they really wanted to, that if they didn’t find a job, it was because they were being lazy. But I watched several people who I knew were hard-working, smart people be unable to get a job. The conservative dogma just wasn’t true. Working hard wasn’t enough. Willingness to retrain wasn’t enough. A lifetime of success wasn’t enough. People needed a safety net, and conservatives had spent 20 years whittling away at it, until it didn’t work any longer.
My brother-in-law the welder eventually got work again, but his savings are gone. My other brother-in-law was fortunate to marry a woman who appreciated his art, and had a high-paying job. My brother was fortunate to receive an inheritance in time to retire to a corn field in Ohio. I was lucky to have saved money during my whole career and managed to live on savings for two years. All four of us got beaten down by the economy. Some people got rich on that economy, but not these hard-working people.
Jeffrey Sachs Interviews – Uncontrollable
How do restaurants make a baked potato so quickly? At home it takes close to an hour or a little more in the oven, and 45 mins on the BBQ.
My very first job ever was at a restaurant named Ponderosa. It was a steakhouse but better known for its buffet. The side for 90% of their meals was baked potato by default.
I worked there from 14–19. Actually, that is the longest I have ever had a single job, to this day. After I graduated high school, they started having me open as “maintenance.” This job was less maintenance, more, just do all the odds and ends crap in the store.
After all my daily routine, for that role anfter the doors opened, I had nothing but down time. I filled my spare time wrapping baked potatoes.
This task was broke down to, get 50lbs of potatoes from a big box, put them in a clean sink, fill sink with water, slosh them around, and kinda rinse them a bit. Then you would grab squares of foil and try to wrap them and throw them back in the box you first pulled them out of as quickly as possible.
Throughout the day, potatoes were baked. A lot of potatoes. At any given time, there were probably 20–30 potatoes baked in the warmer. All day. I promise you. The ones in the warmer the longest were the best ones too. Like twice baked. Absolutely delicious.
At the end of the day, we would throw out 10–20 potatoes at the most. And usually was much less. Employees grabbing an end of shift meal, throw some extras on the buffet line after the door is locked so no more entrees.
That was a long answer to get to the answer:
Restaurants make baked potatoes so quickly because baked potatoes are easy to pre-make and don’t spoil but in fact get more delicious after time. They are not made to order. Plus, they are so cheap that if you make too many you can throw them out with no real harm.
The Conjurers Trap
Submitted into Contest #196 in response to: Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.… view prompt
Gary Jefferies
His hackles shifted. Something was wrong. “The elf?”
“Down there,” the cleric pointed toward a stone building in the centre of a large plot of land. Around it another stone structure ran ending only in a solitary arch where a door stood.
Naz took it in. His first thoughts were defensive. Did monasteries require such fortification? Was it to keep outsiders out or those within from leaving at will?
“You’re overthinking,” the man didn’t turn. “It’s not much different to any township. Walls or stockades keep animals out. They give privacy and delineate the land border.”
Naz frowned. Dwarves were supposed to be immune to mind probing. He needed to concentrate better.
“Naz,” the man turned, “I know your name dwarf.” He paused watching the response.
The owl, Naz concluded, was no longer an owl. It had uncurled and looked more like a carving of… “Is that a dragon?”
The man drew his staff up to look. “It is. Magnificent are they not?”
“I have only seen them in rock reliefs. Nothing crafted like that.” He felt his hackles lower. Was he being beguiled? Supposed to be immune to that too.
“There are some master carvers here. Not like it used to be, but those that survived have continued their trades.” He paused looking at the dragon. “You approve?”
Naz nodded, his throat felt dry. He reached into his gunna and drew out a water-skin. “It has insatiable curiosity,” he ventured.
The man chuckled, “A minor enchantment. You know the turn of phrase about eyes in the back of your head yes?”
“Aye,” was all the dwarf could return.
“Come, let us ease your suspicions and reconnect you with the elf known as Yish.”
###
Yish sat examining a parchment in disbelief. It described a blue stone that commanded a wyvern. Admittedly it was old and the pieces remaining were faded, but the association between stone and dragon were clear. Why it existed was annoyingly absent. As absent as the existence of dragons that weren’t mythical.
It drew questions. If these were remnants of a physical document describing real events then did such beasts once exist? That Elders were supposedly linked to them in numerous references in her Guilds library was clear. But how seriously were such matters taken? Did they just disappear along with the elder Mage civilisation? It elevated their status way beyond anything currently in existence. Her conclusion was civilisation, as she knew it, was growing back from a dark age.
It struck her this thought had not occurred before. The Vault itself was crying this out. None knew who built it or even how it functioned. Unless this secret was guarded so tightly by the three.
He would know. Could she reach out as he did and touch minds? It caused her a brief moment of mirth. Not a sorcerer indeed, how else did he think he could commune from inside a conjurors bubble ripped into another time. “You are such a fool,” she whispered to herself.
Sitting back she stretched. Pouring over faded words and glyphs had left her with a sore back. In front of her was a window, through which the same landscape her dwarven friend had just passed through was visible. Except, she blinked, had it just faded in and out? Tired eyes can take time to focus again, but there was a growing feeling something wasn’t quite right.
How had she got from the portal to examining these particular parchments. Frowning in thought the memory seemed blurred. She’d emerged from the elder portal, called out for Naz and now she was here.
She opened the door, feeling fresh air might clear her mind. The breeze was light. Stepping through the threshold she found herself seated examining a parchment. “No!” Her fist struck the desk in despair.
###
“What’s wrong with her?” Naz looked at the body of his friend. It looked healthy enough save some bruising around her face. Although with blankets drawn up to her chest that could be the tip of an iceberg. He moved to test her warmth with his hand.
“Don’t,” the man spoke, his voice a command.
Naz turned to face him, “Why?” he demanded.
“She is fighting a battle.”
Naz returned his gaze to Yish. A bead of perspiration had formed on her brow. Why couldn’t mages ever talk straight.
“Who did this?” His grip on the axe tightened again.
“We did.”
We… the plurality of statement had not escaped the dwarf. He spun round.
Two others now stood in the room. Each wore robes similar to the cleric. The main difference was their staffs. Where the man’s dragon sat theirs were blackened and charred.
Naz looked at each in turn, who to strike down first? His eyes settled on a blue stone resting in the palm of the man. Moonstone sapphire, this was his lore. Except it was the purest he’d ever seen. It radiated brilliance, almost alive.
The man closed his fist, “Powerful is it not?”
Naz swallowed saliva that had formed in his throat. “I’ve never seen such a stone.” His grip on the axe had weakened.
“Few have. This is what your world’s scholars calls Dragon Stones.”
“You’re speaking to the wrong person.” He nodded toward Yish, “I mine rock, she knows conjurors law.”
“And that is why she is here.”
Naz felt his muscles slacken. “Who are you?”
“Let us settle on friends. The elf will survive. She suffered thaumatic shock trying to pull you through the portal. Untreated it would turn her feral.”
“I see,” said Naz, although he didn’t really. He looked again at her frame. Save the loss of life lustre she could have been asleep. “What now?”
“We wait to see if she finds the path back with the knowledge we seek.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then another must go in to retrieve her élan vital.”
“Or…” Naz trailed off.
“She remains indefinitely inside the conjurors lock until the body decays and what she was moves on.”
“As with all sorcerers, you speak in riddles. What are you really after?”
The man smiled opening his palm to reveal the moonstone. “I need to know where the Sapphire is.”
Naz stared once more at the Dragon Stone. It’s luminescence drew his gaze, almost hypnotic. “She’s alive you know.”
The man snapped his hand closed again, “Where dwarf?”
Naz also saw the dragon perched on his staff turn to face him. If he were not mistaken the tiny head shook left to right. He could feel something trying to probe his mind. We are one, do not reveal where my sister lies. Never before had he heard another voice save his own there. Another resilience dwarves held was an immunity to sending. Yet if he were not mistaken this carving had just done so.
“How would I know?” Hatred spawned. Revealing the moonstone had allowed a connection to form. He needed Yish.
