One of the things that I enjoy doing is getting massages. In fact, I argue that my (so called) “youthful appearance” is due to daily drinking of red wine, and relaxing massages.
Contrary to the often-stated American narrative…
There are all kinds of massages. Everything from full body massages with “happy endings” to warm foot baths, and those hot stones on your back. In particular, I enjoy face massages.
I enjoy them more than saunas.
Usually you strip down and take a shower. Then you put on these loose cotton or paper clothing and the gals (only once did a man massage me) do their massage work.
They do this on a bed with a hole to put your face in.
For the face, I would have a chick massage my face with oils, and sometimes use these strange electrical pencil like equipment to relax my face.
I have also used acupuncture, and seriously you don’t feel anything.
I have had those strange cup like things on my back Chinese cupping, or 拔罐 baguan…and smoke treatments. I have also had hot steam treatments and aroma therapy. All in the pursuit of great health.
Cupping or 拔罐 (báguànr) is a type of Chinese massage that consists of attaching several hollowed-out glass “cups” to the body. These cups work to massage soft tissue, by pulling and stretching the skin. This occurs through a vacuuming process in which these cups literally adhere to the persons body, “sucking” skin up into the cups. Cupping is a common massage therapy practice in Chinese traditional medicine, used to alleviate back pain, body soreness/pain, rheumatism and even the common cold. Here’s an example of how cupping is applied to a patient:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NweGEgup74Q
Here’s one of those strange electrical bubble face treatment machines…
Anyways, I just had a face treatment right now. I feel loose. Like you do after a hot sauna and then a jump into a icy cold shower. My body is a lovin’ it.
Typically, my wife goes and gets her nails and eyelashes done, and I go into the back room and have a nice face massage. It’s really relaxing. Though sometimes it can be a bit painful.
We are a VIP member with a girl who runs a shop here in Tanzhou, and still have VIP memberships in Zhuhai (JiDa) and TangXia.
I have had girls give me happy endings (to release stress… it works great) and even had enemas to cleans my body. The last one was a coffee enema. After I had it, all the girls went to the bathroom to study my poop. I will tell you that it was a very strange experience.
I also use face cream, and these eye drops.
There’s all kinds of treatments for men, but since Zhuhai is so humid, it tends to be a bit over kill with moisturizers. And that’s one thing that I love about China… it’s calm and relaxed, and NO ONE thinks badly for you to relax, being calm and just enjoying yourself.
Finding a massage in the USA is truly hit and miss, with a very high possibility that the environment is just a cover for prostitution.
Brothels disguised as massage parlors are no secret in Palm Beach County. Neighbors see the signs all the time: Asian women cooking food on hot plates, hanging laundry behind suburban strip centers and rarely, if ever, leaving. A cavalcade of customers almost entirely older men. Heeding warning signs spelled out by police — Asian ownership, offers of sex acts on adult websites and complaints from neighbors — The Palm Beach Post identified 95 massage parlors in the county that matched the pattern of those busted last month in Jupiter and Martin County. “It’s so obvious like it’s not even a secret,” one neighbor of a Boynton Beach-area massage parlor told The Post. -The Palm Beach Post
But I for one, really enjoy the special treatment.
One of the things that I like to do after my face massage is to drink a tropical fruit drink and just chill out. Whether it is checking out the phone of just watching the world go by. I highly recommend it.
Today…
Is Biden right that firing a shotgun up into the air can deter criminals as part of a home defense strategy?
A neighbor of mine, Wayne, tried that. He was having a major dispute with a developer who had intruded on his land to build an access way into some land that the developer had acquired. Wayne’s driveway had been blocked by cut tree, his well treated with something that made him and his wife very sick, all apparently in an effort to force him to give some level land. So, one day, when he was home, something happened and he fired his shotgun into the air.
Shortly the. state police arrived. Wayne was the bad guy according to the report they had received. Wayne’s marriage broke up, but things did cool down for a year or so. He remarried. In May 1995, my wife was soliciting money for some charity and Wayne was telling her of all the things he was doing to improve his property.
On June 15th, Wayne was found dead. His wife found him when she got home from work. State police asked her if he had any enemies and she didn’t know of any. So, the State Police wrote it up as suicide. That was all the investigation there was. It is not like TV shows.
Later, when she had gone through Wayne’s papers, she found all the stuff about his fight with that developer. She realized that Wayne ahd had some enemies. She came to me, as I was chair of the town selectboard, and asked if I could help. Another selectman , who was a good friend of Wayne’s and I went to the State Police. The local barracks captain was interested and said that he would look into it. But he called a few days later and said that his boss said the case was closed and Wayne had officially committed suicide. That was the end of it. The Developer built several houses on the property and lives in one of them and I keep my ready ammunition close by to this day.
Sweet Baby Ray’s Stuffed Green Peppers
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 medium green bell peppers
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- Fresh crushed black pepper to taste
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 12 ounces Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
Instructions
- Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove peppers from water, and let cool.
- In large bowl mix remaining ingredients except 1 ounce of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce.
- Divide ground beef mix into 8 equal portions and stuff green peppers.
- Place peppers on a baking sheet in conventional oven set at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.
- After 35 minutes, remove excess grease from each pepper.
- Top with 1 ounce of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce; continue baking 10 more minutes.
Have you ever bought a car that didn’t run and found that it was an easy fix?
