I wanna tell you all a story.
Back when I worked in Boston, we were assigned some Internsto assist us, and I gave “my” two interns interesting tasks in developing prototypes. And I walked them through the process. In bites. So that they started off small, but after five months or so they were able to see how everything fit together and worked together.
And they liked the experience. They thanked me, and later on, I found out that they wanted to take more deign related course work as they finished up in their degrees.
But one of my colleagues was assigned two interns, and he gave them the most boring and repetitive zero-life jobs. These were the jobs that my coworker didn’t want to do; he just gave them to the interns.
Day after day, for five months, they sat in a test room recording 1, zero and null on a piece of paper watching a test run through its cycle. A more boring life you couldn’t ever think of.
And they hated it.
And you know what, at the finish of their internship both of them changed majors away from engineering. One went into teaching, and the other into geography. Anything; literally anything other than engineering.
We have a responsibility in life. To grow, support and mentor others. Not, not… NOT to use others. Not to treat others as sub-beings that serve us, or tools to get things done. We have the responsibility to cultivate others toward greatness.
And that is my story for today.
Today…
Russia on Trump Authorizing Ukraine to Make Deep Strikes into Russia: “This isn’t escalation; it’s ignition.”
Reports are flooding the media claiming that President Donald Trump has “Authorized” Ukraine to engage in long-range missile and drone strikes, deep inside Russia.
The Constitution for the United States does not empower the US Federal Government to “authorize” any other government to attack a third country – so where this power stems from, to “authorize” Ukraine to do . . . anything . . . to a third country . . . is a mystery. The US Constitution also does not authorize the US Government to wage a “proxy war” using a second country (Ukraine) to attack a third country (Russia). But that is precisely what they’ve been doing for more than three years.
Ukraine’s non-President, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of Office EXPIRED last May, is also asking President Trump to authorize the sale of US “Tomahawk” Cruise Missiles, for Ukraine to use against targets deep inside Russia. Conflicting reports say either Trump refused the request or, say he is “considering” the request.
Both the launching of “Deep” strikes into Russia, and providing long-range missiles, guided by US Military Satellites, to carry-out such long-range strikes, are “Red Lines” for the Russians. Crossing those Red Lines would LIKELY see Russia declare the US as a “Party to the conflict” thereby opening the door for Russia to begins striking targets here, inside the USA.
Russia’s logic is flawless: If the US provides the weapons, and US Satellites in space are needed to guide those weapons to targets inside Russia, then it doesn’t matter who actually pushes the launch button (i.e. Ukraine), it is the US guiding those missiles to target – actively – and that makes the US a “party” to the conflict.
As you might imagine, the very moment Russian submarines already in the Atlantic Ocean off our shores, start firing their hypersonic missiles and hitting targets like:
- The General Dynamics, US Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, PA, (supplies artillery shells to Ukraine) or;
- The Raytheon missile manufacturing plants in New England, or;
- The military bases throughout New Jersey that are acting as transportation logistics hubs to supply Ukraine, or;
- the Submarine manufacturing site in Groton, CT, or;
- the huge naval port at Norfolk, VA from which much of the Ukraine armaments are loaded on ships,
The US would be clutching their pearls and screeching “We’ve been attacked” without ever bothering to mention we caused the whole thing to begin with.
Of course, none of this changes how YOU and ME will be affected once hostilities begin. Imagine the shear chaos – nationwide – once we come under actual military attack by Russia. The “masses who are asses” who have made ZERO preparations for actual war, will be literally out-of-their-minds.
Many will run to the supermarket to buy food. Markets will likely be stripped bare of food within hours. Others will frantically run to gas-up their vehicles – only to find many gas stations already out of fuel. (Both of which we all see every time a Hurricane hits. People are warned for DAYS in advance, but most wait until a couple hours before the storm makes landfall, then run out to buy food, water, and get fuel, only to find everything sold out.)
If you thought seeing the panic from a hurricane was bad, wait until you see the panic of an actual war starting. It will be a “Mad Max” type of Freak Show.
Think I exaggerate?
Once the missiles start striking military targets, how long do you think it will be before some nitwit says to another nitwit, ‘are any missiles coming here to New York City?” A third nitwit who only heard PART of the question, then panics and tells other people “missiles are coming to New York City.” That’s all it’s gonna take for there to be absolute mayhem.
Think Lincoln and Holland Tunnel traffic is bad on a typical workday? Wait until you see tens-of-thousands more people all trying to get out of Manhattan at the same time. I suspect they’ll be smashing into each other – even driving on sidewalks – trying to get through the tunnels and OUT of NYC.
Then, the major highways will fill up. So what might we see there? How about the same self-centered douchebags we usually see driving up the shoulders when traffic gets jammed up. THEY don’t care that the shoulder is for breakdowns or emergency use. THEY have to get . . . . wherever they have to get to. . . and THEY aren’t going to wait like everybody else. The car wrecks and smash-ups on the highways will cripple those roads as a means of evacuation.
Maybe certain states will try to implement “Reverse flow” on their major highways to get people out of THEIR cities. Except guess who isn’t showing up to handle the reverse-flow process? The Department of Transportation guys. THEY will be among the people trying to high-tail it out. If they think missiles are coming – maybe even nuclear missiles ….. they’ll undoubtedly say “fuck the job.” Same thing with the cops. The firemen. The EMT’s on Ambulances. “Fuck the job — I have to protect MY family.” The local Emergency Services, will utterly collapse.
Now, I know that some of you think “Russia wouldn’t dare.” You’re wrong. The reason you’re wrong is that it is no longer a matter of Russia having a choice. The US and Europe will not stop what we’re doing. So either Russia PUTS A STOP to what the US and Europe are doing to them via Ukraine, or Russia risks the loss of THEIR entire country. We’re leaving Russia no choice.