###
Her despair fled. As fist rose from the desk, dust splayed and another edge of parchment offered itself. This was even more yellowed in time, desiccated and ready to crumble. Except something wanted it to be seen. She blinked again. Trick of the eye? No, this was powerful, it wanted to be read. Fears of a trap fled. In one she may be, but traps can be double edged.
These were very old. Glyphs she had no knowledge of, or way to enact a translation. Yet light radiated from sections, highlighted them. Drew her to the text.
Seer masters have isolated a cult. A conspiracy that draws and infuses hatred. They want the Stones. The power to control that which cannot be.
It skipped.
One is left. It’s Rider fell. The portal was closed. It haunts the wyvern graveyard now. Waiting on a blacksmith lost in a tomb. The Emerald will find a way, Sapphire fled. The rest are unaccounted for.
Her thoughts were intercepted. It was the strongest send she had ever known. The dwarf is in great danger.
Yish felt her stomach churn. The more her eyes tracked the parchment the more her established pretexts on her Guilds historical law decayed. She was isolated in a conjurors bubble.
Not bubble, mind trap. The voice again.
If true she was in even greater danger. If her body was destroyed then everything she was would die. She needed Naz. To contain a mind lock required close proximity. This was easier than a bubble but required external assistance. But how to tell the dwarf?
###
Naz also had problems. His head felt numb. Not ever knowing what a send felt like had created a mind fog. He felt dislocated from reality. Worse still he knew his axe was raised and had no idea why.
Fool, kill him. The dragon glared at him.
“Come dwarf, where is the Sapphire?” The man moved toward him, seeming oblivious to the axe. He gestured to another who drew a dagger. This one started toward the elf.
“I thought you needed her,” Naz snarled.
“That was before we knew you could read the Stone.” The man raised his staff.
Naz moved to block the cleric with the blade. Without thinking his axe skew upwards and the one before him folded. Lifeblood soon soaked the floor.
One left the room. Not fled, his subconscious noted, but perhaps to summon aid. The man he’d first met smiled. Naz knew he was a sorcerer. What caught his attention was the dragon. It’s maw opened as it twisted backwards to rake the hand holding its stave.
The cleric screamed as fingers failed to respond. His staff fell. Naz took no time to think and a head soon joined it on the floor.
The moonstone fell loose. Take it Dwarf.
He glanced at Yish. Her body was soaked in perspiration.
In his free hand rested the stone. Vibrant, alive and, if he were not mistaken, pulsating.
Ozone filled his nostrils. The edge of reality blinked out and he found himself lying on a forest floor next to a monolith. Beside him Yish lay groaning.
“What just happened?” He spoke to an empty wood. The words barely a whisper.
“Elder portal Naz,” Yish was groggy. We passed through a reality field.
“Naturally.”
She tried not to smirk. “It’s an interrogation wall created to stop the enemy just dropping through unannounced. None of it was real.”
“It felt real.”
“I know.”
The dwarf rested against a tree stump. In his hand lay the purest blue gem he’d ever seen. To one side a witchwood staff lay with a carving of a sleeping beast.
“Naz.”
“Yes.”
”Where did you get that?”
“From an imaginary dragon that was a carving of an owl on that staff wielded by a madman. He said it was a Dragon Stone.”
“The Sapphire,” Yish knelt to look at it. That means….”
How do you feel about the F15EX against China’s 5th generation fighters, especially dog fights?
Dog Fights aren’t decisive nor are they entirely determined by quality of the aircraft
Unless you are flying a World War I Fokker or Sopwith against an F-15, you cannot 100% say with absolute confidence that one aircraft will beat the other
It depends on who gets a lock on first
It depends on who fires the first missile
The F-15 can carry more missiles but if the J-16 Pilot gets a lock first, then he gets a huge advantage
It depends on Pilot Quality as well
So comparing Specs and saying so many Kilos or so much speed or so much range will not be of much use in a dogfight
Speeds are nearly same , anything more than 1.8 Mach evens any gap in a dogfight and the J-16 and F-15 both are > 2 Mach
Ultimately it’s about
A. No of Pilots
B. Production Capacity
Even if the F-15EX is so superior that it can down Chinese Aircraft at 3:1 , if China can out produce at the rate of 6:1 – ultimately China will gain Air Superiority
Likewise if China has more pilots, it can replace pilots faster than the other side
In either case, regardless of a 10% or 15% superior aircraft, the ultimate battle will be lost
Democrats Have A Man Problem – Dumpster Fire 152
What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
I was hanging out in an obscure club that was known for its good music. I saw a guy on the other side drinking a beer with an attractive girlfriend, he was a not too big guy about 5”10”.
At one point a guy with a black leather jacket walked up to the guy and stood very close to him and looked him straight in the face, the guy was about half a head taller, the smaller guy then turned around and looked the other way.
The bigger guy turned with him and looked him straight in the eye again, then the smaller guy put his beer down and something was said very briefly. The bigger guy got his head very close to the smaller guy’s face and then all hell broke loose, the smaller guy headbutted the guy, grabbed him by the neck and threw a volley of punches and pushed him through the club while punching him without getting a single punch back. Bouncers came running and grabbed the bigger guy with his heavily bloodied face and threw him out of the club. The smaller boy was spoken to and he and his girlfriend were escorted out of the club through the back door.
It turned out that the bigger guy picked someone to pick a fight with every week while his friends were waiting outside. I heard later that he really picked the wrong guy, he was an experienced kickboxer.
Why do you think USA is so powerful?
I don’t.
Oh, it used to be. That’s for certain.
The Untied States has always been crafty; slick, and capable of surprise. But today, it’s really just a shadow of it’s former self.
It’s a plutocracy run military empire. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, if it kept on reinventing itself. But it stopped sometime during the early 1960’s. It’s just been playing the “hand of cards” that it holds, over and over. Now everyone knows what it plays. No new surprises.
It’s in late-stage decline.
No one has been more fitting a President for a death-bed nation than “president” Biden. I think ye God’s have been prescient in this matter.
Trump was, and still is, the “dark horse”.
The question is really, can the United States take such disruption at this time after the fiasco that was the “Biden presidency”? I don’t know.
Neocon war hawk “giggles” Harris has a big red circle on her calendar for world war III.
Nothing good about that.
I’ll tell you what.
So, let’s just step back…
What makes a nation powerful?
- A large middle class.
- A prosperous middle class.
- A wide and broad manufacturing base.
- Inexpensive and healthy food.
- Easy and cheap health care.
- Reasonable housing.
- No to low taxation.
If a nation has most of those criteria, then you can say that it is power in the eyes of it’s citizenry.
Sadly, the United States has NONE of that.
Let’s see how the United States stacks up this 2024…
- Shrinking middle class, large poor class.
- A prosperous oligarchy class.
- Selective manufacturing in profitable sectors.
- Expensive and unhealthy food.
- Expensive health care.
- Expensive housing.
- High taxes + fees + fines
Nope, the USA is not a powerful nation. It is a dying nation.
In case you all are wondering…
I want the United States to SURVIVE.
But for it to survive, it NEEDS to change. There is no other way to say it. It has to change in a fundamental way; at a fundamental level.
War is typically the engine of change…
…but I am very hopeful for a peaceful “revolution”.
…
Of the two political parties in the USA, neither is capable of change.
But the Trump ticket is the BEST BET.
Even though he advocates the craziest things… such as 100% tariffs and a economic war against BRICS+… he is the best hope for Americans. You see, he understands that the Domestic needs of the nation come first.
Harris, on the other hand, is a clueless tool for the oligarchy.
I have buckled on my seat belt, and shifted gears into low gear. My foot is on the brake. But I cannot stop the speeding fiasco from hitting the wall. All that I can hope for is a reduction in the amount of damage.
…
Meanwhile, here is MoA’s take…
Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, is an empty vessel. Voters have never liked her. I have seen her nicknamed Incitata. It fits. The favorite horse of Roman Emperor Caligula was named Incitatus (from Latin ‘incitare’ – ‘to encourage’):
According to Suetonius, in the Lives of the Twelve Caesars (121 AD), Caligula planned to make Incitatus a consul, and the horse would “invite” dignitaries to dine with him in a house outfitted with servants there to entertain such events. Suetonius also wrote that the horse had a stable of marble, with an ivory manger, purple blankets and a collar of precious stones.