Several years ago, I worked in the service department of an Oldsmobile dealer. We had a good, regular customer that was really into Pontiac Fieros & Bricklin SV-1s. One day he drove one of his well-cared for Fieros to the dealer and approached the service desk. He told us that the engine was bad, making all sorts of grinding sounds. I asked if he’s like us to look at it to determine the cause. He declined, saying he knew it had major engine damage (but was still running) and didn’t want to put any money into it. He asked if one of us would like to buy it from him. No one wanted a Fiero that might need an engine. He kept pestering us to just make him an offer; he said we’d be surprised what he would take. I really didn’t want it either, but just to pacify him, I offered $200, all I had in my pocket. He said, “Well, ok. Let me think about it.” I assumed that we wouldn’t hear about that car again. I was wrong. At 2:00 that afternoon, he showed back up in the car, title in hand, wanting his $200. With regret, I obliged because I had made a deal. I drove the car home and parked it, trying to decide how to make my money back. I figured, worst case, I could part it out, as the body and interior were in very nice shape. That weekend, I took a closer look at it and found that the grinding sound was simply due to bad bearings in the alternator. I remedied that, installed new shocks and a couple of tires. I drove it for several months, as it got better fuel mileage than my truck. One day, a customer saw it in the lot and offered me $2,400 for it, which I took.
“Inflation WIPED OUT Middle Class Already…” – Michael Pento
Can I get a pro-gun conservative’s sincere views on how to decrease school shootings in the US? Can it really be done with introducing lenient gun laws?
Armed guards in schools. It’s very simple. As a matter of fact a group of retired veterans, I can’t remember the state or the city, offered to get additional training and volunteer to stand security in public schools. They were turned down. Apparently the parents, clearly the liberal parents, we’re afraid of their children seeing guns at school and they were afraid that was going to normalize guns. So I’m guessing they would rather risk their children being killed in a school shooting then having their children seeing the people willing to protect them carry firearms legally and responsibly?
The thing that stops a school shooter the quickest is a good guy with a gun. If you notice most of them commit suicide as soon as they’re cornered. They are not looking to get into a gun fight with a trained security officer or police officer. They’re looking to kill innocent people and then take their own life before they are captured. The sooner a firearm arrives in the location the sooner they either kill themselves or the person with the firearm can take them down.
Overall the bigger problem is the schools are making these kids crazy. Kids getting bullied and picked on and the staff doing nothing to help them. And I’m not saying help them like prevent the police from bothering them. I’m talking about teaching kids to have thicker skins and not take everything so damn personally. I’m talking about teaching kids, giving them the tools, to not internalize poor treatment and let it build up and build up in their system until they snap. I’m talking about teaching children about honor. About having a set of rules you’re willing to live by and holding to those rules. As so many people have said in the 1950s if you went to a high school you would see pickup trucks with shotguns and rifles in the rack all over the school parking lot. They did not have school shootings. Why? People were being taught differently then. Everything wasn’t always someone else’s fault and people didn’t get so sensitive over every tiny thing. Kids that were bullied learn to fight back. Or they learned how to maintain their self-respect at least. I actually can’t think of anyone who wasn’t bullied for some period of time during school. Once you tolerated it or stood up to it the bullies would stop.
Overall the schools are not serving our children well. They’re not being taught to self-discipline, the citizenship or given the tools to deal with situations unemotionally. Coddling children creates what we have. They get used to being told they’re the greatest thing in the world and then when someone bullies them their world is crushed. They’re not taught to have a thick skin at all. Or schools are making our society incredibly sick. Or media is amplifying that illness. And I hate to get political but 99% of it is on the backs of liberals. Telling little girls that they have to shower with fully intact males who say they feel like a female that day is beyond insanity. It’s actually child abuse.
Zhang Weiwei: China’s Rise is SHOCKING the U.S. Military into War it Can’t Win (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW)
Holy shit you got the man, the legend, the one and only Zhang Weiwei!!
Was there a nation in recorded history that was completely wiped out militarily?
Many, I’m not going to attempt to avoid just rambling off the MANY city states that were wiped off the map and just go with larger nations that, in their day would’ve been the equivalent of a first or second tier power (so, in their time this would’ve been like France, Britain, the US, Russia, Japan, etc. being conquered or having their governments dissolved and populations decimated)
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The Hittite Empire
Challenged only really by the Egyptians at the height of their power in 1340 BCE, the New Hittite Empire centered around Hattusa could easily be called a Bronze Age super power
This wouldn’t last however, an in 1200 BCE, a mere 100 years after it’s height the Hittites would be struck by numerous conflicts eventually having their Capital of Hattusa destroyed by invading Kaskians. This would lead to the empire eventually dissolving into two groups, the Luwains and Arameans.. both of which were later conquered by the New Assyrian empire in the 9th Century BCE, thus marking the end of anything that could be referred to as Hittite civilization.
2. Carthaginian Empire
Carthage, for a time, was the pre-dominant naval power in the Mediterranean Sea and was an active rival of Rome for dominance in the region even invading the Italian mainland… with elephants.. over the Alps no less…
Carthage got it’s start around the year 814 BCE as a Phoenician colony eventually becoming independent in 650 BCE and then a Republic in 480 BC. Carthage was eventually destroyed by Rome in the 3rd Punic War.. during the debates held in the Roman senate before the war, Roman Senator Cato was known to say “Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam” (“Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed”). Cato would get his wish in 146 BCE when Carthage was conquered, sacked, and destroyed by Rome. Legend has it, that after burning the city to the ground, the Romans salted the fields so that nothing could ever grow there again (this is just a legend though and we have no actual proof of the Romans doing this.)
3. Rome (the Western Half)
Ah Rome, the city of seven hills, the road builders, civilization incarnate, world conquerors. What can be said that hasn’t already been said countless times about this civilization? Well, for the purposes of it being on this list, you know why I’m mentioning it.. and no it’s not about how the Romans had industrial scale mining, aqueducts that still work to this day (and continue to feed fountains in the modern city), roads that seem to hold up better than their modern equivalents, running water in their cities, or bathed regularly.. though all of that is impressive.. It’s about how in 476AD after successive raids, by Visigoths, vandals, and other such “barbarians” the Western Roman empire was overthrown in a Coup, the new Kingdom of Italy was raided again by the Visigoths with the Coup leader Odoacer being killed by the invading Visigoths marking the end of any semblance of a sovereign Roman state in Italy (we’ll get to that other sovereign Roman State in Anatolia in a minute ).
