I have been playing around with a new AI image generation tool called XDSL 1.0. It is similar to AlbedoBase XL, but has really nice colors and superior human anatomy presentations.
Today, I wish to present some of my latest works using this new platform. Please tell me what you think.
Today…
DJI’s drone-in-a-box can now launch from moving vehicles
You can squeeze two of DJI’s new Dock 3 into the back of a pickup truck and launch a pair of drones without stopping.
DJI has announced the third iteration of its drone-in-a-box solution designed for missions like safely inspecting power lines and emergency response. As with previous versions, the DJI Dock 3 is small enough to be transported in the back of a pickup truck, but it’s the first that allows DJI’s new Matrice 4D and Matrice 4TD drones to be launched from a moving vehicle using an optional gimbal mount accessory.
the Matrice 4TD for $23,409. Those prices don’t include installation, deployment services, or optional hardware upgrades and software features.
Although the company hasn’t revealed how much that special mount for mobile launches will cost, the new DJI Dock 3 will be available in two bundles priced for enterprise customers with sizable budgets. It can be purchased with the DJI Matrice 4D drone for $21,059, or with the Matrice 4TD for $23,409. Those prices don’t include installation, deployment services, or optional hardware upgrades and software features.
The weather-resistant Dock 3 opens to allow DJI drones to launch or take-off remotely.
Image: DJI
The new dock carries forward several features from previous versions like a built-in weather station, antennas, surveillance cameras, and an internal backup battery. It still needs access to power and the internet, but can be upgraded with a cellular 4G dongle for remote deployment.
The DJI Dock 3 has an improved IP56 rating for dust and water-resistance and its operational temperature range has been expanded to as hot as 50 degrees Celsius, or as cold as -30 degrees Celsius — although DJI says preheating will be needed when temperatures are that cold.
It can communicate with drones on missions as far as 10 kilometers away, but that range can be extended to up to 25 kilometers for fixed deployments (such as on a highrise building) through the use of relays mounted at elevated locations. But that’s assuming your local jurisdiction allows drones to fly automated routes or be remotely operated at those distances. In the US, the FAA requires drone operators to obtain a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver for remote operation at extended distances.
The Dock 3 is designed to work with new IP55-rated water and dust-resistant versions of the DJI Matrice 4 Series of drones that launched earlier this year. The Matrice 4D and 4TD both feature ant-ice propeller blades, 47 minute flight times, and a combination of wide-angle, medium tele, and telephoto cameras. The Matrice 4TD has expanded night time capabilities with the addition of an infrared thermal camera and a near-infrared auxiliary light for added illumination.
What is the most expensive breakfast you’ve ever eaten?
Several years ago I was staying with my husband at a very nice hotel, about $300 a night. It was a Sunday morning. There was a coupon for a free breakfast, so we intended to take advantage of it.
We ventured up to the top level after following a sign for “Breakfast Buffet,” we got off the elevator and continued to follow the signs. They led us to a huge room, with ceiling to floor windows overlooking the city of Toronto, which was beautiful. There was a buffet laid out of every food you could imagine. Thank goodness we were dressed nicely, because all the other diners were. We were quickly escorted to our table, near a huge ice sculpture of a fish. Surrounding it were all sorts of seafood delicacies. Then there was carved to specifications beef, turkey, venison, and pork. Tables of exquisite vegetable dishes. A chef preparing eggs to your orders. All kinds of breakfast meats, bacon , pea meal bacon, several kinds of sausage, more than I can recall.
A dessert table with layers of gorgeous desserts. No, actually there were three of these tables, all with different desserts. And the last thing was a table filled with chocolates, fine chocolates of all types.
It was like a foodholics fantasy. We ate a wonderful brunch, way too much, actually.
At the end, our waiter presented us with the the check. I glanced at it, saw that it was $99 person, and I handed him our free breakfast coupon.
“Madam, this is for breakfast on the second floor in our regular restaurant. Up to a value of $17. I can subtract that from your check if you’d like.”
I practically choked. Yes, please do. So our breakfast was $83 each. We tipped 20% on the $99 each. I think $25. And tucked our tails between our legs and went back to our room to pack up.
That was my most expensive breakfast.
What is the best thing that has ever happened to you for being nice?
A simple story of returned money:
When I was at university, I rode my bike everywhere. One day, on my way to a class, I spotted something bright yellow that didn’t seem to belong, right near a sewer/gutter grate, half buried by brown leaves.
I stopped to check it out. It turned out it was a small envelope, and in it was $5,000 in cash.
First instinct – “Wow, it’s my lucky day.”
Second thought – “Wow, someone must be at their wit’s end right now…”
So I bike over to the campus police department. Tell them what it is. They have a policy that they’ll keep it and wait a certain amount of time, then contact me back if no one claims it (I think it was 90 or 120 days or something). I leave my name and number.
After a few days, I mostly forget about it.
But a week later, when I’m checking my campus mailbox, there’s a simple envelope in there with my name on it.