Calligula’s idea was to mock the Senate.
The blob is doing likewise with the public by offering someone who has no initiative of her own but will faithfully defend the implementation of anything the blob will desire. She is the most more-of-the-same candidate I can think of.
Harris and Trump are the two politicians with the most negative public ratings. That they are the only choices available makes the whole theater a mockery of the public.
One can conclude that U.S. is some form of oligarchy with a facade that is supposed to look like – but is not – a democracy.
My Fiancée Cheated On Me At A Funeral! Now She’s Groveling For A 2nd Chance
Have you ever met someone who seemed nice and normal but there was just something about them that didn’t seem right?
Me 🙋🏼♀️ Oh let me answer this one.
I rarely dated. Rarely. I wanted to but. Another post. A beautiful lady in my dads church became a friend outside of church and she told me one day she had a single son who lived a few hours away.
He was a mortician and was very wealthy and also my age. His picture wasn’t bad in the old yearbook I found at the school where I taught. We exchanged numbers through his mom. We talked on the phone for hours. After a few weeks he drove down to meet me. Beautiful fancy car. Not too bad looking really and polite etc. nice car. Millionaire.
but.
something felt off. I didn’t see him again.
fast forward about 4 years and my mom sent me a link to a story. Local mortician murders wife with mistress. He killed his professional attractive wife with his less than plain crazy eyed cashier mistress. KILLED HER.
I was once again reminded that I need to trust my intuition. Always. Trust. Your. Intuition.
What bad experience had you saying “I will never buy from that company or use their service ever again”?
3 strikes.
Local BMW dealership. Bought a certified pre-owned car, all good, sales guy was great! No problem.
Start to service it there….service guys always trying to upcharge; deny warranty coverages, etc. Always arguing with them. Strike 1.
Go there to trade car on new model. Same salesman. Find the right car and he asks me to wait until Monday to close the deal (our discussion was on Sat) because he was off on Sunday. Fine. Ask him if he wanted a deposit; nope, “You’re a valued customer.” Back on Monday, no car. Sold and delivered on Sunday. Strike 2. Bought elsewhere.
Big worldwide BMW brake problem this year. Couldn’t deliver cars. Same dealership, after searching elsewhere (did I say that I live in Montgomery Cnty, Maryland?). Saw a car in inventory that would work. Asked sales guy (not the same one as past two transactions…) if the car was available for delivery. Answer, yes! But then added that it couldn’t be test-driven…hmmm. Wanted a deposit and a contract. Nope. Like all other BMW’s, it was subject to recall, non-deliverable. Strike 3.
You’re DEFINITELY out!
Why do Chinese people buy iPhones when Americans don’t buy Chinese smartphones? Why is iPhone still so popular in China and it’s diaspora despite Huawei’s bullying?
While the iPhone once stood as an unchallenged symbol of status and modernity, its grip is loosening as domestic brands like Huawei and Xiaomi rise to prominence, increasingly favored by the local population.
This shift is not just about economics; it’s deeply cultural and generational. For many years, iPhones were the hallmark of technological luxury in China. The elite and aspiring middle class saw Apple’s gadgets as a blend of prestige and pioneering technology—a way to connect with a global, modern identity. However, as Chinese technology brands like Huawei and Xiaomi have ascended, they’ve begun to symbolize national pride and technological self-sufficiency, appealing especially to the younger Chinese demographics.
The younger generation, growing up during China’s rapid rise as a tech superpower, sees high value in what local brands represent—innovation, quality, and national pride. This shift is profoundly marked among consumers who prefer to support domestic brands that now compete on an equal footing with international giants in terms of innovation and sophistication.
Apple’s iPhone, although still respected for its quality and innovation, is no longer the default status symbol it once was. The allure of Huawei and Xiaomi lies not only in their competitive technology but also in their pricing and the statement they make about the consumer’s loyalty to nationally produced goods. They are viewed as champions of the “Made in China” label, turning from a sign of economical choice to one of national pride and high-quality manufacturing.
Consequently, if Apple intends to regain or maintain its foothold in the Chinese market, it needs to do more than leverage its brand. It must innovatively connect with the Chinese consumers’ evolving identity and values, which increasingly favor national achievements and products. Apple will need to rethink how it positions itself, perhaps by highlighting its contributions to the local economy or technology sector, to resonate with the national sentiments and pride that brands like Huawei and Xiaomi currently embody.
In essence, the narrative of the smartphone market in China is changing. The story now champions local innovation and national pride, with Huawei and Xiaomi at the forefront, illustrating a significant shift in what defines status and desirability in technology among the Chinese populace. Apple’s next moves in this dynamic market will be crucial in determining its place in the evolving landscape of global tech influence in China.
Flare
Submitted into Contest #196 in response to: Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.… view prompt
C. Charles
This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.
* * *
The brightness and the heat subsided after a couple of minutes. But here was something different about the world around them; instead of returning to its normal bustling self with birds chirping, bees drifting lazily between flowers in the meadow and cicadas buzzing in the heat, the woods seemed eerily quiet and still, as if the fauna was afraid that the sun would look down in anger at them again.
Jeff and Lauren sat in the woods for ten minutes after the heat subsided, sharing the fears of the wildlife around them. Jeff stood up. “Seems normal now.” He said. “I wonder what the hell that was.”
“I’m not sure.” replied Lauren. “But I don’t want it to happen again.”
“Whatever it was scrambled the radio signal. Before we head back I’m gonna see if I can get a station and maybe some news about it. That couldn’t have only happened to us right?” Jeff asked. Lauren shook her head. He grabbed the radio off of his backpack and walked to the edge of the trees. Lauren looked up into the sky. The once bright, white clouds backed by a brilliantly blue July sky seemed to be gathering and a breeze was blowing where the air was still and hot before.
“I think whatever that was messed with the weather too.” Lauren said as Jeff flicked the radio on. The speaker began to spill static. He started trying to tune the radio, first to the pop station, then rock and then country. The radio squealed and whistled between tunings, settling on static every time.
“Damn.” He said as he turned the radio off. “It must’ve done something to the power grid or the relay towers too.”
“I think it was a solar flare. I don’t know what else it could’ve been.” Lauren said.
“A what?” Jeff asked.
“A solar flare.” she repeated. “It’s a burst of electromagnetic radiation from the sun. We learned about them in my Astronomy class.”
“You need to know Astronomy to be a Meteorologist?” Jeff asked, helping Lauren to her feet.
“It’s an elective smart ass.” Lauren replied. “I don’t remember anyone saying it could raise the temperature on the ground 30 degrees in a minute and a half. But I do remember something about a solar flare causing fires and electrocuting telegraph operators in the 1800’s.” she said.
“Never heard of them.” Jeff said.
Lauren looked at the sky. “The clouds are closing in and the wind is picking up. I think there might be a storm coming, and it’s probably gonna be a doozy. We’d better get back before we get struck by lightning.”
“I’m waiting on you, Ms. Pavelski.” Jeff replied. Lauren shot back an unimpressed look
They set off across the meadow, back the way they came, their eyes on the sky. There was little blue showing now and the grey clouds were darkening quickly. The wind was starting to blow harder in gusts, making the grass bend and the leaves in the trees shake and dance. “Fuck.” Said Lauren. They were about halfway across the meadow. “There’s no way we’re gonna make it back before this storm hits. They weren’t even calling for any rain when I heard the weather this morning.” she said. “What are we gonna do?”
“I guess try to find a low lying area and wait it out.” Jeff said looking back. Lauren groaned when she saw the nervous look in his eyes.
Lauren felt a few fat rain drops on top of her head. She looked up into the dark and ominous sky, the wind blowing hard around her and groaned. “Dammit” said Jeff. “This is fucked.” At that moment there was a rumble of thunder. “I think I remember there being a little rock face not far into the woods that we can take shelter under.” Jeff said. The rain was starting to fall just as the clouds overhead thundered again. They both quickened their pace.