Others of you will try telling me “We can defend against those missiles, we have PATRIOT, and THAAD systems to shoot down incoming missiles.” No. We don’t. We gave them Ukraine, and to Israel, and to countries in Europe over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Our own government has left _______ us ________ almost defenseless.
But what I’ve described above will be nothing compared to what will happen if the fight goes nuclear.
The very first atomic bomb to detonate in or over an American target will send panic throughout the entire nation all at once.
We will get to see what all those “peaceful, decent, law-abiding” citizens become when they think their own survival is at stake. Every sociopath and psychopath that has managed to squeak-by and remain a productive member of society, will go apeshit.
Of course, no disaster would be complete without “you-know-who” I’ll just say “THEM” beginning to loot. It’s what THEY do each and every time a disaster strikes. Hurricanes, Tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, even just long-term power outages. Their minds are so small, their thinking is so befuddled and self-centered, all THEY will think about is what THEY can steal.
And don’t bullshit me about this being “racist” — we see it with our own eyes every single time a disaster strikes. They’ll be out there looting the big screen TV’s, grabbing the latest pairs of Whoever’s SNEAKERS are the hottest item, ripping-up the wig stores – even carrying-off whichever ATM machines they can haul away. If they can grab it, they’ll be stealing it. It’s that simple.
It’s what THEY do.
Once the initial salvo has ended, and presuming the powers-that-be who caused all this, can communicate to the other side to agree to a ceasefire, get a ceasefire, life as we knew it will be over forever.
Everything will be closed. No stores. No banks, no credit card machines at any stores that ARE open, no debit cards, no SNAP, no EBT. Those who were smart enough to have cash money, may be able to buy something here or there, but it will be along time before anything even resembling “normal” returns.
As the city-dwellers run out of food, roving bands of savages will start heading out into the suburbs to pillage. It is there, in the suburbs, that the armed confrontations will likely be worst. Middle class homeowners, many armed, will likely slaughter the marauders.
If any of the savages even make it out to the rural parts of the country, I am of the opinion they won’t last long. Pretty much EVERONE in rural America is armed, and there’s plenty of vacant land and woods to dispose of the carcasses of the sub-human animals they have to put an end to.
All this because the United States of America and the European Union, thought they could get away with fomenting, financing, and facilitating the forcible overthrow of the democratically elected President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, in the year 2014.
After Yanukovych was overthrown, it was the US that installed a puppet regime in Ukraine, and it has been the US and the EU that have caused each and every escalation of hostilities between Ukraine and Russia.
Today, we’re at what Russia says “is not an escalation, it is ignition.” I think they mean “ignition of War.”
Isn’t it interesting, and quite coincidental, that the same Donald Trump who just reportedly “authorized” Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia, will be meeting tomorrow with E V E R Y General and Admiral in the E N T I R E Armed Forces of the United States? Yep.
For the first time in all of US History, every General and Admiral in the Entire US military, has been called to a meeting at the US Marine Corps Base in Quantico, VA.
There has never once been such a meeting, ever before in the entire history of the country.
I think this meeting is to tell the Military what’s coming. How fast it all starts, is unknown to me. But I suspect it won’t be long.
At what point did you realize it was the right time to leave your job?
I was in the middle of an evaluation when my manager said that I left early. I stated that I never left early but as I was saying that I thought “I’ve been late a few times because I hate this job!” The next words out of my mouth were “What do I have to do to get out of this?”
I drove home that day happy for the first time since starting the job. Maybe it wasn’t the right way to quit. Maybe I should have started looking for another job first. I was lucky in that I had no debt other than a mortgage which wasn’t a strain. My car was paid off, was only three years old and had about 30k miles on it.
At the time, my mom was in a nursing home. I was able to see her more often without a job taking up my time most days. I didn’t know this would happen but my mom died a few months later and those few months when I could go see my mom, take her to lunch, or discuss anything going on with our lives, were irreplaceable.
Why Dating in Japan Is IMPOSSIBLE
China has executed four Canadian citizens so far in 2025, the liberal government and media have refused to release who, when and what for, how can anyone find out?
In China, anyone found in possession of more than 1 kilogram of opium or 50 grams of heroin is sentenced to death, regardless of their country of origin.
The four Canadian citizens were drug traffickers and deserved to be executed.
If their family wishes to receive the ashes, they can pay to have them mailed from China, otherwise we will use them as flower fertilizer.
Why is China so strict on drugs?
We’re not like that in the Canada.
China had the first and second Opium Wars, where Westerners brought opium and it completely trashed their economy.
So looking at this history, we can see why China has such strong stance on having drugs in the country.
They don’t want an ineffcient population.
There are 1.4 billion people in China, and they have a history that spans thousands of years.
You can imagine having that level of history，why they operate the way they do and react to things now, is probably due to what happened in the past.
China welcomes law-abiding foreign tourists; drug traffickers can only return home in the form of ashes.
Texas Roasted Potatoes
Serve this side dish at your next cookout.
Yield: 8
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red potatoes, quartered
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Toss together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for one hour (turning frequently) or until lightly browned.
Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? Was there a good or bad outcome?
Not exactly a hitchhiker, but certainly a good story. About twenty years ago, I was driving near my house and saw a guy walking down the road, carrying a gasoline can. Thinking he might have run out of gas, I pulled over and asked if he needed a ride. He said he was trying to get to the nearest gas station, as his car had, indeed, run out of gas. I said I would be glad to take him there, about a mile or so away.