I open it, and in it is $500, plus a handwritten note:
Dear Sir, Thank you for finding the cash and turning it in – I went back to search for it and couldn’t find it. It was for a car that I was purchasing, in order to make it to an internship I just got. That was the last of my savings. I checked at the police department on campus, and there it was. They told me that you found it and dropped it off. I didn’t know how to thank you, or if that would be weird. When I went to the dealer with the cash, I somehow ended up telling him the story. He dropped the price for me and suggested that I might thank you that way. So here you are – please get yourself something nice, and thanks again for your honesty and thoughtfulness!
Yeah, it was only $500, and not $5,000. But I walked away knowing I helped someone out, yet still got rewarded for it.
Americans Reactions To Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ Plan To Attract Wealthy Foreigners
What’s the best revenge you’ve gotten after being fired or let go from a job?
Back in ‘94, I worked for this shady little trucking company. They paid me peanuts, but I stuck around because I liked the road. One day, after pulling a 16-hour haul, I get a call from the boss:
“Hey Rick, bad news—we’re shutting down. Bring the rig back to the yard and grab your last check from the office.”
Fine. Whatever. I roll in, exhausted, and find my paycheck sitting in an envelope on a folding chair. Real professional. I head straight to the bank, and guess what? Check bounces.
Now, I could’ve just let it go, but Rick Malone doesn’t take kindly to getting screwed over. So, I came up with a plan.
I knew the boss had a habit of bragging about his brand-new boat—this fancy, overpriced thing he kept at the local marina. I also knew that, thanks to some poor decisions on his part, he’d been dodging some hefty parking tickets for his truck fleet.
So, I made a few anonymous calls—one to the DOT about his unpaid tickets and another to the marina about an “abandoned” boat matching his description.
Two days later? His whole fleet was impounded, and his precious boat got towed for “illegal docking.” Cost him thousands to get everything back.
Then, for good measure, I sent him a postcard a week later:
“Now, Bob, you wouldn’t try to shortchange an honest man, would you?”
Cherry Spice Bars
Yield: 2 dozen bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
- 1 (18.25 ounce) box spice cake mix*
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 eggs
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 to 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bars
- Drain maraschino cherries; discard juice or save for another use. Cut cherries in half. Combine dry cake mix, melted butter, brown sugar, water and eggs in a large mixing bowl; mix with a spoon or electric mixer until well combined and smooth. Stir in maraschino cherries. Spread batter into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on wire rack.
Glaze
- Combine confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice; add enough milk to make a thick glaze. Drizzle glaze over cake. Allow glaze to set. Cut into bars.
- Store, up to one week, in an airtight container with sheets of wax paper between each layer of bars.
Notes
* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
Who is to blame for the cartel problem in Mexico?
These guys.
And these guys
And these guys
And these guys
it’s been well over 24 hours, and still only one note in English in the entire internet about a cartel-connected blonde Anglo American caught by Mexican officers smuggling guns into Mexico through Tijuana.
I guess it’s not the kind of thing Fox News is willing to show you, preferring to show you re-runs of clips of shackled migrant workers in US military planes while little Johnny is shooting up right upstairs.
And these guys
And politicians who have “fought” the “War on Drugs” for 50 years by only thinking of the supply side of the equation (and never about the guns they produce, sell and allow to be smuggled out), instead blaming “evil foreigners” for “poisoning our children” (who choose to buy these things), and never truly addressing the demand, which no matter how much you try to stop, will continue to increase the cartels’ profits as long as little Johnny keeps shooting up because their family lives are horrible or because “it was sooo funny in that one movie”.
And oh, do they.
To see this graph and then pretend “it’s a problem in Mexico” is to bury your head in the sand so you can collectively keep shooting up and dying.
I guess it’s easier than personal responsibility.
Trump seeks to toughen Biden’s chip controls over China, and ask key allies match China curbs the US has placed on American chip-gear companies. How will Japan and Netherland response to that? Can China’s chip industry overtake the US?
China has made significant technological breakthroughs in lithography machines, and has achieved national production of equivalent 7nm chips (such as SMIC’s N+2 process), and has successfully manufactured chips with performance comparable to 5nm.
ASML used to underestimate China’s technological capabilities, but now China’s progress has made the Netherlands feel a crisis.
More than 40% of ASML’s revenue comes from China. When China conquers the 3nm process, ASML’s market share may shrink further.
China has a complete industrial system. This is the biggest advantage.
Many well-known scholars at home and abroad once asserted that chip manufacturing is a collection of the world’s top technologies, and it is impossible for a single country to complete it. But Chinese scientific and technological workers refuse to believe in evil. They work silently, without asking about the future, and only focus on scientific research, and finally use their strength to break the doubts.
China’s chip industry may surpass that of the United States within Trump’s four-year term.
Does western industry, including the U.S., have the necessary technology to effectively process rare earth minerals?
No, at most they can only mine rare earth resources, but they do not have the technology to refine them.
To give you an idea of this fact, let me give you some examples and you will understand.