As they reached the edge of the trees there was a flash of lightning followed by a thunderclap. They began to weave their way through the path in the trees, stepping through showers of rain where the canopy overhead was less dense. The wind was blowing harder and the sound of the rain on the leaves was getting louder. Jeff said something up ahead. “What?!” Lauren yelled back.
Jeff turned to yell what he had said “I said that rock was ju-” Lightning flashed and thunder cracked simultaneously, shaking the ground underneath them. It made them jump. “That rock is just up here!” yelled Jeff over the storm. He took Lauren’s hand and began to pull her down the path. There was another flash and crash and the ground shook again, harder. The rain was breaking through the leaves overhead and soaking them.
Through the wind and rain, Lauren could feel the vellus hair on her body stand on end and she could’ve sworn that the hair on her head was beginning to lift despite the weight of the water. The air around them began to crackle and she could hear static above the noise of the storm.
A bolt of lightning struck the tree 20 feet in front of them. The force of the strike knocked them backwards, the shape of the bolt burned purple on their retinas. They both sat up and stared at the tree, mouths agape. It was split in two, each side blackened and smoking. There was a hole in the ground where the lightning had passed through the tree, exposing desiccated roots. There was even a line on the halved tree that was glowing red with heat. “Jeff…” Lauren whimpered. Jeff pulled his eyes away from the smoking, bisected tree.
“Are you all right?” He asked. Lauren nodded numbly. “OK come on!” he said, pulling her up. They started back down the path again when Jeff slowed to a stop as lightning and thunder struck again.
“Why are we stopping?!” Lauren cried.
“Look at the tree.” Jeff said absently. Lauren looked. The red line of heat that they had seen glowing on the tree wasn’t on the tree at all, but was suspended in midair and getting larger. “What the fuck is happening?!” cried Jeff. The line was casting a dim, red glow on Jeff’s terrified face.
“I don’t know.” Lauren said. “But I think we should leave.” She began to pull Jeff down the path but he was frozen in place. The line was now six feet long and getting wider. It was glowing so brightly that it was casting red light on the trees around them. “Jeff, we have to go!” She screamed at him. “For fuck’s sake Jeff LET’S GO!” she screamed, pulling him harder. He shook himself and began to follow her, his eyes wide with fear.
They started down the path, the red glow blanketing the woods around them as if they were in a photo lab dark room. Leaves and dirt from the forest floor were flying past them. Lauren felt as if every step was getting harder to take, like she was walking through mud. She noticed that the wind had changed direction; instead of blowing at their backs, it was coming towards them.
She tried to take another step but couldn’t. She felt like a coin being pulled across a table by a magnet and the pull was getting stronger. They fell backwards from the force. They started to be dragged across the ground, the woods around them bathed in red, the trees creaking and bending towards the growing light. They slammed into a tree and struggled to their feet, Jeff against the tree and Lauren pressed against Jeff’s back. “It’s trying to pull us in!” Jeff yelled.
They heard cracking as branches snapped from the trees around them. The wind was roaring loudly; Lauren was screaming and could hear and feel Jeff screaming too. The cracking around them grew louder and deeper and Lauren watched through squinted eyes as trees began to break and be ripped from the ground. The tree they were being pressed against was pitching towards the light. Lauren could feel the tree straining and creaking through Jeff’s body and she knew it too would be ripped from the ground at any second. Lauren heard Jeff try to say something but couldn’t make it out.
The tree split at the trunk and was propelled forward, Jeff and Lauren hurtling after it. Lauren managed to get a look at the light as she flew towards it. It was now a massive red orb glowing so brightly it burned her eyes like the sun had earlier. It seemed to be swallowing the entire forest. As they got closer, she began to feel like she was being pulled apart, like every fibre in her body was being stretched to its breaking point. Her last thought before colliding with the orb was that they were going through the gate of Hell.
* * *
Lauren could hear howling wind and what sounded like sobbing. She was laying on her back and her head throbbed with pain. She opened her eyes and saw dark, swirling clouds overhead. Clouds like she had never seen before. She sat up and her body ached. She touched her head where the pain was strongest and felt that her hair was heavy, matted and sticky. Blood she thought.
She looked around. There were trees, branches and leaves strewn all around her. Otherwise, the landscape was near barren. In the gloom she could make out small plants and shrubs like those found in the Arctic tundra. She got unsteadily to her feet and felt dizzy and weak from her head injury. “LAUREN!” She heard from behind her. She turned to see Jeff laying on the ground. It was his sobbing she had heard. “I thought you were dead!” he cried.
“Jeff…” She said dazedly. “Oh my God, JEFF!” She began to make her way towards him through the debris.
“Lauren please help me!” He cried.
“Oh my God your leg!” She gasped. One of his legs was crushed beneath a large tree like the one they had tried to hide behind. “I’m stuck and I can’t feel my leg.” He sobbed. Lauren could see the bottom of his leg sticking out from underneath the tree, purple, swollen and bloody. She was sure it would have to be amputated. She turned and vomited, making Jeff cry harder.
“I’m sorry.” She said weakly, wiping her mouth. She ran over to him and fell to her knees and held him, stroking his hair. “I’m going to try and get you out of here.” She said shakily. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know!” He sobbed. “But I want to go home. Please take me home! Please take me home!” He repeated over and over. He was in shock.
“Oh God.” Lauren said, standing up and stepping over the tree. “OK. Try to relax. Let me see if I can move this tree.” She knew she couldn’t.
Movement in the distance caught her eye and she whipped her head to look. There was a creature moving on all fours from left to right ahead of them, only there was something strange about the way it moved. “There’s something over there.” Lauren said.
“I want my Mom. Please take me home! Please take me home!” Jeff blubbered.
The creature began to sprint towards them at ferocious speed, without breaking stride. Lauren realized it had looked unnatural before because it had been moving sideways like a crab. The creature was closing the gap at an immense pace, clouds of dust rising behind it.
Lauren screamed and leapt over the tree to where Jeff was. She stumbled around him and bent down, wrapping her arms under his to pull. His words melted into screams, sharp and shrill like blasts on a whistle. She was pulling as hard as she could to no avail. Jeff’s body was ripped from Lauren’s arms accompanied by what sounded like someone tearing a wet shirt in half. She fell backwards.
Lauren watched as the creature rose up and placed its front legs on the tree. It had reached them in total silence. Hulking, grey and leathery, it stared at them with yellow, demonic eyes. It was like no Earthly creature Lauren had ever seen. “IS THAT MY LEG?!” Jeff screamed. Jeff’s severed leg was hanging out of its mouth. The creature bit down and they could hear the bones splintering in its teeth. Lauren felt her bladder let go, warm urine pooling beneath her.
The creature discarded Jeff’s leg and dropped its body, preparing to pounce. The creature leapt in what seemed like slow motion. Its hips and shoulders jutted at strange angles. Its large yellow eyes rolled back in its head, like a shark. Its enormous mouth was open, revealing rows and rows of sharp, bloody teeth. As the creature flew through the air, Lauren covered her face but it was no use. The creature was upon them.
My Wife Said: Neighbor Had a Horse-Sized Stick! That’s Why She Cheated On Me!
What was your strangest experience in an American ghetto?
I was pregnant, and as big as a house. My car broke down in the barrio (Cubans, I think) when an old man got up from his porch, came down to the car, and fetched me back up to his porch to sit in his chair. “Come! Sit! No worry; I fix!” And for the next hour and 20 minutes, he worked on my car, in the heat of the afternoon, while I sat, bemused, in his chair.
He called out to his neighbors. Two other men came down to help. They argued in Spanish too fast for me to follow, with lots of hand-waving and raised voices. At one point, he suddenly stopped, went inside while his neighbors kept poking at my car’s innards and arguing, and fixed me a sandwich. He sent someone for parts.
Finally, he climbed inside, and started the car. Then he got out, beaming as he helped me down off the porch and into the driver’s seat, and told me it was good to go. I tried to get him to take money, for the parts at least, but he refused. “Name your son Jesus; after me. It was fun. Thank you for letting me help.”
“But, why? All of this! The help, the expense?!”