He thanked me and got into the car…and then proceeded to tell me he was in a big hurry, as he had to get to the airport as soon as possible, since he was playing in the Super Bowl the next day. I looked at this middle aged, maybe 200 pound guy and thought “Great, I picked up a nut case.” But he seemed harmless. I took him to the gas station, and as he got out, he asked my name. I told him, and asked his. After he told me, I thought for a moment, then told him his name was vaguely familiar. To which he responded “Yeah, I’m the drummer for Santana. We’re playing the Super Bowl tomorrow.”
At which point I told him I would be glad to take him back to his car after he got some gas. He was incredibly appreciative. And a few minutes later, I dropped him and his now-full gas can at his car, parked by the side of the road. A very nice looking Porsche convertible.
Eternity and an Empty Box
Submitted into Contest #288 in response to: Set your story during — or just before — a storm.… view prompt
H.D. Mauser
“How do you know? Who told you this?”
My head nodding to the roll of papers stuffed into my pants pocket.
“This article is scheduled to automatically release to the American public tomorrow morning. Go ahead – read it. When the country learns of what you’re planning, every person with a firearm is going to head to that airbase. And when they can’t get on the shuttle, they’re going to make sure it’s destroyed. I can prevent this information from releasing. All I’m asking for is a seat.”
The memory haunts my heart. That my last act in the capacity of a profession I once thought meaningful was one of blackmail unsettles me. And this, to cast my lot in with the men and women I was prepared to cast to the dogs as traitors to humankind. But then I remember the void, and my fear unseats my guilt. I have tried, in these past two weeks, to stare into the dark abyss that must be death, and reconcile my mind to the thought of non-existence. I have stared into the interminable blackness, the unadulterated silence, the endless absence of consciousness. I have imagined eternities upon eternities unfolding and the very blanket of time beginning to tear, and through it all, the complete darkness of consciousness that is death. The idea is nauseating, and my mind rejects it like an upset stomach does food. And so I flee, at any cost or disgrace, from the darkness that pervades our atmosphere and speaks of the true darkness on its heels.
When I reach the gates of the remote airbase, my old vehicle whirring with exertion, I flash the badge they issued me and drive past the soldiers manning the gate. I park and trudge into a small command center a half mile from the launchpad. My two-feet-by-one-foot-by-one-foot trunk weighs heavily in my arms. Some eighty individuals linger inside, holding hushed conversations or staring silently at the floor. I see the president looking pointedly away from me. A woman near the door points me to a small bay where an electric buggy is idling, hitched to a cart laden with boxes identical to mine. I pile mine on top. I spend the next hour sitting in a plastic chair, wondering what I ought to do, say, and think in my last hour on earth, and reaching no conclusion.
The time has finally come. The immense rocket boosters and attached passenger shuttle is ready for takeoff, and we are ushered outside and towards the boarding tower by the engineers who, inexplicably, are willing to remain behind to guide our transport away from earth. 8 a.m., and the sun is well above the horizon. I wish the storm had not abated before my last view of the sky. Had it not, I could almost believe that this blackened atmosphere and ashen sky are the gloom of thunderclouds. Perhaps the rain would ameliorate the acrid taste of the charred air. We are climbing the tower and beginning to board. I weep for the ashes in my lungs – all that is left of D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles; of Orlando, and Cape Canaveral, and Huntsville. I weep for the millions of terrified unfortunates cast instantaneously into the abyss of death. I wish the rainclouds would return. Instead, the unfading cloud of detonated cities hangs poisonous and rainless upon the air. Where this cloud lingers, death will follow. It is smothering the sun and chilling the earth. They say it will bring the demise of all crops, and that remaining mankind will starve to death in a year.
We blast skyward towards the interstellar transport that is to take us to a new earth. We reach the transport and successfully transfer over from our shuttle. I find my seat and avoid looking out the window, down towards the smoking earth. Our ship begins its final journey, and I rise from my seat to join the queue waiting for the minuscule restroom. As I do, a stack of gray containers buckled to the wall catches my eye at the back of the passenger hold. I exit the line and walk to the homogeneous assembly of boxes. I scan the printed numbers until I find number seventy-two. What idiot brings a box of dirt into outer space? Yet I know why I did. This box contains earth, rain, and a seed of life. That seed is the offspring of an organism that lived with purpose, a purpose fulfilled in this seed. It is an organism that lived its mortal life with purpose and that will die without pain. Yet why do I pine for eternity while squandering the mortal life I have? Why is the seed of eternity planted in the heart of a mortal man?
Hurtling towards the newborn Terra Nova colony where my new life will begin, I wonder whether the sting of death will be duller in this new world. I wonder whether the future of non-existence, just as inevitable in the new world as the old, will ever reconcile with the irrational certainty in my heart that my consciousness must persist beyond death; that the being of my inner self must surely be eternal.
Do you think that China will spend as much money on terrorist feeding programs as America has over many years?
No, Chinese leaders are not American politicians.
The fundamental problem here is, there’s a huge information gap between China and the West. As I said, human beings can’t imagine what he hasn’t seen before, therefore, many westerners tend to imagine China based on their knowledge of their own country.
FYI, the fake news about Xinjiang, are actually the effort to wipe out the root of terrorism.
The reason why China took actions in Xinjiang is the result of a series of terror attacks conducted by Muslims, especially by Uyghurs. They wanted to establish an Islamic State in Xinjiang and were backed and were mainly funded by USA, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Even the USA provided assylum to some of those terrorist leaders, like Rabiye Qadir. When you google her in English, you will find she’s a freedom fighter, but when you google her in Chinese, you will find she’s not an “innocent businesswomam”.