4) Persia (the Sassanid Empire specifically)
Persia under the Sassanids existed from 224 – 651 AD with it’s capitol in Ctesiphon (which is in modern day Iraq); this marks it as the longest running continuous Persian dynasty. It was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in 651 AD after exhausting most of their resources fighting the Roman Empire (Byzantines) that wasn’t conquered…. yet… they’re coming hold on.
5. The Byzantine Empire (those other Romans)
The Eastern Roman Empire AKA the Byzantine Empire lasted a good 959 years longer than it’s Western half, falling to Turkish forces in 1435, thus marking the end of an independent Roman state anywhere in the world.
History is littered with the bones of dead nations and peoples, those cultures that were absorbed, annihilated, and conquered by others. These are just a few examples in history where it could be argued the cultures of these nations as well as their political identities were wiped out. Some, like Persia, saw a revival.. others like Rome, Carthage, and the Hittites did not. Conquest is, unfortunately, a natural and re-occurring part of the human story.
Why do some Asian parents consider “B” and “B+” really bad grades?
To help you understand why high marks are emphasized by those who maintain the traditional Asian mindset, I need to take you back to imperial China.
Imperial examinations became widespread during the Tang dynasty, and particularly increased in prevalence under the reign of empress Wu Zetian.
Prior to the introduction of civil examinations, the ruling class consisted primarily of warlord families. But as cultural values shifted toward emphasizing individual merrit, the examination began gaining traction.
By the Song dynasty, the imperial examination system had become standard throughout China. The testing was so rigorous that calling it a “test” is quite an understatement. Scholars started preparing from the time they were eight years old, and devoted a minimum of seven years to preparing before they would finally be ready to face the examination.
Because successful candidates were virtually guaranteed a prominent position for life, parents would encourage (more accurately, force) their children to devote years to studying. This was not only done for the child’s sake—if a scholar succeeded, his entire family would be elevated to a higher social status.
Imagine the incredible pressure these children faced beginning from the time they were eight years old… their lives would center around preparing for the examination. Their entire family’s future hung on the ability of this child to demonstrate the academic excellence needed to pass.
When test day came, scholars were expected to have mastered insane amounts of literature. For example, they might be asked to write a random passage from a Confucian text from memory. If they missed a single stroke of a single character, or if they wrote using the wrong calligraphy script, they failed.
When preparing for the examination, scholars had to memorize the entirety of Confucius’ and Mencius’ writings. Additionally, they had to commit to memory the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Songs, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. And as if this wasn’t already enough, students needed to memorize all the commentaries on these works. In total, the examiner could select from hundreds of thousands of pages of text to see if examinees had really memorized everything that was required of them.
Any scholar who could not write the selected text perfectly and with flawless calligraphy was rejected. Moreover, examiners demanded that candidates demonstrate proficiency in mathematics, legal matters, government affairs, and essay writing.
When the results were released, scholars would eagerly crowd around to see if their names were on the list of successful candidates.
Those who made the list would be able to advance to the next level of testing. But because only 1% of examinees passed, the majority of hopeful scholars would have their dreams destroyed, and their families would be left in a lower social class forever.
The pressure placed on kids to begin studying from the time they were very young was intense. And it wasn’t just parents who compelled their children to excel academically. Because grandparents and great-grandparents (and in some cases aunts, uncles, and cousins) would all benefit from a scholar’s successful examination, the entire family would insist that any child who showed the slightest sign of academic ability devote their youth to studying.
So… if you ask me, Asian parents have actually mellowed out quite a bit over the centuries.
Today, I know quite a few Asian parents who are satisfied (not happy… but satisfied) to see their children getting 5% – 10% of the questions wrong on any given exam. Kids in former times would have never gotten away that.
Sources
– Buckley Ebrey, Confucianism and Family Rituals in Imperial China, Princeton University Press, 2014
– Ichisada Miyazaki, China’s Examination Hell: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China, Yale University Press, 1981
Vintage Illustration
Putin prepares BRICS Kazan payment system
Important.
What is the best course of action if your boss asks you to sign a document without reading it?
Many years ago my boss called me in and told me to sign a document. I asked what is was about first and it turned out to be a Workers Compensation claim for an industrial accident that I had witnessed.
The boss wasn’t happy that I wanted to thoroughly read the document first. He was even more unhappy when I refused to sign it. It was a claim made by the injured worker and the boss said “Don’t you want your mate to get his money?” To which I replied that the claim was all lies.
The claimant worked at the same place but was not any type of mate as he was a liar and a thief.
The accident occurred a few minutes after I warned him about his unsafe actions and his lack of PPE. He was bare foot. While I was still there he was injured ( losing all toes on his left foot) because of his own stupidity.
The boss was gleeful when I told him of the facts and smiled like the Cheshire Cat when I happily gave a detailed statement and signed it.
The boss was happy as this claim would have meant that the insurance company increased its rates while dropping future payouts to 40% max. The stupid and careless worker would have severely and negatively affected any future claimant. It also meant that anything unpaid by the insurance company would come out of the bosses pocket. While very strict 3 monthly inspections would be carried out.
The boss was contemplating being unable to continue in business which would leave a lot of employees and contractors without a job.
Claimant was a Bastard. I was glad to have his claim rejected while helping my boss and workmates.
Have you witnessed anything noticeable happen immediately after someone dies?
My older sister was an alcoholic. She drank to mask the pain of the sexual abuse she suffered as a small child at the hands of her grandfather. She would have flashbacks pretty frequently, and this would cause panic. She couldn’t sleep at night without being reminded of her rapist every time she closed her eyes. Being drunk took that away, so that’s the way she stayed. Drunk much of the time. Drinking way too much wine, every single day. She had a difficult life, and even managed to stop drinking for a bit. But by then there was so much liver damage, her liver still shut down.