“You’re like the Madonna. Pregnant, far from home, in need of help. So, I helped. It’s for Her I do this. And, it was fun; Thank You!”
I burst into tears. Christian charity, hospitality, and gentlemanly behavior, for the love of God. So, I thanked him again, and drove off.
PS:I had a daughter, not a son, so no, we don’t have a baby Jesus. To protect her privacy, I won’t tell you her name.
I am a lazy cook, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. It’s delicious!
– 1/4 cup soy sauce
– 2 tablespoons brown sugar
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
– 2 tablespoons sesame oil
– 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
– 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
– 1 medium onion, sliced
– 2 green onions, chopped
– 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
– Optional: 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for heat
– To make this dish even more filling, add some thinly sliced carrots or bell peppers to the pan before cooking. They’ll roast up nicely with the beef.
– Marinade time can be flexible—for those super crazy days, even a quick 5-minute soak can work, but if you’ve got the time, let the beef sit for up to an hour to really deepen those flavors.
– Leftovers (if there are any!) make an amazing filling for tacos or topping for salads the next day. Trust me, this beef bulgogi is the gift that keeps on giving.
China is lacking women, so where do Chinese people usually buy wives besides China?
That is nonsense. Many female births were simply not registered.
What is Japan’s stance on the Taiwan conflict?
Japan wants to use the Taiwan question as an opportunity to break through the “peaceful constitution” formulated after World War II.
The ultimate goal of Japan’s excessive pro-Americanism, ostensibly “obedience,” is actually to free Japan from the shackles of postwar regulations and to become a country without shackles. As you can imagine, Japan is expected to be in bed with the G7 in order to please its American masters.
Japan’s biggest problem is that it does not acknowledge the heinous crimes committed in history, and once it becomes a wild horse off the leash, I am afraid it will still cause harm to the world and has to be guarded against.
At this stage, Japan’s secret mind is seeing the decline of the United States and its inability to check other countries, and Japan hopes to take this opportunity to realise its ambitions and grow in strength.
In this situation, Japan used the excuse of interfering in the Taiwan question to break through the post-war “peace constitution”, and the Americans would not object, and will loosen the leash for Japan.
But, the risk Japan needs to take is the possibility of being knocked back to the Stone Age by China and Russia.
Japan, of course, knows clearly that China, the United States and Russia, it can not afford to offend any one of them. Therefore, at the critical moment, Japan will ride the wall and see the situation. After all, as the only country on earth to have been bombed by atomic bombs, the Japanese know the horror of a nuclear explosion. Nor did Japanese want to suffer a second nightmare.
As a former lackey in bondage to the United States, helping the U.S. deal with China and Russia is not Japan’s purpose – Japan’s real goal is to break away from the U.S. grip and take the opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in the post-war peace constitution and become a “normal country”.
Taiwan is just 1 pawn to be used by various countries.
If you’re against the creation of a Palestinian state, what do you think should happen to the Palestinians? Should the status quo be maintained forever or should they all be deported elsewhere?
As in all things, the proper answer to this question is found in Islam!
As the Qu’ran teaches us, a defeated people ‘must be made to feel subdued.’
Muhammad teaches that you have to TEACH people that they lost! It’s really brilliant.
The methods he uses are this: First, the losers must become ‘dhimmi’ – ‘one whose responsibility is taken’. Second class citizens. No votes, no power.
Second, the Dhimmi must pay the ‘jizya’ – a tax on every head for the ability to live.
Those two things – no rights, and must pay a tax to live – are how you make a lost people ‘to feel subdued.’
So to achieve this; first! The Palestinians must lay down their weapons and surrender completely. No ‘taqiyya’, no dissembling, no faking. This is not a ‘hudna’ or temporary cease-fire to re-arm – it is a complete unconditional surrender.
Second, they must remain in their ghettos, namely Gaza and let’s say Section A of the West Bank for now. (The word ‘ghetto’ is here chosen intentionally.)
Third, all of the money that had gone to UNRWA must go to Israel. Israel, being stupid, will spend some part of it on the Palestinians; but should keep the greatest part for themselves as conquerors.
With this, the Palestinians will have to rebuild; only garnering scraps and crumbs from Israel as a pass-through on the ‘jizya’ that they are paying to live.
If they can go, say, 20 years without another violent incident – no terrorism, no intifada-ing, no stabbing, not a single rock thrown – then perhaps they might graduate to become citizens of their own country in some two-state process. They have to EARN it through submission.
Until then, they must undergo a harsh ‘Dhimmitude’ as it is called.
It’s the only way.
Don’t argue with me, argue with Muhammad! He’s the one who set this down!
Is WW3 now a possibility?
The answer to this question WW3 is already underway. The West’s lack of understanding when Russia was asking us to see how the Russian speaking people in east Ukraine were being treated by Ukraine nationalists. We did not listen so Russia had to take matters into its own hands. The sanctions against Russia by western countries are not working and they never will. Tariff’s on goods from China will not work.
Take BRICS for example Brazil, Russia, India and China and who has joined recently South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates. These are some of the biggest mineral rich countries in the world.
These are countries that can trade and flourish amongst themselves they do not need us in the west. We will be left behind. Germany are already suffering since the Gas stop flowing from Russia. Their private citizens have their electricity cut off during the day so Germany can run it’s industry. Something I know for a fact because I have a friend who lives in Berlin. We do not hear of this on our news media. Companies like VW are laying off workers because they cannot compete with cheap cars coming from the east. Something there management said would never happen.
The trade war has already began and if I know my history trade wars lead to wars of conflict.
One other conflict which will turn the tide even faster on an unexpected world. The slaughter of the innocent in the middle east. Initially by Hamas now by Israel and now Hezbollah have joined the fray. Iran has flexed it’s mussel also in the conflict. My heart sinks when I see innocent children being killed, because adult people do not know how to live in Peace. I pray each night for peace in the world. My fear is no one is listening.
I would go as far as to say that the USA will support these ongoing conflicts because they want to take out Iran once and for all. Iran to the US is still the axis of evil. First named by George W. Bush of Iran, Iraq and North Korea. There are more American military bases in countries surrounding Iran than there are in the rest of the world.
In regards to the European Union. The longer the conflict in Ukraine goes on, the economies in Europe will suffer. Russia will not and if Ursula Gertrude von der Leyen had her way she would try and create a European army and call it the Fourth Reich.
She wants a direct war with Russia to get us to do what Hitler could not do. Her German arrogance and pride is in abundance and so visually obvious every time I see her speak. She wants to lead the Fourth Reich.
I hate to say it but world war 3 is possible and it’s happening right now. Until with get a person into power with diplomatic negotiation skills for peace the world is FUCCCCKED. God bless to all and have a nice day, because there are an awful lot of people in the world who are not.
Shorpy
What has a car dealer done to cause you to never buy his brand again?
A Dodge dealer refused to correct my fuel tank size issue.
In 1988 I bought a brand new Dodge Dakota pickup truck. I drive a lot in some very rural parts of California. So I ordered the extra range fuel tank. It should have held 20 gallons versus the normal 16 gallons. It cost me a little extra.
After a couple of months I noticed that I never put more than 15 gallons in my tank. I had to assume that they had installed the small tank in my truck. So I took it to the dealer and asked them to investigate.
A service guy crawled under the truck with a flashlight. He showed me that there was nothing on the tank that told him the size. There was no part number of anything that they could reference.
So they told me that in order to work on it, they would need to drop the tank. But that I would need to sign a waiver that released them from liability if my truck should later catch fire. I refused to sign such a waiver, and they refused to fix my truck.
They then suggested that I prove to them that it wasn’t a 20 gallon tank by running it dry, then putting 20 gallons in. I refused to do that too. It had fuel injectors. I wasn’t going to risk running out of fuel on a freeway, or in the middle of nowhere. And damaging my engine and injectors. Just to prove to them that they screwed up.
So they refused to investigate and we never got past it.
I escalated my problem to Dodge corporate. They wrote back and told me to take it up the dealer that I bought my truck from. The same stupid dealer that refused to simply replace the tank with the correct size. And wanted me to damage my engine to prove that Dodge screwed up.