Chinese government believe the root of terrorism is poverty and lack of education. The logic is: poverty-lack of education oppotunities-lack of working skills-no work-poverty. Another logic chain is: poverty-lack of education oppotunities-no way to distinguish the extremist speeches-being influenced by the extremists-refuse to accept any modern life-continue the “traditional lifestyle”-become a terrorist.
To break the two chains, Chinese government provided them with
what Chinese gov do vs. (what your politicians and media told you)
vocational schools (“re-education camps”),
very low tax rate for companies operating in Xinjiang to attract them bring factories there (“forced labor”)
12-year free education (they ignored it)
heavy investment on infrastructures including roads, railways, electricity, tap water, internet, hospitals, schools, etc. the subsides from the central government is 22K RMB per capita, comparing that of Sichuan, who received the most subsides among the inland provinces, 6K. (“colonization” “cultural genocide” or ”slavery”)
iron fist to eliminate the armed terrorists (“genocide”)
The philosophy is, when you play dirty, I have two choices, first, play dirty as well; second, mind my own business. The first choice is a race to new low, and that’s the reason of firced fights between the Dems and Reps in USA. The second choice be like “we go high, you go low”, no matter what point you attacked, I don’t fight back (if necessary), in some time, the weak point vanished and I become stronger.
America is too young in politics, feeding the terrorist and making troubles for others will finally became the touble of oneself, such a senario had been acted in Chinese history for several times. But America hadn’t learned a lesson from the last lesson (Al Qaeda and Taliban). We call it “path dependence”.
Trainload U.S. Tanks Seen in Estonia Moving Toward Russia Border
A trainload of United States M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks was seen in Estonia today, moving toward the Russia Border.
Photo above. No other details, yet.
Shorpy
What is your most embarrassing moment when your parents just walked in?
Way back in my mid 20’s, I moved took a transfer that put me close to my folks. I ended up moving my bed and packed belongings into their garage for a short time while I settled into the new job and looked for an apartment. I was an adult, but respectful of it being my parents house.
One afternoon my girlfriend came to pick me up for a date. At the same time, my parents were heading out for their weekly shopping trip. We kinda lingered and, hearing the house door close, we took advantage of the empty house to fool around before going out.
Two problems. My mom apparently remembered something with her laundry at the last minute and the door to garage from the house hadn’t locked properly. Yep, the washer and dryer were in the garage.
My mom walked in, took one look at me sitting fully undressed on the edge of the bed, girlfriend on her knees in front of me, and she turned right around and left the house.
My Cheating Ex Went Broke After Our Divorce, Now DEMANDS I Pay For Her Kids From Her Newest Marriage
Will Tesla be able to catch up with BYD in terms of electric vehicle sales in China?
Tesla better come up with something game changing.
It was the undisputed market trend setter a few years ago. But it has sat on its laurels for too long.
Meanwhile Chinese EVs are not sitting still:
Messages and images and playing games on their lights
Intelligent projector headlights
AR windshields for navigation and simulated racing
Rotating car seats for better in car poker game
Emergency floating and wading in water
Active suspension that can dance and jump over potholes
Parking assist by differential torque on wheels.
These are some of the new technologies that have found their way into Chinese EVs these past years, often on models cheaper than Tesla.
You do the math.
Decapitation Attack Can Cripple US Military – Today – September 30
If an Adversary of the United States wants to literally Decapitate the entire military of the United States, they have their chance to do that – TODAY.
On Orders from Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, EVERY Staff Officer from the rank of Brigadier General and higher, including all Admirals, from EVERY Branch of the US Armed Forces, are gathering for a meeting today at the US Marine Corps Base in Quantico, VA. I have seen numbers ranging from ~650 all the way up to ~900 such Officers to attend this meeting.
This type of meeting has never been called before, in the entire history of the United States, for obvious reasons: It would allow an Adversary to literally cut-off the head of the entire Armed Forces.
The straight-line distance from Marine Corps Base Quantico, to the open Atlantic Ocean (Near Ocean City, MD) is only about 145 miles.
An Adversary with a submarine, could lay in wait off the coastline and fire submarine-launched missiles at the base. With today’s Hypersonic missiles, the time from launch to impact would be only seconds. Not enough time to detect the launch, get radar lock, and shoot down the incoming missiles.
Worse, with the advent of Drone technology, multiple drones could be launched from inside the US, and no one would know they were inbound until they got close enough to the base to commence their dive bomb.
The stated reason for this meeting is for Hegseth to speak to the military leadership about the “Warrior Ethos.” To turn the US Military back to war fighting and away from it’s prior (failed) focus on social experiments like “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness (DEI).”
The military will go back to operating strictly on Merit – so we won’t see Officers being told to walk around in red High Heels so they know what it feels like to be a woman.
“No one, and I mean no one, even senior-level generals who have been directed to travel, in some cases, thousands of miles for this meeting, have been told, yet, what the purpose of the meeting is,” said Dan Lamothe, one of the Washington Post reporters who broke the story. “This is a very highly unusual meeting to bring this many generals together, all on relatively short notice.”
Marine Corps Base Quantico will operate on Code Blue status Tuesday, opening at noon with only essential personnel authorized access to base earlier.
Quantico says there will be numerous traffic restrictions, road closures. Military check points on base began this morning at 4 a.m. and will continue until about noon.
“Unnecessary/unofficial travel on the base should be avoided. Delays should be expected,” the base said in a Facebook post.
Hal Turner Remarks
I do not think a speech about “Warrior Ethos” is the actual reason for the meeting. I think we are heading directly into a nuclear World War 3 with Russia and China, and this meeting is to tell the top military brass what’s what.