Australia: Three attempts to purify rare earth ores have failed
The 450,000 tons of rare earth ores stored at the rare earth processing plant of the Australian company Lynas in Malaysia are refined to contain 20 times more rare earth impurities than those refined in China and are radioactive! To put it more bluntly: the so-called ‘rare earths’ that Lynas spent huge amounts of money to refine are waste.
How arrogant they were three years ago when they shut down China’s rare earth processing plant, and how desperate they are now staring at data that exceeds usable standards.
Japan: Using Supercomputers to Decipher Chinese Technology to the Point of Collapse
Nagoya laboratory with three supercomputers calculated 1,782 times, but did not decipher the dynamic algorithm of China’s rare earth separation.
While Japan is engaged in reverse engineering, China’s quantum optimization system for rare earth separation has iterated to 49 generations, with algorithmic complexity quintupling every year.
U.S.: Every ton of rare earth ore mining to China to pay $0.3 royalties
The United States spent 800 million U.S. dollars to build a new rare earth refining workshop, its equipment to run once to China to pay $0.3.
When you see China’s Baotou rare earth refining plant 288 intelligent extraction tower 45 seconds precision points 17 elements, the Americans finally understand: refining equipment can be bought, but refining technology can not be bought.
EU: 420 million euros bought second-hand Chinese equipment
In the Estonian forest “Strategic Resource Center” broke shocking news – its core equipment is a second-hand Chinese centrifuges, and key parameters have been deliberately blacked out!
Berliner Zeitung headline: “EU high-end manufacturing stuck with Chinese manuals.”
Turkey: 3 days of wild dreams shattered
The new Anatolian vein triggered a surge in its share price on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, but China’s simultaneous publication of 863 patents covering all mining technologies.
Thus, the Anatolian vein valuation evaporated 60% in 3 days, the Turkish media wailed: “China’s patent hegemony than the vein buried deeper!”
Truth:
- Rare earth minerals are not rare and are found throughout the world. Even if the U.S. obtains rare earth ores from Mongolia, Vietnam, or the Ukraine, without refining technology, it is useless to take the ore.
- There are many rare earths on the periodic table of elements, and China is currently sanctioning the U.S. for just a few of them, and China can play its cards in order, with the trump card still to come. The U.S. has no chance of breaking through China’s ban on U.S. rare earths.
- While the West is still scrambling to mine rare earths, China has long been weaving a dragnet with 5,000+ patents.
- From quantum algorithms to grain boundary diffusion technology, what really turns the world upside down is not the rare earth ores, but the technological key to refining rare earths that the Chinese hold in their hands.
Female Dating Coaches FINALLY SNAP Realizing Women are the Problem
What made you realize your life will never be the same?
June 6, 1996, my youngest son six years old at the time had not been feeling well for about 10 days.
It was very much like the flu however there was other distressing symptoms.
He had choked on food a couple times within that 10 days.
He was dizzy he would throw up.
I took him to the doctors several times because we just couldn’t get a handle on what was going on and I had been raising kids for 19 years and Had never seen anything like this.
On June 6, 1996 I walked past him and noticed he was watching TV with one eye open and one eye closed.
It made me stop dead in my tracks and ask him “why are you doing that“ he told me when he had two eyes open That he saw two TVs.
I asked him to look around the room.
I said “Kyle tell me what you see“ he was saying, I see two of this, I see two of that.
I knew at that moment I was going to take him to the hospital Because double vision seemed very serious to me.
It was a long day at the hospital and they finally did an MRI and sent us home.
It was a Friday and I couldn’t wait through the weekend to see what the radiologist might have found.
So I started calling the hospital at 4:30 PM, at 4:45 on that Friday. I got a call from the radiologist.
He told me that there was a tumor the size of a golf ball completely enclosed in my son‘s brain stem.
I asked him about the tumor and he said he did not want to do this over the phone,
I told him no matter what it is I can take it.
He proceeded to tell me it’s called a brain stem glioma, and that it is always terminal.
He told me at this point if I did nothing that my son had maybe 12 weeks to live.
If I decide to treat, the average lifespan is nine months.
That news was so much like getting punched in the gut.
When I left my bedroom After the call, my son Kyle was waiting for me just outside the door.
I had been crying.
He said “mommy are you crying“ I told him no, mommy has a headache.
I was looking at this beautiful boy and knowing that he would be leaving us very soon.
I did decide to treat and he did survive 11 months.
I’m glad for the time we had together, we were able to talk about everything, laugh, cry.
There was nothing left unsaid.
He turned seven shortly after diagnosis
And died in my arms on Mother’s Day.
My life has never been the same. I am blessed with two surviving sons, but the loss of a child is a forever pain. it’s been 25 years and I can still be rocked to my core by certain memories, dates, and pictures.
I tried to use my years of experience to help others that have lost a child.
Truth or Lie
Submitted into Contest #210 in response to: Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.… view prompt
Suzanne Gonsalves
“Copy that,” Mary said, looking out the earth-side window as if her former station-mates’ splashing into the ocean could be visible from orbit. She whispered, “Why do I always do that?” to her remaining companion in the International Space Station.