At the end of April 2018 she was transferred to hospice. We didn’t want her to die alone, so we took turns staying with her in her room (which is encouraged by the hospice staff). On May 10 2018, we left to get something to eat, leaving just her mother there. Within 2 minutes of walking in the door, her mother called and said she had passed. So we drove back to the hospice with her ribbon dress and moccasins to dress her. Being Native American we have a few beliefs about death and how the body is prepared. We washed her from head to toe using only water and a clean cloth, then put on her dress and moccasins.
At this point I went out for a cigarette and came back to sight I will never forget. My sister died in hospice care, with her mother by her side, and now those memories will never bother her again. She was content, at peace, and— she was smiling. My other sister witnessed this too, so we went to grab a nurse— she agreed, that was a smile. We took that to mean she was happy wherever she was now and content that she was in traditional clothing. Still a little freaky though, the dead aren’t supposed to move.
【古筝｜霍元甲 Fearless】】在法国街头弹《霍元甲》再配上满街的中国红灯笼！帅气！Chinese Musical Instruments—Guzheng Cover| 碰碰彭碰彭
Why are people still buying Snap-On tools? What makes them worth the price for you? Why not buy cheaper brands that also offer a lifetime warranty for a fraction of the price?
I once worked for a company that had three maintenance engineers. 2 were young guys, late 20’s, early 30’s. And the third guy was in his mid 50’s.
The 2 young guys had full snap on tool boxes. 5 foot high cabinets, loaded with hundreds of tools. The old guy had two, five tray cantilever tool boxes, like these.
I asked why he had so few tools. He said that those two boxes contained every tool he needed to fix every machine in the place. Nothing was pointless.
He also gave me the best bit of advice I have ever had when it comes to tools:
“If you need a tool you do not own, buy the cheapest. If it wears out or breaks, then buy a more expensive one. 80% of the tools you buy will only be used once. In a 40 piece socket set for example, you will use 5 sockets frequently. But the rest will rarely be used.”
And for me, he was right. 90% of my tools are inherited or hand me downs. But most of the tools I have bought have only been used once. I have 2 tool cabinets, that stand 5 foot tall, 3 foot wide, full of mechanical tools. I have 3 boxes of woodworking tools, 2 bags of domestic tools, various power tools.
All of which were either inherited, or I bought the cheapest. So far, the only tool I have broken, was a 20 year old DeWalt drill I inherited, that only broke when I dropped it from 30 feet. It was replaced with a Brand new 18v Bosch drill, which still works 19 years later.
So to answer your question, I have no idea why people buy snap on. I guess they are just tool tarts that want the willy waving rights of owning overpriced stuff. A bit like iPhone users.
Cheaper brands all the way.
Police officers, have you ever encountered someone who had a warrant but didn’t arrest them because of the circumstances?
Yup. I got dispatched to a possible suicide where I knew the wife was a wanted subject. I knew that she had 3 small kids. I got there and found the husband in the garage with a single gunshot to the head. They had been arguing about getting a divorce. She wanted it, he didn’t. The guy was an emotional terrorist. Every time she got fed up with it he talked her into another kid saying it would fix their problems. After #3 she finally called bullshit. Well he grabbed a .22 rifle went to the garage like he had done more times than she could count. The rifle was always empty. This time he had forgotten that he had chambered a round sometime in the recent past because some guy had threatened him. Well when he pulled the trigger it went boom. The round entered through the roof of his mouth then bounced around in his skull destroying his brains. They we leaking out of his mouth and ears. He was still breathing (very labored), just short gasps so I called for EMS. I also had dispatch notify the local funeral home (I knew there was no way he was going to make it until EMS showed up). By the time EMS got there he was dead. I called for the assigned Justice of Peace for that area asking for him to come to the scene. (They pronounce time of death for the death certificates).
I ran the wife’s information per department protocol which brought up the warrant. I had called her parents earlier advising them what had happened. She was mentally loosing it. No way she could care for the kids. The parents finally arrived (thank god). The Father got the kids out of the house. Her Mother stayed with the wife trying to calm her down.
There WAS NO WAY in hell that I was going to arrest her. That warrant stayed unserved for about a year. She remarried within months but none of us wanted to traumatize the kids by putting momma in jail too soon after their father’s death.
TOO MANY TEARS watching ‘Leon the Professional’ for the first time
Have you ever had to kill a child soldier?
He wasn’t a foreign soldier. He was an eleven year old gang member.
While in the Gang Unit, as a detective sergeant, I was called out to a homicide scene. Two gang members had been shot outside of a gas station. The first was a sixteen year old female, who died before we arrived. The other was her thirteen year old younger brother, who was shot, but was conscious [and ultimately survived].
The younger brother knew the shooter and gave us the name. While the homicide detective stayed on-scene, a patrol deputy [who was also gang unit] and I went to the shooter’s mother’s house, where the shooter lived.
I knocked on the door and the mother answered. I asked to speak to her son, but didn’t tell her why. She told me that her son was probably at his father’s house and gave me the address.
The deputy and I went to the father’s house and knocked on the door. The father’s girlfriend answered the door. I asked if I could speak to [father’s name]’s son. She stated he was upstairs. I asked if anyone else was upstairs. She said there was not.
I started going up the staircase, which went straight ten-to-fifteen steps, then took a sharp right.
My gut tightened. The kid knew I was here, and what I was here for. Without a doubt, he’d ice me as soon as I turn that corner.
I slowly peeked around the corner, and, unfortunately, my gut was correct. The kid was there with a handgun pointing down the funnel.
I stayed around the corner, pulled my firearm, and told him to drop his. Instead, he fired a few rounds through the wall, attempting to hit me.