If today’s meeting gets attacked, whoever they point the finger of blame at, will face full scale war.
My guess: Russia.
The U.S. and the E.U. have been trying desperately to spark a direct war with Russia for more then three years over the ongoing Ukraine situation. Russia hasn’t taken the bait.
So I think today’s meeting will achieve the start of a war that the powers-that-be failed to achieve in more than three years.
It seems to me they MUST have this war: The U.S. is now hopelessly in debt $37.5 TRILLION, and needs Debt Forgiveness.
The only way to get that is to be able to go to the Creditors, tell them “Our cities are smashed, our economy is in ruins, our people are dead, we have no way to pay you – we need debt forgiveness.”
For you and me, all WE have to do for them to get what they want, is for us to die in a nuclear holocaust.
They get to ride-out the war in their nice, comfy, well-stocked, nuclear bunkers, come out when it’s all over, and start the whole show all over again.
As I write this at 8:07 AM EDT, we will all get to see if this is their plan – today.
I earnestly hope I am wrong.
Today’s meeting begins at 9:00 AM EDT.
Sir Whiskerton and the Case of Fisherman Finn’s Fantastic Fish Tales: A Tale of Tall Tales and Feline Ingenuity
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale of fish, fibs, and one very determined cat. Today’s story is one of exaggerated stories, comical misunderstandings, and a fisherman who learns that honesty is the best policy. So, grab your fishing rod and a sense of humor, as we dive into Sir Whiskerton and the Case of Fisherman Finn’s Fantastic Fish Tales: A Tale of Tall Tales and Feline Ingenuity.
The Arrival of Fisherman Finn
It all began on a quiet morning when Sir Whiskerton was enjoying a peaceful stroll along the edge of the farm’s pond. The sun glistened on the water, the frogs croaked their morning songs, and the fish swam lazily beneath the surface. All was calm—until a loud, boisterous voice shattered the tranquility.
“Ahoy there, farm folk!” called a man in a wide-brimmed hat, carrying a fishing rod and a tackle box that looked like it had seen better days. “Name’s Finn, Fisherman Finn, and I’ve come to catch the biggest, most legendary fish in this here pond!”
Sir Whiskerton, ever the curious cat, approached the newcomer with a raised eyebrow. “And what, pray tell, makes you think our humble pond holds such legendary fish?” he asked, his tone dripping with skepticism.
Finn grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Why, I’ve heard tales of this pond from far and wide! They say it’s home to fish so big, they could swallow a cow whole! Fish so clever, they can outwit the smartest fisherman! Fish so rare, they glow in the dark and sing opera!”
Sir Whiskerton blinked. “Opera? Really?”
“Absolutely!” Finn declared, setting up his fishing gear. “And I, Fisherman Finn, am here to catch them all!”
The Farm’s Reaction
Word of Finn’s arrival spread quickly, and soon the farm animals gathered by the pond to watch the spectacle. Doris the Hen clucked nervously, while Rufus the Dog wagged his tail in excitement. “Do you think he’ll really catch a fish that big?” Rufus asked, his eyes wide with wonder.
“Doubtful,” Sir Whiskerton replied, flicking his tail. “But this should be entertaining, at least.”
Finn wasted no time in regaling the animals with his tall tales. “Why, just last week,” he began, “I caught a fish so big, it took three men and a donkey to reel it in! And when we finally got it ashore, it turned out to be a mermaid! She sang me a song so beautiful, it made the stars cry!”
The animals gasped in awe, though Sir Whiskerton remained unimpressed. “A mermaid, you say? In a freshwater pond?”
“Oh, absolutely!” Finn said, nodding vigorously. “And that’s not all! I once caught a fish that could predict the weather. It told me a storm was coming, and sure enough, it rained for forty days and forty nights!”
Doris the Hen fainted dramatically, while Rufus barked in excitement. “This is amazing! Can we see the fish?”
Finn chuckled. “Patience, my furry friends. The fish in this pond are clever. It’ll take all my skill to catch them.”
The Misunderstandings Begin
As Finn continued to spin his tales, the animals began to take them seriously. Bessie the Tie-Dye Cow, usually the picture of calm, looked worried. “What if there really is a fish that can swallow a cow whole?” she asked, her mood ring flashing an agitated red. “I don’t want to be fish food!”
Even Porkchop the Pig, who was usually more interested in food than fish, looked concerned. “What if the fish are plotting against us? What if they’re planning a takeover?”
Sir Whiskerton rolled his eyes. “There’s no such thing as a fish that can sing opera or predict the weather. Finn is just telling tall tales.”
But the animals weren’t convinced. “What if he’s right?” Doris asked, her feathers ruffled. “What if the fish are more dangerous than we thought?”
The Investigation
Realizing that Finn’s stories were causing unnecessary panic, Sir Whiskerton decided to investigate. He approached Finn, who was now lounging by the pond, waiting for a bite. “Finn,” Sir Whiskerton said, his tone firm, “your stories are causing quite a stir. The animals are starting to believe that the fish in this pond are some kind of mythical creatures.”
Finn chuckled. “Well, isn’t that the point? A little imagination never hurt anyone.”
“It’s hurting them,” Sir Whiskerton replied, gesturing to the anxious animals. “They’re worried about being swallowed by fish or caught in a fish-led uprising. You need to set the record straight.”
Finn sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But where’s the fun in that?”
The Truth Comes Out
Just then, Finn’s fishing line jerked violently. “I’ve got something!” he exclaimed, reeling in his catch. The animals gathered around, their eyes wide with anticipation. But when Finn pulled the fish out of the water, it was nothing more than a small, ordinary perch.