“I too look each time,” Vlad whispered back.
“You’re cleared for R&R.”
“KHARA-show!” exclaimed Vlad.
Mary clicked the speaker to confirm and begin their rest and relaxation. “What shall we play?”
“As usual,” Vlad said. “You first.”
Mary floating a minute, thinking, then said, “Favorite actor?”
Vlad flashed a roguish smile and flexed his arm, answering, “Dwayne, The Rock, Johnson.”
“He’s my cousin.” Mary flashed her own smile back.
“No!”
“Final answer?”
Vlad shook his finger at Mary. “Tricky tricky, comradine. Not my answer.”
Mary raised her brows and tapped the window behind her. “Can’t see us from space, but Guam packs a pop-culture punch.” She bent toward him so their noses were mere centimeters apart. “Dwayne Johnson is my cousin.”
They stared each other down, revolving like a floating sculpture of Vishnu, their bent arms and legs arching a corona over their locked eyes.
“I lie?” Vlad taunted.
“You want me to say you are.”
He cocked his head.
“Am I a liar?” Mary batted her eyes.
Vlad grabbed a bar to stop rotating around her. He wrapped his legs around it and crossed his arms, examining her. “You lie well. I always supposing Americans to be shit liars.”
“I’m not American.”
“You are.”
“Maybe three-fifths of one, but that’s a failing grade.”
Vlad glanced at the closest microphone.
“What are they gonna do?” Mary scanned Vlad’s body: eyes to knees and back again. “I think you’re telling the truth.”
“Derm!” he exhaled in defeat.
“Everyone loves The Rock. He’s adorable.” Mary held out her hand for the reward.
“Too hasty, comradine. I am not already answering.”
Mary hooked her legs to sit opposite him. She crossed her arms too. “Well?”
“You say he is cousin. Is he cousin on you mother’s side or fahzzas.”
“I love your accent.”
“Answer, please.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. The game is Truth or Lie, not 20 questions.”
Vlad hmph’d his displeasure and released himself to float around her. “You have face of Siberian but skin of Maori.”
Mary rolled her eyes.
“You from same region as Rock, but same island?”
Mary glanced at the digital clock over his shoulder. “Twenty seconds.”
“Ok ok.” In an effort to look suave, he crossed his legs and tapped his chin. But, unmoored, bumped into the space station’s frame. “Oo!”
Mary chuckled. “Ten”
“No ask me how I am?”
She counted down in Russian, “Pyetz, chteerie…”
Vlad pointed at her, “Lie!”
Mary shook his hand. “Well played, friend.”
“Tank you,” Vlad said.
As he pulled her into a collegial hug, his eye was distracted by the view of earth behind her. He released her as his mouth fell open.
“What?” Mary turned.
They were over the South Pacific. An orange dot was growing in the vast expanse of blue.
Mary accepted his arms around her as she watched Guam vaporize beneath them. Her tears floated into his face.
Alarms went off. An order was coming in on both of their private coms.
Vlad silenced the station’s alarm and held her closer. “I am not wanting to know this order,” he said.
“Fuck the order,” Mary said. “Fuck all of them!”
As they orbited across the beginning of the war, the cities of the world burst into orange dots: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Mumbai, Riyadh, Paris…
Mary buried her face in Vlad’s chest.
He had closed his eyes after Hong Kong and hadn’t strained to see if Moscow was over the horizon. He rested his chin on her soft hair and prayed for the back of his eyelids to stop glowing from the orange blasts far below.
“What are we gonna do?” she said.
He shook his head and held her. “What is there to do?” He cupped the back of her head. “May I closing this shade?” he asked.
“Pah-JHA-lsta,” she said.
Vlad covered the window so their only view was the other window: deep, black, star-spangled space.
No earth noise reached them. No more alarms sounded. No more messages were sent. After hours of stories and embrace, they fell asleep.
“Vlad,” Mary whispered, nudging him. “You’re laying on the wrong thing.” She pulled him away from the control panel he’d drifted into.
Vlad woke. “I had bad dream,” he said. He looked around, dismayed. “How I sleep here?”
Mary envied his amnesia. But it only lasted a moment. When he saw her face and the message notice still blinking on the console, any hint of a good morning left him.
“Do you want breakfast?” she asked. “Or do you want to keep playing?”
“DOH-bre OOT-ruh,” he said, hooking his legs to sit. “We play.”
Mary resumed game position. “I’m gonna brush my teeth. Don’t wanna win with morning breath.” She smiled, taking her oral hygiene kit from its compartment.
“Ok,” he said. “I go first.” He glanced at the shaded window. “When this open, what we see?”
Mary swirled the brush across her teeth and nodded acceptance of his challenge. With her elbow, she indicated that he should answer first.
“I tink band of ash. Poles white.”