So I never got my money back. They never fixed my tank.
I wrote back to Dodge telling them that they lost a customer for life. And that every time I saw their name on the gate of my truck it served to remind me how they don’t care about their customers. They didn’t bother to respond.
So I will never buy another Chrysler product in my life. And I will tell everyone who cares to listen about how little they care about their paying customers.
That was Crown Dodge in Ventura California, if anyone cares. Amazingly they are still around.
U.S. Diplomatic Staff UNDER ATTACK in Congo
Flash: Currently, US Diplomatic personnel in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are under attack.
Their homes have been overrun by violet mobs.
An Emergency situation is unfolding and a possible evacuation order is now imminent.
Developing fast. Check back for more.
UPDATE 5:19 PM EST —
As of now, shelter in place orders are still in effect for US personnel. No embassy personnel that I can find have been injured, but many have had their houses completely looted.
Families are being evacuated on ordered departure to Brazzaville across the river.
The situation remains tense.
Have you ever caught your neighbor doing something that made you furious?
I didn’t get furious. I got vengeful.
I had neighbors on both sides. On one side were two ladies, of the lesbian persuasion & their three children. One weekend I saw them putting a security camera on their front porch, kind of aimed toward my property.
The next weekend I caught them outside & we had a conversation. Somebody was messing with their property & damaging their kids stuff.
I set up some infrared cameras in my back yard connected to a laptop in my utility room. A couple of nights later there was my neighbor from the other side cutting across my backyard to their house.
I made a barbed wire “tangle foot” net & laid it between the storage buildings I had back there. I would go out after dark & arrange it & pull it back in the morning.
We had great fun watching him trip & fall into the net & then try to extricate himself in the dark, which he finally did. I made DVDs of it & distributed it to other neighbors.
We were mostly conservative politically. But, nobody liked seeing our peaceful neighbors, whose biggest transgression was having the best landscaping in the neighborhood, being messed with.
What is the most memorable life lesson you’ve learned, and how did it shape you?
My mother’s husband showed up at my door at 7 am. He never visits without an invitation. Let alone at 7 am.
“There’s been an accident. Dale’s in Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He broke his neck. It doesn’t look good.”
Dale was 24. One year my junior. He was tall, good looking, athletic, fun and down to earth. He had a young wife, a new home, a 2 year old daughter and a 3 week old son. This couldn’t happen. But it did.
Dale had a C3–4 break with a 2–3 disability. In layman’s terms, he was paralyzed from the neck down. A hair’s breadth better than Christopher Reeve. Dale needed the ventilator only in the beginning. His life hung in the balance and the scales were tipped by sheer will—-Dale’s will to live. The prognosis was 3- 5 years.
Dale lived for 19.
One of my favourite memories of Dale is of him sitting in my mother’s living room with the instructions for the VCR spread across his lap. Mel, my eldest was 9. Megan, my other daughter, and Erin, his daughter were both 7. David, Dale’s son was 5.
Dale got those kids to connect the VCR to the TV so they could watch movies together at the farm. This was back in the 80’s when VCR’S were just becoming popular. Dale never hooked one up before his accident. It was all foreign to the kids. Our mom was a major technophobe.; she had fled to the barn to look after the horses before I got there.
And the VCR worked!
The life lesson?
Well, there are a bunch of them:
- Don’t take life for granted. It can be turned upside down at the speed of light.
- Sometimes lives are lengthened by sheer willpower.
- Most of the time “I can’t” really means “I choose not to.” Dale was physically incapable of hooking up the VCR. He chose to guide those kids to success.
- Kids listen better when they feel needed and respected.
- That saying, “Those who can, do and those who can’t, teach” has a deeper layer of meaning for me than it does for most others.
- Just because someone is helpless doesn’t mean they are useless.
Dale got to watch his kids grow into amazing young adults. He organized adventures and ensured every joyous moment was captured on film. He enriched all our lives.
25 years later, I still cry when I hear The Hollies sing, “He ain’t Heavy; He’s My Brother”.
7. As long as you are alive, those who have gone before live on in your heart.
8. Added October 25, 2024 What I didn’t realize until until today was was that my brother’s voice became his lifeline to the world. It was the one thing he could fully control, and he wielded it with wisdom, humor, and strength. Through his words, he not only taught, but he inspired, encouraged, and stayed connected with all of us. His voice became a testament to the indomitable spirit that lived within him.
Will Boobs Unite or Divide Us? – Dumpster Fire 136
Is it worth being a cop today?
In my opinion, no it is not. When I first started, it definitely was.
I started in the early 2000s and I absolutely loved being a police officer. There wasn’t so much hate towards police and city government would actually let you do your job. If somebody shoplifted, they went to jail. If a homeless guy was out on the street smoking meth, he got locked up.
About 10 years into my career, that all changed. Started changing around the Michael Brown incident but really changed after George Floyd.
The easiest way for city and county government not to get involved in incidents is just to have their police do less. Basically not allow cops to be cops.
This is why you have seen crime go up. Most police officers aren’t really allowed to do their jobs. Here’s a good example.
The city I worked and always had a ton of shoplifters. The court system was pretty hard on them because it made it hard on business owners. About 10 years into my career, they didn’t even want us to arresting shoplifters anymore. They wanted us issuing citations. What do you think happened? Shoplifting got worse. There was less consequences. A lot of people shoplift to sale stuff and buy drugs. They can shoplift a lot more stuff and get a ticket and go about their way.
Though shoplifters would never appear for court so the judge would issue a ton of bench warrants on them and when we did go arrest them, it overflooded the county jail. Then we were told not to go looking for warrants. Think about that. A police officer not going out and serving warrants. Crazy, I know.
So to answer your question, nope. Not worth it at all today. I’m glad I don’t work as a street cop anymore. I loved the early part of my career but the last part of it absolutely sucked. It sucks to watch people and businesses be victims of crimes and you’re not allowed to do a whole lot about it.
That’s the exact reason that a lot of your bigger cities like San Francisco have went to crap.
What is the most gruesome crime you have heard of? Describe it in detail.
Ok, I lived back in Pennsylvania, I worked at Bucks Maximum Security Prison.
I was the intake coordinator for the behavioral health ward.
Remember the saying the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, it was amazing to me how many inmates want to live in the silence of the lamb ward.
But no it’s a poppin place.
One day the warden introduced me to a hulk of a guy, 6”3, easily 220, tatoos from head to toe.
The warden said that Patrick was here for testing could I sit here with Patrick, handcuffed to the chair, brought him a donut and coffee.
We started to talk, about nothing and he had a beautiful laugh. I mean gut wrenching laugh.
Patrick was having tests done throughout the week so Patrick would always be waiting for me,
I brought a coffee and donut and it was nice.
On the last day he was being tested the warden came in with Patrick, and he left saying see ya later pockets.
So I asked why does the warden call you pockets, he was only shackled to the floor, he stood up and dropped his pants.
He had cut his skin where most pants pockets were, only from a young age he wanted pockets out of his skin.
So for twenty years he cut through skin muscle and making them deep enough ment cutting cartilage over and over.
He asked if I wanted to feel them I was fascinated.
This was like fine leather on inside and out about 7 inches deep.
And with that I’m done
What happens to prisoners in prison that commit crimes against the elderly?
I’ll tell you a little story. There was this county jail in the Deep South. One day an offender arrived that had been raping and killing elderly women.
Now this particular jail had a large yard with weight lifting equipment, so most folks made it to recreation. There was a recreation CO that treated inmates respectfully and in a friendly manner and a lot of cons liked him. This officer was well liked because he would go the extra mile to help a guy out if that individual was doing their time right.
Maybe a con could get a free phone call in a private office or received extra trays. In return guys with pull on the yard made sure this CO remained safe and maybe provided him with an occasional favor.
This grandma raper was trying to keep a low profile and had only been locked up in this facility a day when he attempted to go out to recreation and act like he was one of the boys.
The recreation officer casually discussed the case with an influential con. Anyone who was about anything had already been filled in on the details of this particular individuals crimes and it was known that the recreation officer was going to be way on the other side of the rec yard that morning.