“Is that… it?” Rufus asked, his tail drooping.
Finn looked embarrassed. “Well, uh, sometimes the big ones get away.”
Sir Whiskerton seized the moment. “You see?” he said, addressing the animals. “There’s no giant fish, no mermaids, no weather-predicting opera singers. Just ordinary fish in an ordinary pond.”
The animals looked relieved, though a little disappointed. “So… no fish uprising?” Porkchop asked.
“No fish uprising,” Sir Whiskerton confirmed.
Finn’s Lesson
Finn, realizing the impact of his tall tales, decided to come clean. “I suppose I got carried away,” he admitted. “I just wanted to impress you all. But I see now that honesty is more important than a good story.”
The animals nodded, and even Sir Whiskerton gave Finn a small smile. “There’s nothing wrong with a little imagination,” he said, “but it’s important to know where the line is.”
The Moral of the Story
As the farm returned to its usual calm, the animals reflected on the day’s events.
The moral of the story, dear reader, is this: Honesty is the best policy. Whether you’re a fisherman with a penchant for tall tales or a cat with a knack for solving mysteries, it’s important to be truthful and considerate of others. And while a little imagination can bring joy, it’s crucial to know when to draw the line.
A Happy Ending
With Finn’s tall tales put to rest, the farm animals were finally able to enjoy the pond without fear of being swallowed by mythical fish. Sir Whiskerton, ever the diplomat, had once again saved the day, proving that even the most exaggerated problems can be solved with a little honesty.
As for Finn, he decided to stay on the farm for a while, fishing for real fish and sharing stories that were a little less… fantastical. “Turns out,” he said with a grin, “the truth can be pretty entertaining too.”
And so, dear reader, we leave our heroes with the promise of new adventures, new stories, and hopefully, no more fishy fibs. Until next time, may your days be filled with laughter, love, and just a little bit of feline genius.
The End.
Has an animal ever alerted you to a potentially dangerous situation?
My Baba (StaffieX) always knew if something was ‘off’. If he thought someone was ‘dodgy’ he’d show his teeth and let out a low growl. That was enough to get me on high alert. If the person came too close he would go for them. If he was off the lead he would chase them away. A friend a d I were walking with Baba and her Rough collie. She was the love of his life. Out of nowhere a Ross GSD appeared and started pestering Kerry. Baba flew at him, didn’t bite, just slamed into him. Other dog took off being g chased by little Baba. It was a funny sight.
Why do gypsies have such a bad reputation?
This answer is much longer than I originally intended for it to be. Sorry.
Where I currently live there is a whole neighborhood of people who live in caravans and mobile homes. It’s a place nobody goes to, not even the police dare enter – at most, they will stop along the entry road and won’t do much more than that. It’s really that dangerous.
How do you know these people from others? Older ladies beg for money. Younger kids are used as pickpockets or to break into homes – can’t do much to a minor, legally. The men break into homes and do real damage.
Oh, they live in mobile homes, sure. They also steal. They don’t pay any taxes, as there’s no real income. They live on government aids (more free stuff!) and most drive Mercedes Benz cars, which they don’t own, some other relative does.
It’s really quite insane.
Now, the country I live in has had a few problems other than these. I’ve read a few answers where Nazis were cited as trying to delete the race altogether, alongside all the other people they were trying to kill off. This also happened here, just way more recently. People got fed up with all the stealing, the entitlement, the problems, and went and burned down whole camps, with all the dwellers inside. Maybe some fifteen/twenty years ago.
Look, we’ve had three burglaries throughout my whole life. One was during the night, and we have no clue of who that was. Two were in broad daylight and those we know to be gypsies.
How can one not be prejudiced?
Then again, I also volunteer for search and rescue. Recently, we had to go look for a person in what turned out to be a really big case. I’m not going to add any other information about it. When we went to retrieve the object we needed for our dogs to go look for the missing person, we had to go to the house. Well… there’s not many words to describe the place. Unsanitary is the best choice, to keep a polite and neutral tone. Armed forces went alongside the person who actually entered the home (if it can be called such). I’m not willing to give any details, but that place alone is a reason not to like these people.
I’m sure there’s some honest ones out there, but I don’t really know that much. I try not to be biased, though of course I am. Not happy about it, but I have no knowledge of anything positive going on in camps. Plus, we’ve never had any of these kids in schools. Not one. So yeah, maybe they don’t want to adapt to society (and that much I can understand , but by doing so in completely different – also, legal – ways), but they’re also working towards creating the prejudice.
She Was Ashamed Of Her Mom’s Job…Ends Up Doing The Same Work
What do I do if a police car keeps following me even though its police lights are not on? It keeps following me after all of these turns I’m making and is almost tailgating me. What should I do?
When it happened to me once, I didn’t realize it was a police car (actually a deputy sheriff). It was after midnight and I was driving right at the speed limit on a two-lane county road. I noticed a car following me and thought I’ll slow down when in a passing zone. He didn’t pass. I then drove slightly above the speed limit thinking that maybe he was annoyed that I was in the way. He sped up. I thought about flooring the gas but realized it was my first time on that road so any curves ahead would be a bad surprise. I finally decided to turn off onto a small road thinking the guy would keep going and I would be alone again. Instead, he turned off onto the same small road but turned around. As he turned around my tail lights reflected off the decals on the side of his car.
This was in a rural part of North Carolina. My guess is that the redneck deputy thought that because I was driving around 1 am I had to be up to something. My car was a Honda Accord with a 4 cyl engine with a whopping 125 HP. Flooring it wouldn’t have gotten me away from a police car.