Mary bobbed her head as if to say, “good guess,” and spat into the recycling tube. “Not yet. I think it’s all grey down there. No time for the dust to settle into a band.” She began to stow her dental kit.
“Final answer?”
Mary clicked the compartment shut. “Yup.”
Vlad motioned for her to lift the shade.
Mary hesitated.
“Is not useful being ignorant,” Vlad said. He held out his hand. “I am here.”
Mary took his hand with one of her own and lifted the shade.
They gasped.
Vlad crossed himself three times in the Russian way.
Mary pushed herself into the mess hall, returning with a silver food packet which she floated to Vlad. “You win the round.”
“Tank you,” he said.
Mary nodded. “My turn.”
Vlad stowed his booty and nodded for her question.
Mary turned toward the blinking message light. She looked at Vlad. “What’s the last order?”
“What does it matter, my friend?”
“Because it’s our game. We are playing a game.”
Vlad pointed to the earthside window. “And our games are more important than theirs?”
Mary opened her hand to him. “Now they are.”
Cars in China vs America: 5 SHOCKING Differences You Never Expected!
China thanks President Trump for Tariffs. They have backfired on American leadership.
Tariffs is the most beautiful word in the dictionary. Tariffs have shown how beautiful Chinese innovation and ingenuity looks like since 2018.
China bought plenty of soybeans from Brazil after US tariffs. Brazilian farmers increase their dependence on the China market as a major export destination. US farmers are the biggest losers of market share. Boom!
China achieves 3600-fold productivity boost in iron-making breakthrough after steel tariffs. Boom!
Huawei survived and is experiencing the fastest growth in 4 years. The US government mobilized massive state resources against a single company and still didn’t win. Revenue is up 10% and profit doubled. Boom!
DeepSeek R1 exposes the American closed-AI cabal for fake and inflated valuations. The American chip companies are desperately trying to monopolize over-priced chip sales in tandem with American big tech entrenching software dominance by adding a few new AI features. Your big plan is derailed. Boom!
China’s trade surplus with the world has reached 1 trillion dollars in 2024 and if it was a bank, it would be the largest holder of US dollars on the planet. The US contributed 280 billion dollars of that surplus last year. Boom!
China imported $349 billion of microchips, more than $337 billion in crude oil. Instead of stopping China’s access to chips, the sanctions have crushed American legacy chipmakers like Intel, whose stock price dropped 60%. Boom!
China is now a global software superpower, instead of the old stereotype of a low cost hardware factory. Boom!
Tiktok’s ban has moved millions of Americans to XiaoHongShu. The fastest migration of American social media users in history allowed them to interact with the Chinese and see the truth about China. The comparison has led Americans to question their relative current conditions. The Michigan Current Conditions index dropped massively in Feb. Boom!
CNN reported on 19th Sep 2024 that Chinese scientists has overtaken the US and are leading the race in nuclear fusion. China nuclear fusion reactor – “artificial sun” has shattered records for steady loops of plasma, bringing mankind closer to near-limitless clean energy. Boom!
A Chinese company – Chang Guang has surpassed Elon Musk and Starlink by achieving record data transmission rate of 100GB per second to Earth using a laser. China is leading in 6G and space-ground transmission technology. Boom!
China has 8 out of 10 Top Universities on the 2024 Research Leaders based on Nature Index data. Every top Chinese university is growing in research faster than Harvard and MIT. Boom!
American tariffs have worked very well for China. The more tariffs you put on them, the faster and quicker they increase their technological lead.
China should thank President Trump for being the technology benefactor over the past 7 years. His tariffs and sanctions have worked wonders. China has achieved her “Made in China 2025” plan set 10 years ago with his help. China is winning.
What is the sweetest revenge you’ve ever taken?
I was married to a woman who cheated on me not once, but twice in the space of a month. She had a degree in architecture and at the time made more money. I came home one day and she was gone along with all her clothes, our car, and all the money in the banks – but left both kids.
I never got any child support or alimony and struggled for a while. She went on to work for the GOP in fundraising and was doing well (according to her family).
I did finally get over it and got on with my life and a couple years ago she tried to contact my eldest son on Facebook (he was not amused) and he found out that she ended up as a prison guard in Texas and living in a mobile home. My son came over with my new grand child for a visit to my estate (6700 sq. ft. home, 5 bed, 4.5 baths on 3.65 acres overlooking a lake) and told me this had happened. Funny how things get reversed. She lived in a trailer while I own 6 houses (rentals), my own home, a nice Mercedes cabriolet, and a Cadillac. Makes me smile every time I think of it.
Sir Whiskerton and the Quest for the Holy Shoe
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale of mystery, mayhem, and one very lost shoe. Today’s adventure begins with the farmer’s missing footwear, a chipmunk with a flair for the dramatic, and a farmyard full of animals who are convinced they’ve stumbled upon the start of a divine quest. Yes, this is the story of The Quest for the Holy Shoe, where chaos reigns, puns abound, and Sir Whiskerton must once again save the day—or at least try to keep everyone from losing their minds.