I took a side step into the funnel and fired three rounds. Two rounds hit his chest, and one missed him completely.
I didn’t kill him. He went to the hospital and made a recovery. He spent a few years in a juvenile correctional facility and was released.
As an adult, he racked up a few more felonies until he got into a fight with a drug dealer and shot him.
As an adult, he was charged and convicted of murder and is now serving a life sentence.
When I first started in the gang unit, I believed he was a rare exception to the children I’d deal with. Turns out, he was the standard.
You don’t need to cross borders to find it.
What is the saddest thing a casino dealer has seen at their table?
I saw this one myself a couple of years ago in Vegas, and it did not happen at a table but at a slot machine.
A hollow-cheeked old lady — she must have been in her eighties — was sitting at a slot machine with a large alcoholic drink and a cigarette in her mouth, and an empty look in her eyes as if she was uninterested in most everything which happened around her (or better: she hardly noticed her surroundings). Bette Davis eyes.
She had a bucket of coins, which she inserted into the machine at a devastating speed, and after every spin a new one was immediately inserted (unless she needed a quick sip first, or a new smoke).
A waiter told me that she was here every day and every night, only drinking whiskey and martinis and hardly eating at all — unless smoking cigarettes is a form of feeding — while inserting coins, coins, coins —
“They cost a $100 each. She spends at least 100K per day — and sometimes a lot more. Had a rich husband who died a couple of years ago, and she inherited a fortune of more than 50 million. Doesn’t give a f☹️ck about life.“
Apparently, she had decided to stop living, and to slowly torture her body while throwing away all that money of hers, until some fatal condition would finally make her disappear. Because one thing was clear —
This lady was not leaving Las Vegas.
Tears For Fears Greatest Hits Full Album 2021 | Best Songs Of Tears For Fears
What is the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you at a bar?
This is decades ago now in a northern suburb of Detroit. I was in a moderately upscale bar/restaurant (I was a regular there) that had a piano bar and I was friends with the piano player who had been there for years. I sat in the back corner of the place to the far side of the piano from about 8:30 to closing at 2. During that time I had 2 mixed drinks and the rest of the night drank Sprite or coffee. It was winter and there was some ice in the parking lot and I had on 3″ heels. I slipped but gained my footing without a problem but before I got to my car I was grabbed by two police officers, one of whom also grabbed my hair and tossed in the back seat of their cruiser. They stated I was drunk and going to jail. Considering I hadn’t even gotten to my car yet and they didn’t do a field sobriety test (before breathalyzers) they couldn’t actually claim that but I knew better than to get smartmouthed. They spent the next 3o minutes or so threatening me and just being total assholes, something I’d never seen in cops before. Finally they had their dispatcher call my dad (well after 3 am by then) and had him come pick me up. Turns out they were friends of my stepfather who was a real scumbag and they did that as a favor to him. He blamed me for my mom divorcing him when it was his own viciousness.
What are some ways to make an inmate’s life difficult in prison without breaking any rules or getting caught by guards?
After 26 years working in prison, I saw a few:
Had an inmate who raped the daughter of a big, close family. On his 1st day at the prison, he received a “thinking of you” card, the same as he had the whole time he had been in. He got one EVERY DAY, listing his parole date, parole address, his parole officer name, and ended with“ see you when you get home”
Had someone send the Xerox copy of the sex charges to as many inmates in the yard as possible via a lawyer’s office, so we could not stop them.
Had one who got a letter with lice eggs folded inside.
I was told of a case where an inmate received cigarettes with lead foil inside, giving him lead poisoning. (as the inmates say, it’s only a crime if you get caught.)
And last, in the early 1980s, while living in England, they had a person charged with (again) sex crimes, who was demanding bail. 1 of the fathers got up in court and said “ he does not think of the fact that not only do the warders (guards) keep him in, they keep us out. I have no problem with him out here WITH US!” when offered bail, the prisoner refused.
Stray cat lay in agony waiting to die. After rescuing it did I realize how serious its illness was
Shorpy
How do you let Vietnamese know that being too confident in front of China’s military power is stupid?
There is no doubt that China’s military strength is stronger than Vietnam’s, both in terms of economic size and population size, but there is no conflict between China and Vietnam, so it is meaningless to compare the two.
In July 1986, Le Duan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, passed away.
In December of the same year, Nguyen Van Linh was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
After becoming General Secretary, Nguyen Van Linh was eager to correct a whole set of wrong practices of his predecessor and put forward the slogan that Vietnam should “become friends with all countries”. He believed that the two most urgent things for Vietnam at that time were to withdraw troops from Cambodia and improve relations with China.
In September 1990, Nguyen Van Linh (fourth from left in the front row) and Prime Minister Do Muoi (third from right in the front row) visited China and held talks with Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, and Li Peng, Premier of the State Council, on the normalization of relations between the two parties and the two countries.
During this meeting, China and Vietnam agreed to downplay the Sino-Vietnamese War.
In order to develop good neighborly relations, the Chinese side also took into account the feelings of the Vietnamese side.
Therefore, for a long period of time, there was no content about the Sino-Vietnamese War in Chinese textbooks, and there was no Sino-Vietnamese War theme in Chinese film and television works.
With the death of Nguyen Trong Phuc, the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Su Lin took over, and China was chosen as the first stop of his foreign visit. The theme of China-Vietnam relations remains friendship, harmony and common progress. Comprehensively strengthen the strategic cooperative partnership and promote the construction of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.
The ruling parties and governments of China and Vietnam have expressed their desire to coexist harmoniously. Of course, some netizens will be influenced by extreme nationalism and Western public opinion and damage China-Vietnam relations, but it will not become mainstream.