Acuweather
Submitted into Contest #288 in response to: Set your story during — or just before — a storm.… view prompt
Riley Noel
Ansel sighed and opened up the letter from the library.
“Beginner’s Acupuncture,” he mumbled to himself. “Overdue, five weeks… two-hundred bucks?!” He held the letter up and looked it over again. “That’s wild.”
He got out of his rocking chair with a groan. His knee was stiff. Holding his mail to his chest, he hobbled inside and flipped on the weather channel.
His least favorite face came on the screen: Roland, terrible weatherman.
“What do you have for us today, fraud?”
“For those of you staying at home,” Roland started. “You’re missing one of the most beautiful days of the year.”
Ansel let out a mocking snort. Roland continued, unphased.
“With a high of seventy, and a low of sixty-five, today’s a great day to get your vitamin D in the valley.” Ansel held his knee in protest of this information. There’s no way that was true.
“And when you’re done getting that tan, come by the library where I’ll be doing a signing for my new book: Weather and Whatever. It chronicles the life of your favorite weatherman, from his varsity football days to his years on your television screen, every morning seven AM sharp. See you there.”
Ansel turned off the TV, revealing his hunched over visage in the reflection. His knee hurt. There was a storm coming and it was going to rain out Roland’s book signing, he was sure of it.
He turned to his bookshelf and scanned for Beginner’s Acupuncture, he paused at the framed photo of his football team. There was Roland at the front, always had to be at the center of the world.
Ansel’s hand landed on the book and he pulled it off the shelf. He needed to use it before he got anymore late fees. He set the book and the package Murr brought by on the counter and began to leaf through the pages.
“Knee, knee, knee…” Ansel whispered to himself. “Knee.” He’d found the section.
DO NOT USE NON-ACUPUNCTURE NEEDLES
The warning at the start of the chapter was bold and centered, not to be missed. But you must be licensed to buy the real kind of needles, Ansel thought as he ripped open his package. These were pretty standard sewing needles, as thin as he could find.
What’s the big deal? He was getting desperate for some relief.
“Yang Ling Quan,” he read aloud. “Located below and in front of the head of the shinbone.” He felt around on his knee, looking at the diagram. “That’s got to be the yingling.”
“Yin Ling Quan,” he continued. “On the outside of the lower leg, below, and in front of the head of the shinbone.” He felt around as he read until he was satisfied.
He looked out his kitchen window, the sky was still clear. Maybe his knee was just getting worse. It all started the day Roland tackled him at practice, a prank gone wrong. Or maybe a rivalry gone too far, but it had been getting worse with age. The party trick of feeling incoming storms was getting old.
Ansel felt again for the Yang Ling Quan and held his finger to it as he pulled out a needle. This was just a test, he could always get the real needle when he got serious about this. He drove the needle in above his finger.
Nothing. He felt nothing. The pain stopped. Then pain shot through his entire leg, and up through his body. His vision went white and he heard a loud bang.
Laying on the floor, he came to. There was wind howling through his kitchen. He pulled himself up and realized the kitchen window had burst open, and a giant crack was letting water in.
Ansel went into his bathroom to grab a towel. Coming back into the kitchen, he peered out the broken window and saw a smoldering hole in his back yard. That must have been the bang, he thought. Lightning struck right outside.
He couldn’t wait to see what Roland had to say about this. He turned on the weather channel. Roland was reporting live from the library, at his signing.
“We’ve never seen a storm like this in the one hundred fifty years of our town! I advise everyone to shelter in place under the storm calms down. There’s a strong possibility of tornados touching down as well…” Roland continued as Ansel smirked to himself.
He looked down to his knee and saw the needle still there. It had really worked, no pain, no aches. He pried the needle out and studied it. Who needs acupuncture needles? These work fine.
The aching began to return, quickly, and worse than before. He felt around for the Yang Ying Quan and held his finger there, driving the needle back in. His TV lit up and the room glowed white. Ansel flew backwards into his coat stand.
Lighting had struck his TV, and left a smoldering pile of junk. Laying on his back, Ansel looked to his knee, then to the TV. What were the odds? Two strikes at the same moments he jabbed himself. There’s no way that’s coincidence.
He pulled himself up by his coat rack and put on a poncho. Whatever was happening, he was going to unleash it on Roland.
What has been your most memorable funeral and why was it so?
When my mother passed away, it was decided that I would give the eulogy, as I had spent the most time with her in her last few years. She was an impressive and well loved woman. The church and the church basement were filled, so they sat speakers outside, so people in the parking lot could hear.
I worked on the eulogy for days. It was a very moving speech, in fact too moving ,as I kept breaking down and crying for the loss of a woman who had meant so much to me.
It started as a big long eulogy, and I kept stripping out parts that made me cry, even after practicing a hundred times. So it was a fairly short eulogy by the time I was done. It was still very moving.
On the day of the funeral, it was even harder not to cry , with all the emotions flowing. I should mention that I don’t cry, or at least I didn’t at that age, so this was heart wrenching .
Our family,of course sat in the front row. My brother, his wife and two daughters ( my nieces) and I. I was close to my family, especially close to my youngest niece.
I got up front, I had practiced so much I barely had to glance at my notes, I worked my way through the eulogy, my voice breaking in a couple of spots, but I didn’t stumble, or cry. Until I read the last line. Then the tears started coming, I didn’t make any noise, but I could barely see, as I turned to leave the platform, I took one step and my 7 or 8 year old niece was there, and took my hand and took me back to the pew. She held my hand for the rest of the service.
I was oblivious to everything but my nieces hand and the service.
They had a camera videoing everything and playing it on the side of the church, so the the people in the parking lot could see.