The Farmer’s Footwear Fiasco
It all began on a quiet morning, much like any other. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Sir Whiskerton was enjoying his usual sunbeam on the barn roof. But the peace was shattered when the farmer stumbled out of the farmhouse, hopping on one foot and muttering under his breath.
“Blast it all!” the farmer exclaimed, scratching his head. “Where in tarnation is my other shoe?”
Sir Whiskerton raised an eyebrow. “Lost your shoe again, have you?” he muttered to himself. “Honestly, you’d think a grown man could keep track of his own footwear.”
But before Sir Whiskerton could offer his usual sarcastic commentary, Lucifer the Chipmunk appeared, his tiny chest puffed out and his eyes gleaming with mischief.
“Attention, everyone!” Lucifer declared, standing on a hay bale and addressing the gathered animals. “The farmer has lost his shoe! This is no ordinary loss, my friends. This is a sign—a sign of the Second Coming of the Holy Shoe!”
The farmyard erupted into chaos.
The Chickens Cluck in Excitement
Doris the hen flapped her wings dramatically. “The Holy Shoe? Could it be? The prophecy foretold this day!”
“Foretold! But also so exciting!” Harriet clucked, waddling in circles.
“Exciting! Oh, I can’t bear it!” Lillian screeched, fainting into a pile of straw.
Sir Whiskerton rolled his eyes. “Oh, for whiskers’ sake. It’s just a shoe.”
But no one was listening. The chickens were too busy clucking about the prophecy, the ducks were quacking hymns, and the geese were scurrying around in a frenzy, honking about the “divine quest.”
The Ducks Sing Their Praises
Ferdinand the Duck, ever the showman, took center stage. “Quack! Quack! Hallelujah! The Holy Shoe is upon us! Let us sing its praises!”
And so, the ducks began to sing, their voices rising in a cacophony of quacks and warbles. Bingo the Dog joined in with his howling, creating a truly ear-splitting performance.
“Oh, great,” Sir Whiskerton muttered, covering his ears. “Now we’ve got a choir of chaos.”
The Geese Gear Up for the Quest
Gertrude the Goose, ever the leader, rallied her gaggle. “This is no time for idle honking! We must find the Holy Shoe! To the cornfields! To the barn! To the… uh… wherever shoes go!”
The geese waddled off in all directions, their wings flapping wildly as they searched for the missing shoe. Meanwhile, Porkchop the Pig, Rufus the Dog, Big Red, and Bessie the Tie-Dye Cow were caught up in the frenzy.
The Crusade Begins
Porkchop trotted over to Sir Whiskerton, his eyes wide with excitement. “Whiskerton, this is it! The Holy Shoe! We must find it! It’s our destiny!”
“Destiny?” Sir Whiskerton said, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a shoe, Porkchop. A smelly, muddy shoe.”
But Porkchop was undeterred. “No, no, this is bigger than that! This is a quest! A crusade! We must form a fellowship—a band of brave adventurers—to seek out the Holy Shoe!”
Rufus wagged his tail. “I’m in! I’ve got a nose for this kind of thing. I’ll sniff it out!”
Big Red barked in agreement. “Count me in too! I’ll be the muscle!”
Bessie the Tie-Dye Cow mooed dreamily. “And I’ll bring the peace and love vibes. This quest needs some groovy energy.”
Sir Whiskerton sighed. “Alright, fine. If it’ll shut everyone up, I’ll help. But let’s be clear—this is not a holy quest. It’s a wild goose chase. Or, in this case, a wild pig, dog, cow, and cat chase.”
The Search Begins
The newly formed “Fellowship of the Shoe” set off across the farm, searching high and low for the missing footwear. They checked the barn, the chicken coop, the pigsty, and even the pond, but the shoe was nowhere to be found.
Along the way, they encountered various obstacles. Lucifer continued to stir up trouble, declaring that the shoe was “testing their faith.” The chickens kept clucking about prophecies, and the ducks wouldn’t stop singing.
At one point, Porkchop got stuck in the mud, Rufus accidentally knocked over a haystack, and Bessie got distracted by a particularly shiny rock. Meanwhile, Sir Whiskerton was starting to regret ever getting involved.
The Farmer Gives Up
After hours of searching, the farmer finally threw up his hands in defeat. “Blast it all! I’ll just have to buy a new pair of shoes!”
But the animals were undeterred. The farmer’s resignation only fueled their belief that the shoe was indeed holy—and that their quest was far from over.
The Moral of the Story
As the sun set over the farm, Sir Whiskerton addressed the exhausted but determined animals. “Alright, listen up. The farmer’s shoe is gone. It’s probably buried in the mud or eaten by a raccoon. But you know what? Sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination. Or, in this case, the shoe.”
The animals nodded, their eyes shining with newfound determination.
“So,” Sir Whiskerton continued, “if you want to keep searching for the Holy Shoe, be my guest. But remember this: life is full of mysteries, and sometimes, the best thing we can do is laugh at the absurdity of it all.”