Here’s some more MM AI generations…
Does Gen Z Know 50s & 60s Motown? (Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye)
Despite the fact that EUV lithography machines have long been prohibited from sale to China, the Dutch government announced that from Sep 7th, special approval will be required for the export of DUV. What potential impacts will the regulation have?
The Dutch government made a big move that’s got everyone in the semiconductor industry buzzing. This isn’t just some small policy change, it’s going to ripple through the global tech scene.
What’s the deal with China’s chip industry?
So, China’s been working hard to beef up its chip-making game, but this new rule is throwing a wrench in the works. The Dutch are now requiring special permission to ship out Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines – these are the big guns when it comes to making chips. It’s not just about the cutting-edge stuff anymore; even the tech for making less fancy chips is getting harder for China to get its hands on. This could seriously slow down China’s plans to become a chip-making powerhouse and rely less on foreign tech.
According to the International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI), global sales of chip manufacturing equipment are expected to reach $109 billion in 2024, with China projected to account for over 30%, making it the largest market.
As Chen Nanxiang, chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association, recently stated, “In the past, China took many detours in the process of developing integrated circuits. What China needs now is an industry that requires innovative industries, innovative services, and innovative business models to transform into the most economical commercial value.” He believes that after a long period of trial and error, China is now on the right track and predicts that “within 3 to 5 years, China’s chip industry will achieve ‘explosive growth,’ paving the way for overcoming U.S. technological restrictions on China.”
Global chip supply: buckle up for a bumpy ride
Here’s the thing: making chips isn’t just a one-country show. It’s like a giant, global jigsaw puzzle where every piece matters. With the Netherlands joining the U.S. in keeping some puzzle pieces away from China, we might see some major shakeups in how chips are made and distributed worldwide. In the short term, this could mean fewer chips for all those gadgets we can’t live without – from our beloved smartphones to the cars we drive.
What about the companies making these machines?
Companies like ASML (the Dutch superstar in making these chip machines) are in a tricky spot. They’re saying it’s business as usual for now, but let’s be real – losing access to the massive Chinese market is going to hurt. These companies might need to looking for new customers or coming up with new ways to stay on top of their game.
The Big Picture: Tech, Politics, and Power Plays
At its core, this is about more than just chips – it’s about who’s going to lead the tech race in the years to come. The U.S. and its allies are flexing their muscles, trying to stay ahead in the tech game. Meanwhile, China’s not too happy about being left out and is probably going to double down on making its own tech ecosystem. We might be looking at a future where there are two separate tech worlds – one led by the West and another by China.
Space Chunking
Submitted into Contest #247 in response to: Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong.… view prompt
Bob Banel
It was Captain Billy Chunk’s philosophy of command and control to never give orders because people, especially the sailor’ly type,DO NOT like being told what to do. His style was to lay out what he wanted accomplished then listen to the kvetching of his crew. The point was to make who ever needed the most direction to feel that the requested task was his own idea. Captain Billy had more tells than a Las Vegas card shark. He would silently raise an eyebrow or purse his lips or unleash his most dreaded stink eye to get his crew to do his bidding.
Captain Billy looked at the B-Board and showed the LifePod manned and ready save for the Captain position. From ComBox came Mister Mate Mark’s drowsy voice. The status of the LifePod was fully manned and ready. The door sealed, internal environment AOK, as was the routine practice of a normal LifePod drill. Captain Billy toggled the LifePod Launch button 3 times. The LifePod shot away from the ship with his crew. They were was safe for the moment.
This was a job that could best done alone thought Captain Billy Chunk. John Wayne had nothing on Captain Billy. His decks were now clear and ready for action. Then there was a singular bark. Then another bark. SpacePup Belka was still aboard.
The SITREP so far: Captain Billy, Mister Mate Mark, Chief the Engineer, Deckhand Micky and are the crew of the SpaceTug Delilah. All were shanghaied by “The Company ” from the Good Tugboat Samson from the cool gray waters of Puget Sound and pressed into service aboard the SpaceTug Delilah. This crew was chosen for their particular stoic mindset to deal with the crewing issues that were plaguing the SpaceTug fleet owned by “The Man” Noel Muskie.
The SpaceTug fleet was part of the off world industry of space commerce known as SpaceComm. Orbiting Space Stations had been established by competing companies at the Lagrange points. Mining of the Asteroid Belt was the primary concern. Ore was delivered by autonomous SpaceSkows. SpaceTugs would latch onto to them and wrangle them into Earth or Lunar orbit. It was a parallel universe of Earth’s maritime industry in many ways.
The SpaceTug Delilah was a one off construction. It was built as back in the day when SpaceTug Racing was the sport of the Young Tuts who were building the space industry. Bragging rights were everything. To have the fastest and strongest SpaceTugs winning at the races was the best advertising to rally the investors back on Earth. SpaceTug Delilah was the product of this fervor. Rumors of hidden features and even alien tech abounded. However the SpaceComm matured and it was time to stow the childish toys. The oddball SpaceTug Delilah was laid-up and went “Cold Iron” in the Reserve Fleet. This was until Captain Billy Chunk and his crew’s arrival. It was a perfect fit.
JIBBERISH JUST TO SAVE STORY WORD COUNT>> WILL FIX LATER>>GOTTA GO ON WATCH RIGHT NOW AND DRIVE A REAL TUGBOAT!!!!!
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What made you think, “You’ve got to be kidding me,” when someone sat next to you on an airplane?
Flight from Canada to the UK, guy sat down next to me and I gagged.
So what? I hear you cry. Well I’m a plumber’s son. I’ve worked farming and domestic spillages and ruptured pipes, I have literally worked knee deep in human poop to get a job done and the smell of this guy made me gag.
So I went and asked the harried looking attendant if I could switch seats and she just spat out “full flight” “no seats” and shooed me away.
So I went back to my seat but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit next to this guy who smelled like a homeless guy who had shat himself to death in the Florida sun three days ago.