We had a reception afterwards, and everyone told me what a lovely eulogy it was, that they barely kept it together, as I recounted her life and wishes. Over and over, I heard the comment that they lost it, when my little niece, with no prompting got up and comforted her uncle Bob.
I asked the church to see the video. It was incredibly moving to see my tiny little niece get up and come to me. What was unexpected, was that you could hear everyone in the church take a breath, or say ah, when she took my hand.
It was dead silence, and then suddenly, in sync, a deep breath.
My brother and sister in law did an incredible job, to raise a 7 year old, that would do that.
My niece has since moved out of province, found her own soulmate, and lives a great life. We still keep in touch.
Texas Sirloin Quesadillas
Yield: 4 large quesadillas or 32 pieces
Ingredients
- 1 pound sirloin, cut 1 inch thick
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large poblano peppers
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, cut into strips
- 3 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 8 large flour tortillas
Instructions
- Slice steak across the grain into thin slices.
- In a large sealable plastic bag combine wine, garlic, cumin, chili powder and olive oil.
- Add meat to the bag.
- Seal bag and turn bag to coat meat in the marinade.
- Marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Cut poblano peppers in half, remove seeds and veins, and cut into strips.
- Add 2 tablespoon of oil to a sauté pan.
- Add the onion and pepper strips. Sauté until the onion is tender.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan.
- Drain the beef and add to the pan. Sauté quickly to brown the beef, add the onions – peppers back to the pan. Stir fry for 1 minute more.
- Place a tortilla on a griddle.
- Sprinkle with some of the melted cheese, beef mixture, cilantro and top with more cheese.
- Cover with another tortilla.
- Grill until cheese melts and tortilla is browned.
- Cut into wedges and serve.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas and beef until it is all gone.
What did your boss say to you during a meeting that resulted in you immediately resigning?
Refused to allow me to use the vacation time that I had accrued, and which he had 5 minutes previously said I would need to use or lose.
For context, I was employed by a company and was allowed to take 6 weeks (30 days) of PTO per calendar year. Normally, the company allowed employees to carry 2 weeks of PTO foward to the next year for each year of service. So if you use 4 weeks’ PTO and carry the remaining 2 weeks forward, next year you have 8 weeks of PTO and can carry up to 4 weeks forward (2 weeks for each of your 2 years’ employment). In my case, because my role required 24×7 on-call availability during the times when I would have chosen tot ake vacation, I had an agreement that I could carry forward all of my unused vacation time, which averaged at about 5 weeks per year.
After 5 years with the company, I had almost 30 weeks of accrued vacation time, and the CEO was getting twitchy about the numbers.
At this point, I was informed that my mother was suffering with Alzheimer’s or some other undetermined form of dementia. My father already had a number of illnesses and had recently been diagnosed with cancer. Neither of them was able to serve as the guardian, medical advocate, or caretaker for the other, and as the only surviving child I felt that I had to take on the duty. So, in a meeting where my CEO informed me that I would need to use the vacation time I had accrued, I explained my parents’ situation and advised that I wanted to take a paid leave of absence, effective as soon as we could arrange a stand-in for my role, for 6 months, which would leave me with a little less than 4 weeks’ vacation time.
The CEO refused, despite his previous comments, saying that it would take several months to arrange a suitable replacement. So I resigned on the spot and sent him my resignation letter, along with a copy of my employment contract highlighting the requirement that I give 4 weeks’ notice, and that employees above a certain pay grade who resigned would be put on gardening leave for the duration of their notice period (effectively, being told to go home, put your feet up, and be available for former colleagues to ask questions during office hours). I left my company laptop and mobile with him before leaving the office, made sure the HR rep had my personal telephone contact number for any questions, and was out of the office and gone less than 10 minutes after my leave of absence was denied. On a plane to go and look after my parents the next morning.
The last pay cheque I got was very fat indeed, given that it included 30 weeks’ salary and bonuses in compensation for the vacation time that I had earned but not used.
UPDATED 10:44 PM EDT — Sudden LARGE Sortie of Air-Refueling Tankers from USA Toward Europe
Hal Turner World September 28, 2025
As of 9:39 PM eastern US time on Sunday night, at least seven (7) U.S. Air-Refueling Tankers have taken off from various points in the U.S., appearing to head toward Europe.
To my knowledge there are no NATO military exercises planned for this coming week wherein air-refueling tankers would be used.
So why this sudden burst of tankers heading toward Europe?
Unless . . . . . this week, perhaps . . . . . something really life-altering begins?????
Get right with God.
UPDATE 10:44 PM EDT —
At least three (3) of these tankers are SOAR Tankers out of McConnel AFB in Wichita, KS.
“SOAR tankers” refers to Special Operations Air Refueling tanker aircraft, such as modified KC-135 Stratotankers or other receiver-capable tankers, that provide air-to-air refueling to other military aircraft, especially those involved in special operations.
These tankers offer greater flexibility and capability in complex scenarios, allowing for the consolidation of fuel, longer mission durations for receiver aircraft, and operations with minimal communication and at night.
What will this website become, if the USA starts the war with Russia? I’m keep downloading the PDF files from website, but need few days more.
And 中秋節 is going to come, and people are or prepare to moving. And here’re important people, whatever to the USA or the Old Empire.
Funny cat videos, and obscure trivia. -MM
Is it mean “relax”?
I read this sentence and got 3 answers.
1. This website remain exist.
(Whatever the USA has big war with Russia or not.)(So, relax.)
2. Become the other things.
(Because the USA got heavy damaged or something else.)
3. I got an answer about the contents, maybe because of my question seemed to ask about the contents of website, instead of entire website.