A Happy Ending
And so, the Quest for the Holy Shoe began. The animals, inspired by their first adventure, vowed to continue their search in future tales. Porkchop, Rufus, Big Red, and Bessie became the farm’s most unlikely heroes, while Sir Whiskerton returned to his sunbeam, content in the knowledge that he had once again saved the day—or at least tried to.
As for the farmer? He bought a new pair of shoes… and promptly lost one of those too.
The End.
Why Trump’s Ukraine Deal to Divide China & Russia Won’t Work w/ Ben Norton
Shorpy
What is the most amazing thing you overheard because people didn’t think you understood their language?
A couple of friends and I went to a Rock concert in Frankfort Germany. We were all GI’s We were traveling in a total of 3 cars(they had American plates indicating that we were military) and the the lead car got lost in the city.
A guy in the lead car was getting directions and we were listening to the locals giving directions. Well the one guy in the 3rd car was bilingual and he joined the group right when the locals were giving bad directions and conferring with each other in German about how to send us to the bad section of town.
Finally the bilingual guy had it up to his ears with what the locals were saying and started to swear at them in German and threw a pfenning coin at the them. Back then a penning coin was worth less than a penny.
The concert that we were going to was ‘The Who’ and this occurred ‘72. The bilingual guy had a German mother and an American father
Why China is winning.
Why does Russia have such a low GDP but such a high international status?
The Chinese DeepSeek scandal is a pretty good demonstration of what western GDP is actually worth. US AI companies lost $190 billion overnight, and now they’re crying for the government to ban DeepSeek.
DeepSeek most likely will be banned because there is no other option. Every American AI company is now worthless. These companies, like OpenAI, can’t compete with DeepSeek because its entire operating budget is literally less than what OpenAI pays its top executives.
Western countries have such large unadjusted GDPs on paper because it is 90% bullshit. This system can only function as long as competition is sanctioned, or literally invaded out of existence by the US military.
That is why western regimes are so hysterical and aggressive lately. Their days of artificially inflated prosperity are numbered and they know it.
Why do some Indonesians say “Jakarta” instead of “Djakarta”?
Before the spelling in Indonesian was perfected. In Indonesia, the spelling Ophuijsen is used for Indonesian and Malay where it is written using Latin letters.
Van Ophuijsen Spelling System – Wikipedia
Indonesian Spelling Guidelines
The Van Ophuijsen spelling was standardized by Charles van Ophuijsen, a Dutch linguist born in West Sumatra, in 1901 and was valid until 1947 but was completely lost in the 80’s, so after the spelling reform in Indonesian, the influence of the Ophuijsen spelling was still influential until the 80’s.
The characteristic of Ophuijsen’s spelling is the use of punctuation marks and a way of reading like in Dutch which is ‘too heavy’ and involves holding/ exhaling a lot of breath when pronouncing it.
- The sound “Ny” = Nj. Example: Cut Nyak Dien = Tjut Njak dien.
- The sound “Sy” = Sj. Example: Sutan Syahrir = Sutan Sjahrir.
- The sound “Kh” = Ch. Example: Khoerul Anwar = Choeroel anwar.
- Letter U = Oe. Example: Utari = Oetari.
- Letter J = Dj. Example: Jakarta = Djakarta.
- Letter Y = ‘J. Example: Sayang = Sa’jang.
- Letter C = Tj. Example: Cahaya = Tjah’ja.
Nowadays, in Indonesia you can still find the influence of the Ophuijsen spelling among Ngapak speakers.
My native language is Ngapak and verbally we still use the Ophuijsen spelling, for example when pronouncing consonant letters.
If you talk to a Ngapak person, just pay attention, for example if he speaks Jangkrik (cricket) then you will hear Djangkrik, Jembatan (bridge) = Djembatan, more..
Some examples of newspapers and advertising leaflets in Indonesia when they still used the Ophuijsen spelling:
Saludos.
How would Japan respond to an invasion by mainland Chinese forces over their territorial claims on the Senkaku and Ryukyu Islands?
Question: How would Japan respond to an invasion by mainland Chinese forces over their territorial claims on the Senkaku and Ryukyu Islands?
Answer:
Taiwan (Republic of China) had territorial disputes with Japan over the region for many years now and since 2012, mainland (People’s Republic of China) has also been physically patrolling the region.
The Japanese response is complaining, but do nothing.
Duh, PRC’s sea and naval patrol is way more powerful than Japan by a wide margin, Japan can’t maintain a sustained conflict in region and can’t win a short encounter, so there is nothing Japan can actually do in the region.
And frankly, I don’t think Japan really care that much about the issue. Duh, the whole 2012 Diaoyu island incident is ultimately engineered by Obama against the PRC-South Korea-Japan free trade zone and he is actually partially successful in that after the incident, the trade zone progress has stalled indefinitely. The fact that outcome require yielding actual control to PRC is actually not that big a price to pay, since US has no control over the region to start with.
So if US decided to do nothing about the issue, why would Japan bother with shedding any blood or effort over it?