So I went to try the attendants again and, again, I got the brush off.
Back I went to my seat and I had a little think. And I started pushing my call bell. A LOT.
Grumpy attendant came to see me to shut me up.
Grumpy attendant leaned in close to tell me off.
Grumpy attendant took a big deep breath in so she could give me a proper scolding.
Grumpy attendant nearly puked in my lap.
Shortly there after my happy arse was a looooong way away from where I had been and now-apologetic attendant fed me business class food and wine to say sorry.
In all of my long decades on this silly little flying marble we call home that man was, by far, the worst thing I’ve ever smelled.
Why has no Chinese company been able to beat Apple in smartphone sales, revenue, profits, software, and ecosystem? Are Chinese companies so incompetent?
How do you automatically presume Chinese Companies are inferior because they can’t beat Apple
Why not infer that Apple has certain aspects that make their products superior?
Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericcson, Siemens once had a combined 72.7% Global market share in 2006
By 2012, they had less than 15% Global market share
That’s a whopping 80% crash in their market
Are these Incompetent companies?
Are the Finns or Swedes or Germans incompetent?
Apple , Google & Samsung pioneered the present smartphone ecosystem with processor chips, memory chips and an operating system
They have First Market Advantage
Plus they control the entire ecosystem
Plus they have ferocious branding
Realme, Redmi, Oppo, Vivo – they depend on TSMC chips, they depend on Android, they depend on SK Hynix and they depend on Sony
How can they compete against Apple?
Their only advantage is LOW COST with 90% Apple quality
That helps sell these phones in Mid Income Or Low Mid Income Or Low Income Nations and to the Low Income Chinese who are still 38% of the Chinese Economy
Why do you think US hasn’t given a second glance at these companies?
Now HUAWEI is different
Huawei has its own ecosystem but due to the sheer unfairness of the US,they are denied access to the same TSMC that others can use to fabricate their own designed chips
So Huawei can’t make Kirin Chips with TSMC anymore
They have to rely on SMIC
Then SMIC can’t use latest EUVs anymore
So again the chips have to be made at lower yields and higher cost
Plus Memory Chips too
However Harmony OS is outstanding and Huaweis 5G infrastructure is the world’s best & the Beidou mapping beats GPS now within China
Plus they have fantastic designs
Plus they have their own Indigenous Display and no longer dependent on the Japanese
Plus they have their own camera designs and sensors relying only on ZEISS & Chinese BOE
So they can compete and even oust Apple Iphone from the Mainland Markets & Middle East Markets – the only two markets where
A. People have deep pockets
B. Huawei is given unrestricted freedom and access
Its like Chinese EV Batteries
China has the Technological Edge and First market advantage
Nobody on earth can compete with them
Cost, Efficiency are both a major plus
No US or European company has come within miles of the Chinese CATL battery grids or design
Panasonic can’t hold a candle to CATL or BYD and barely holds its own against EVE or Gotion or Octillion which are distantly second level on the Mainland
Same with LG
Doesn’t make Toyota or Mercedes inferior right?
Its Indian companies that are actually inferior
They don’t own any edge and that’s not the problem
The Problem is they aren’t even trying
They are just blowing money on the richest 1%
My Date Brought Her Friend Along Expecting Me To Pay, Has Fit When I Roasted Them In The Restaurant
Did your boss ever get angry with you because you had to take a sick day?
Originally Answered: Has your boss become angry with you because you had to take a sick day?
Yep. The equivalent of a low level supervisor. I had gone to work even though I was sick as a dog, full blown fever and all. I *THOUGHT* it was just a really nasty cold, worst case bronchitis. Oh no, not that simple. The dreaded flu, this was a few years back when the flu vaccine, which I had gotten, was not as effective as it normally is.
Well I’m a Front Desk Concierge. So let’s break down the numbers.
We have three Property Management Staff in the office. We have another four houskeepers for the the site. Maintenance department is another 7 or 8 people.
We’ve got between the two towers, as there are two linked buildings that make up the site. Three Front Desk Staff Per Shift.
Delivery Guys, the *REGULAR ONES* We’ve to 10 Plus between Amazon, UPS, USPS, FedEx (Three different FedEx Services).
We have in the tower I worked 320 Units.
So yeah, I saw the doctor at the Express Clinic at the pharmacy across the street. Popped positive for the flu. Got two copies of the doctor’s note. Dropped one with property management. Texted my *direct* manager, not the asshole supervisor as I don’t have his number and the *MANAGER* is the one who we’re told to inform of if calling out sick, late, etc. Later that evening I *E-MAILED* the Manager, CC’ed it to HR and included the scanned in copy of the doctor’s note. Included my request to use my PTO hours that are built up currently, to cover my sick leave.
Asshole throws a *BITCH FIT* the next day when I didn’t show up. Management, my company, not Property Management, separate companies, DID NOT honor my request to use the PTO hours and apparently no one bothered to find a replacement coverage for me or informed the asshole supervisor.
I heard *ALL* about it from folks when I did finally come back. And I just shrugged, pointed out *I* had done as required and didn’t give a flying f what his problem was.
BTW, said supervisor was fired, eventually, and black listed with the company. He had a very, very long list of complaints against him. Enough so that *EVERY* staff member was called into the office to review his behaviors. That’s close to 15 people.
When the various residents asked, as I was very popular, I said simply I’d had the flu and I refused to risk spreading it far and wide. And not a one of them, even the grouchier folks, disagreed and many complimented me on my common sense.
MM AI experiments
What is the most painful thing your parents have ever done to you? How did it affect you?
Until I was 7, my parents had an only child.
My brother came around when I was 8. I loved the little guy. Always asked my mom to feed him, take care of him, help, change his diapers etc.
Then he grew up to be 4. At this point, he was so spoiled that he used to hit people with his toys when he figured you were not complying to his wishes.