The story goes a bunch of White inmates (the offender was White) were joking around and shooting the shit while paying close attention to the grandma rapist in an indirect manner. A con caught the rapist laughing at something one of the guys said and asked him “What’s so funny grandma raper?” The rapist swallowed his smile and suddenly looked terrified. To make a long story short the rapist left the yard in an ambulance and after he left the hospital was taken to a different correctional facility. He and his attorney sued the facility where he received his beat down. I never heard how that turned out.
Even convicts love their grandmas. Elderly convicts are for the most part treated respectfully by youngsters and others on the yard. Many facilities have geriatric wings. Thanks to the phony War on Drugs and the Feds life without parole sentences, there is an inordinate number of elderly cons these days.
Jumping
Submitted into Contest #196 in response to: Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.… view prompt
John Jones
“Stick it where the sun don’t shine and don’t be getting all cocky on me just because you have one good round,” JJ said, punching him in the arm. “Maybe that will throw off your swing.”
Greg went up to the eighteenth tee and striped one right down the middle. “Or not,” he said grinning, flipping JJ the bird. JJ hit his drive, not a bad shot but a little right towards the trees between the fifteenth and eighteenth fairway. It landed in the rough. JJ was good with the shot, he was normally in the rough anyway.
On the fifteenth tee which paralleled the eighteenth hole, Jim, Jim Bo to his friends, took a huge swig of beer before he went and stood on the tee box. He thought he had mad golf skills and the more he drank, the better he thought he played. He had at least six beers so in his mind he was on top of his game. The reality was very different. His golf buddies knew the truth, but there was no telling Jim Bo that. Since he always brought a case of cold ones, except for busting his chops on occasion, they let him have his fantasy. He took a couple of huge practice swings.
“I’m going make this one scream,” he said laughing.
“Just try to keep it on this hole, Jim Bo. We’re tired of looking for your ball,” one of his golf buddies said.
“Screw you, you’re all just jealous.”
“Jealous of a banana slice? I don’t think so. You’re up.”
“Grip it and rip it,” Jim Bo said. He loosened up his shoulders, addressed the ball, and swung with everything he had. It was another huge banana slice, heading over the trees toward the eighteenth fairway. “Damn it,” he exclaimed loudly. “You put that thought into my head.”
“Maybe you should yell Fore, I thought I saw a cart over there.”
“Screw that, there’s nobody over there and if there is, too bad for them,” Jim Bo said nastily, still pissed off about his drive.
Greg found JJ’s ball in the rough and waved to him. “It’s over here.” JJ drove the cart over and surveyed his next shot, pulling out a seven iron. Greg stepped back to give him room, smiling at his ball fifty yards ahead, sitting pretty in the middle of the fairway. It was a beautiful day.
With Greg watching, JJ made a practice swing, lined up the shot, and let it rip. It was a beautiful, high draw that landed in the middle of the green, ten feet from the hole. It was his best shot of the day.
Jim Bo’s ball soared over the trees towards the eighteenth. Since he never yelled Fore, neither Greg nor JJ saw it coming.
“Finally, caught one flush,” JJ said. He turned to Greg who gave him a thumbs up, right before Jim Bo’s ball hit Greg in the forehead.
Blackness.
Sergeant Greg Schank sat behind the wheel of his squad car while his partner Jonesy was getting them coffee from a food truck. They had been partners for two years. Greg couldn’t remember having a better one. They got along great and had pulled each other out of jams more times than he could count. Greg was studying for the lieutenant exam which if he passed and was promoted, got him off the street. It meant losing Jonesy as a partner, but he had worked hard for this. Besides, Jonesy knew and understood. It was the way of things.
“Attention all units, we have a 10-46, bank robbery in progress at Union Bank, 1421 Canal Street. All available units respond.”
It was only three blocks from where they were. “Unit 19 responding. ETA, five minutes. Hey Jonesy, forget the coffee,” he yelled. “We got a 10-46. Move it.”
His partner came at a run and jumped in. Lights flashing and sirens blaring, they took off. They screeched to a halt, both of them jumping out guns drawn just as the McHale brothers came running out of the bank, money bags in hand. Seeing the police, they opened up with assault weapons, causing Schank and Jonesy to dive behind their squad car.
“Just great, pistols against AK47s,” Jonesy exclaimed.
As the McHale brothers kept moving away still firing, Jonesy popped up shooting several rounds in their direction. The two bank robbers turned and hosed down that end of the squad car, one round clipping Jonesy in the shoulder. He went down. Greg grabbed him by his bulletproof vest and drug him further behind the car.
“Where you hit?”
“Shoulder just grazed me. I’m okay. Don’t let them get away.”
“Unit 19, shots fired at the police. Officer down.”
“10-4, Unit 19. Backup and ambulances are inbound to your location.”
“Go Sarge, get them.”
Bent over, Greg used other cars as cover as he ran after the McHales. They lost track of him in their haste to get away before more cops showed up. Greg got parallel with them, rose up, and shot one several times in the chest.
“You shot Mike, you son of a bitch,” the remaining McHale said. With his rifle on full auto, he hosed down where Greg was. He ducked behind the car and moved further ahead. Greg kept moving, reloading as he went. He swung around the front of the car and opened fire. Thinking he was still back where he had shot Mike, McHale never saw him. He took two rounds in the chest which pushed him back against the building. His finger was clamped on the trigger and he kept firing until the clip ran dry. He slumped to the sidewalk dead. One bullet caught the corner of the building behind Greg and ricocheted back across the street, catching Greg in the back which his vest stopped. The impact, however, knocked him forward, his head hitting the car and he fell back.
Blackness.
Slowly coming to, it felt like someone was wiping his face with a warm, wet, smelly washcloth. Greg struggled back to consciousness, trying to remember what happened and where he was. It slowly dawned on him that he was lying on his kitchen floor, but he couldn’t remember how he got there. That happened once in a while when he had been drinking too much, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t the case this time. His head was throbbing like a marching band was playing in it. He put out his hand and found a hairy face an inch from his. He slowly, painfully opened his eyes to see Lucy right there, licking him frantically.
“Okay, okay, girl, back up a little before you lick my face off.”
Lucy started barking excitedly, prancing around him now that he was awake. Groaning and holding his head, he managed to get to his knees and then holding the kitchen counter, got the rest of the way to his feet. He held on tight to it until the room stopped spinning. He now remembered getting leveled by Lucy. He petted the excited dog.
“Wow, you should be playing for the Dallas Cowboys,” he said to her. Other than a huge lump on the back of his head, he felt better. All the experiences he had in the five minutes he was knocked out, flooded back.
“That was the weirdest thing ever. What was all of that?”
Across the Greg Schank multiverse, all the Gregs were waking up, remembering the same weird happenings. They had all experienced this jumping around the different realities, living brief moments of each other’s lives. In the final second that their realities stayed connected, they all had the same thought.
“I would have won that NASCAR race.”
The End
Bagels
The freshest bagels you’ve ever tasted! With Rhodes dough, it couldn’t be easier.
Prep: 20 min – Bake: 20 min – 8 servings
Ingredients
- 16 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- Grated cheese, seeds or spices
Instructions
- Combine 2 rolls together into a nice round ball. Put both pointer fingers through center of the ball and stretch to form a large hole.
- Repeat with remaining rolls.
- Place bagels on a large sprayed baking sheet.
- Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise 30-45 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, bring 6 inches of water with baking soda to a boil.
- Slip bagels, one or two at a time into gently boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds on each side.
- Remove with slotted spoon; drain on cooling rack for a few seconds.
- Return to sprayed baking sheet and sprinkle with cheese or seeds if desired.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
What are your thoughts on US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s call for Brazil to consider the risks of joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative?
The head of the New Development Bank, based in Shanghai, is Dima Rousseff, who was a past president of Brazil, and is a close ally of Lula, Brazil’s current president.
New Development Bank is the BRICS central bank.
Katherine Tai was speaking out of turn and out of place; she should not have said anything.
What was your “that did not just happen” moment in your relationship?