One October day, it was a week before his birthday, he was left alone with me while my mum went out to buy party stuff. He wanted me to make him food because he did not want what they had left him. I went in the kitchen, turned on the oven and put water boiling so I could make mac and cheese. Whilst I was looking the other way, he went upstairs to put on my mother’s heels and tried going down the stairs. He lost his balance and fell. Now the way the house was built, when someone came down the stairs, they arrived directly in the kitchen area. I literally had to jump in front of the oven to stop him from burning himself. The hot water burned me instead.
After I asked him if he was alright, he turned around, slapped me and told me it was my fault and that he was going to tell mum. I’m not happy about it but I was in pain so I hit him on the bum.
In comes my mother, and upon seeing the mess, she rushes in, takes her precious baby from me and tells me it was all my fault that I got burned because I hated her baby boy. Instead of making sure I was alright, she punched me, took her son away and took care of him, telling me to turn of the oven and go take a cold shower. Fortunately, the water was not yet boiling -just really hot – so I escaped the disaster.
But it gets worse. My dad was living abroad at the time. She called him that night and told him everything. When he came home for the birthday, he proceeded to punish me.
There was at the time this barbarous technique where they would make someone kneel on the bar of a chair for a certain amount of time. My dad made me kneel on one from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. I couldn’t get up so they had to drag me off it. I crawled to my dad’s feet, apologized to them all (mum, dad and little brother) and promised that I would never endanger my brother again. It was only then that he told me what I would never forget “You are a useless girl. Your only value is to get married one day and make your husband happy”
It was not the first time I’d experience his rage. But he had never told me that I was useless. I started spiralling into depression and went from top of my class to bottom. What was the use? I told myself. I also started to self-hurt.
I managed to go live with my grandma after she discovered what a wreck I was becoming and remember than less than 2 years later, my dad died. I laughed at his funeral instead of crying.
Years later, my brother and my mum apologized but even if I managed to forgive, I never forgot this October day.
EDIT
I just want to add that I came from a Christian-Catholic, ethnic minority background with a father that was 20 years older than my mum. Not sure if it was the sole reason for his behaviour,but it was part of it. Both parents had a college degree and my dad was in academia. The smart professor that taught his intelligent daughter was a failure.
I live overseas now. Went away for college and rarely come back. My grandma is now deacesed so no reason to travel as often. And my mum hates England’s weather. I settled down with a wonderful man and managed to be happy.
In your school, has a bullied ever snapped and beat the bully?
I did. And it was fucking glorious.
I was bullied literally every single school day from the first day of infant school, all the way through juniors and into secondary school. Gangs of kids would come and find me, kick and slap me, spit on me etc. It was hell. It made me dread going to school every day. We were extremely poor, so when they inevitably broke something, I was told off at home too, so as far as I was concerned, I was getting it from both sides. Only once did my primary school do anything about it, but it happened every single day.
When I was 8 I started karate lessons, instantly thinking I was Daniel Larusso, and was going to crane-kick those bullies into submission.
I never did. I was far too frightened that I would get it wrong, and the beatings would get worse. And fighting in real life is nothing like in the movies. On screen, the hero might be surrounded by 10 guys, but only one is fighting him at a time. In real life, everyone is getting punches in at the same time and Jackie Chan is getting the snot beat out of him.
I digress. At secondary school came bigger kids. There were no more gangs to hide from, but once the bullies honed in on a weaker kid, you were done for. It also didn’t help being unusual in any way. I was the tallest in the school from my first day, had bendy joints and was an expert user of the new computer lab we had.
I was weak, I was unusual, it took the bullies all of 3 days to find me.
The bullying at secondary school is the worst. It might only be one-on-one now, but there was always a baying crowd, and as for the severity it went from “your mum’s fat” *slap slap* at primary school to action movie levels of punching, headlocks, wrestling moves from the TV (which might be fake in the ring, but hurt like hell).
I endured it every day.
One day in year 11, a bully cornered me in the lunch queue. He was gearing up for a fight. He started pushing me around, smacking me in the head and laughing at me. I knew exactly what was about to happen.
Then he spat on my shoes.
For some reason, that made me see red. I snapped. All of a sudden, eight or nine years of bullying came to a head. I could feel the crowd beginning to slowly gather. I could see everything Gary was doing in slow motion. His fist was clenching. His arm was pulling back. He was getting into a fighting stance.
But then, still in slow motion, my legs were moving. I was in main karate stance. I wasn’t doing this. I wasn’t in control. Gary took his swing and missed. I had ducked him. I remember seeing the fist just centimetres above my face, swinging wildly through the air. The snarl on his face. The spit drooling from his mouth as he swore at me.
I then felt my stance changing. My weight went from the back leg to the front and I was suddenly aware that my back leg was moving through the air. I had never been taught how to do a spinning back leg kick as the karate Sensei refused to teach us, but I was doing one. I remember thinking “why am you doing this? You don’t know how to do this. This is going to end badly for you.”
Then I felt the heel of my foot connect with his face, and power on through. I smashed his nose with my foot, blood was everywhere. Gary went down, hard.
The baying crowd went silent. Everything went back to normal speed. Teachers came rushing in. And Gary started screaming.
I will never forget that moment for as long as I live.
Buttery Chicken Casserole
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (3 pound) broiler-fryer chicken
- 1 quart water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
- 1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 (16 ounce) package oval-shaped buttery crackers, crushed (2 stacks)
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Instructions
- Combine first 4 ingredients in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender.
- Remove chicken, and cool slightly.
- Skin and bone chicken; cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
- Combine chicken, cream of chicken soup and next 3 ingredients, stirring well.
- Place half of crushed crackers in a lightly greased 11 x 7 x 1 1/2 inch baking dish; spoon chicken mixture over crackers.
- Yop with remaining crackers, and drizzle with butter.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.