I have been married for 17 years with two amazing children. I spent the first 15 years in a constant state of confusion and self doubt. Every time I tried to leave, he would remind me that I had no job (I used to work but I had to stop because he made it as difficult as possible for me to keep a job, and we had no help from anyone). He would turn things around to make me feel that I wasn’t a good mother (I literally was a full time single mother all those years, he had a business and was rarely around). Everything we did together as a family was a nightmare, he changed plans last minute, we constantly had to be with his family or doing what he wanted. Whenever I tried to talk to him it would end up with an argument and him hurling insults. I felt overwhelmed and trapped and stayed as compliant and quiet as I could while bringing up the children and trying to keep things normal.
Then one morning he returned from a biking trip with a friend and immediately started on at me that the kids weren’t dressed and how lazy and crazy I was. I flipped out and started screaming at him to leave us alone, to get out and stop abusing us. He screamed back and I took the kids and my bag and left the house. As I was leaving there was a police officer outside. I walked past him and into a cab with the kids and went to a local Mall.
Anyway, he was arrested – a neighbour had heard my desperate cries and called the police.
He was given a restraining order for a week and then he came back home. I thought he’d understand how his behaviour had affected us, that being arrested may have shaken him up to the realisation that he had abused his family. But no. He was more angry than ever, blaming ME for it all, he even insinuated that he was released because the police actually wanted to arrest ME!!
That was my waking up moment. I had allowed him to behave in a monstrous way because I didn’t realise it was monstrous. I genuinely believed that I had a problem. Over the years I’d seen a psychiatrist, a therapist etc, I thought I was doing something to make him unhappy, that the criticisms were valid. I had a father and brother who behaved like that, I guess I thought it was normal. He’d isolated me from friends, work, family. He’d convinced me I was crazy, problematic.
No more. I suddenly realised in that moment that it wasn’t me! Our kids are amazing because of how I brought them up. I am a strong, brave, incredible woman and I wasn’t going to allow anyone to treat me like this again.
Of course being apart brings its challenges, we need to co-parent and he’s not changed. But we are free from him, I am building my life up again and I’ve created a stable and calm home for the children. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to wake up, and I’m sorry for the damage those years of abuse did to my children, but what’s done is done.
Apricot Ginger Biscotti
Yield: about 12 biscotti
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (about 2 ounces) dried apricots
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) chopped candied ginger
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a cookie sheet and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
- In a bowl soak apricots in boiling hot water to cover 5 minutes. Drain apricots well and pat them dry with paper towels. Chop apricots fine.
- In another bowl lightly whisk together eggs and transfer 1 teaspoon egg to a small bowl. Whisk water into the 1 teaspoon egg and reserve egg wash.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer blend flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add remaining egg and vanilla extract and beat until a dough forms (dough will be sticky). Stir in apricots and ginger.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 6 times. Working on cookie sheet, with floured hands form dough into a 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch rectangle. Brush rectangle with some reserved egg wash and bake in middle of oven for 30 minutes.
- Cool rectangle on cookie sheet on a rack 10 minutes.
- Loosen rectangle from cookie sheet with a metal spatula and carefully transfer to a cutting board.
- Cut rectangle crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange biscotti, cut side down, on cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes on each side, or until pale golden.
- Transfer biscotti to rack to cool.
Notes
Biscotti keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.
Why did Russia cancel the SU-57 and T-14 Armata if they are both considered to be game-changers?
The thing when you make advanced aircraft from design to final production is that technology changes rapidly by the time you start production.
You may have a cutting edge design but by the time it goes through to prototype after 4 years and to commercial production after 8 years – it’s already been 12 years and your technology while definitely not obsolete may no longer be CUTTING EDGE
Air Defense Radar and Missiles evolve much faster than advanced aircraft
So a cutting edge design in 2005 capable of beating any Air Defense system in 2005, may end up by 2017 when it is ready to roll off the line, to be incapable of penetrating the latest Air Defense systems of 2017
It just takes TOO DAMN LONG
The SU 57 is a 2004 design
At every stage there has been improvement in Radar, Navigation, Avionics and Stealth
So every time you have to modify your Aircraft to incorporate the latest changes in technology
You create 3–4 prototypes
Then again just before you begin commercial production, a new radar would be available that could help immensely
So a new design will be integrated and once again new prototypes will be produced with the Russian Air Force demanding the same
These are Advanced Aircraft
Not Stock Aircrafts like the Mig 25s Or Sukhoi 34s/35s
It’s why the SU 57 hasn’t been commercialized in large numbers
You can’t spend 30 Billion Rubles per aircraft and then end up having it easily spotted on an advanced radar and have it’s stealth functions embarrassed
Take the F-35
Most of its technology was state of the art and it’s stealth was latest in 2007–2009 period when it’s prototypes were displayed and orders placed
Even when they were delivered in 2015
Today?
Iranians have Radar capable of spotting them and locking them !!!!
So investing in Advanced Stealth Aircraft is not the best thing to do today
Better invest in
More Missiles with superb guidance
Hypersonic glide missiles
Normal glide bombs
Electronic Jamming
Satellite Navigation
Intelligent Surveillance
Besides Russia doesn’t need Advanced Stealth to beat EUROPE
And Russia certainly doesn’t have Aircraft Carriers to transport the SU 57s to the Atlantic and use them against the US or UK and if they fly them – where will they refuel?
In the US the Stealth Aircraft is just a CASH COW to make a few contractors and senators rich
It has zero practical purpose in a prolonged war against an Enemy with decent Air Defence
In Three to Six months – any Stealth Fighter and Bomber will develop a signature that neutralizes any and all threats it can make
Thank heaven Russia woke up and decided to become more practical and spend the money on things that can help like Soldiers, Hardy Aircraft, UAVs and Artillery
As for the Armata
Maybe it’s too expensive and the T90 can do the same job at lesser price???
Has someone told you something that still bothers you today?
My parents did love me very much, and I loved them. Yet, my mother said something, when I was 20, and I wish to forget it, but am unable.
Here is what happened: I was engaged, and my father did not like my fiance. He wanted me to break up with him, and I did not obey. Then one morning, as I was going to be on my way to university, my mom stopped me. She said: if you don’t want to obey us any more, then we are not obliged to look after you.
I left without a word that morning, and when I got to the university I asked to talk to somebody in the students’ office. I told what happened, and because of that I needed to quit and get a job. The reaction was: “No, you don’t need to quit. We’ll increase your scholarship, and you can stay at the students’ residence for free, and eat there for free.”
As I got home started to pack up. My dad told me that it will kill him if I move out. He had a heart condition. I stayed, but made a condition: My parents can’t interfere with my life. Agreed. I graduated eventually, I married my love, and was happy with him for 64 years, until he died.
What’s the most unreasonable request you’ve received from your boss?
This happened in 1997 while I was still on active duty in the Navy. At the time I was in charge of running off our daily reports and creating any new ones to generate any required information pertaining to personnel issues. I did have a backup for my position. I had just had knee surgery and was in a locked leg brace from hip to ankle. I was also still so fresh out of surgery that the sterry straps were still firmly in place. Oh, and I was on authorized convalescent leave and was NOT cleared to drive. My senior chief called and demanded I come in to create a report, they needed certain information in order to submit it to our bosses in another part of the state and apparently my backup wasn’t comfortable attempting it. My husband wasn’t home and I told him I wasn’t supposed to be driving yet. He didn’t care and ordered me to report. Since I was formally on leave, I told him I wouldn’t be in uniform, I didn’t have one ready and ironing was out of the question. I drove myself in, luckily that particular surgery was on my left leg, took all of five minutes to create and run the report and left without getting so much as a “thank you.” Turns out, the could have called one of our sister sites to get walked through the development of the required report, my senior chief just had it in for his first class Petty Officers and was hoping I’d refuse the order. My husband was so angry to arrive home and find me gone, and then to discover the reason why. He’d already been retired for nine years by then and he knew that was not the way the situation should have been handled. He’s a retired Chief Petty Officer and had zero respect for my senior chief already, this was just the incident that capped it.
Oh, the lower case senior chief was intentional, had I been writing about the rank itself or another person, the rank would have been capitalized to show proper respect. This man deserved none.