Ultimately, Japan’s standing policy over the past 1500 years has always been it will knee and bow to the dominant power of the region. In fact, the very short time period (as far as historical scale goes) in the late 19th century to middle 20th century of Japanese dominance in the region has really demonstrated that the Japanese just isn’t good at being in charge.
This isn’t just a political thing either. The Japanese has always been terrible at large projects coordination as well. They are great at making individual parts, but they sucked at coordinating a large team and making system engineering of any kind.
It is actually rather weird, because you can say bad at managing a region is due to the lack of experience and innate scale, but when this kind of weakness shows up even for projects with only involves a couple of thousands of people, you know there is a deeper problem.
Female Matchmaker DESTROYS Sprinkle Sprinkle MENTALITY – The Harsh Truth About Modern Dating
Why did the Chinese stop building great walls?
This is the distribution map of the Great Walls in China.You will find that it is not a long line, but a net.
I live in Shandong Peninsula, our province still have the Great Wall, which was first built by Chinese Qi state during the late Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States , more than 2600 years ago.
Why did people stop built it ? Because that big civil war in China, which lasted for more than 500 years, ended more than 2100 years ago. The picture below shows Jinyangguan pass 锦阳关 of Qi Great Wall. You will find that there is a road directly passing through the wall, and both sides of the Great Wall are Shandong Province, China.
Jinyangguan pass 锦阳关 is not a big pass, far behind the popularity of Shanhaiguan pass 山海关, the Top pass of the Great Wall.
But as other province worker from the northeast China.We are not crossing the Shanhaiguan Pass of the Great Wall to find chance now,but pass through Shanhaiguan Railway Station.
Because another Chinese civil war is over long long time ago…
In addition, since the late Qing Dynasty, China was invaded by foreign enemies till the PRC was founded, how many generations of Chinese sacrificed their lives for a better life now is naturally worth all Chinese to jointly safeguard and unite to prevent it from being eroded by imperialism again.
So just like National Anthem of the People’s Republic of China——Stand up, people who don’t want to be slaves ! Use our blood and body into our new Great Wall !
Therefore, the Great Wall of China just exists in a different way——Chinese people
Gold Diggers Furious! China’s New Marriage Law Takes Effect on Feb 1st – Their Plans Ruined?
Why are Trump’s approval numbers tanking after only one month?
BECAUSE HE’S A DISASTER!
I’m old enough to remember when he was going to end the war in Ukraine “on Day One” (if not before taking office). Fail.
He said prices would start going down “on Day One.” They’re going up.
Stock market is down.
Unemployment is up.
Eggs can’t be seen.
Germany is openly seeking “independence” from the US.
Europe is talking about a US-free NATO (which trump is furious about, so don’t tell me that was his secret plan all along).
He joined the Axis of Evil, voting with Russia, North Korea and Belarus — and against an ally — in the UN.
He accused Ukraine of “starting” a war in which they were invaded.
He appointed a drunk Secretary of Defense, a Russian asset as DIA, a guy with a hole in his brain to head HHS, a nut job who writes children’s books about King Donald to head the FBI — and then appointed as his #2 someone with no FBI experience whatsoever.
Measles are now in four states, with two deaths — the first in a decade.
He’s destroying government services. Putting hundreds of thousands of people out of work based on decisions made by a bunch of incels with no government experience, led by a ketamine addict who isn’t the official leader because he couldn’t get confirmed and doesn’t want to divest from his conflicts of interest.
He’s posting AI videos of “Trump Gaza” that are offensive to the Palestinian people and pretty much everyone who’s not a fan of bearded belly dancers getting felt up by a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist who is also, inexplicably, the president of the United States.
He is ignoring court orders. Freeing drug traffickers. Freeing sex traffickers.
A full list would take hours.
The acknowledged Worst President in American History is now even worse than the first time around.
Just A Memory
Submitted into Contest #210 in response to: Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.… view prompt
Isla Stark
“Hello? Anybody home?” comes a voice from the front passageway.
“Back here!” Sally calls.
The shape of a tall, stocky figure appears in the kitchen doorway. She squints at his silhouette through the dust and feels a flicker of dismay. I must look a right state.
“Hello, can I help you?”
“Hi! I’m Mike, I live next door, I just thought I should pop in and say hi to my new neighbours!” He said, raising one hand in a half wave from across the room.
Sally gets a better view as he moves closer and she notices the crisp black and white uniform of the local police force. His dark hair was swept back roughly, and he stood with one hand tucked into his belt loop with an intrigued smile on his face.
“Hi I’m Sally”
“Great to meet you, it looks like you’re making yourself right at home! Is your husband not helping out with this kind of thing?”
“Ah well, I’m divorced so now it’s just me and my trusty sledge hammer,” Sally smiled.
“I’m sorry, that was dumb of me.”
Mike shifts from one foot to another, stuffing his hands deep into his trouser pockets.
“Have you lived here long?” Sally breaks the silence.
“Oh I’ve lived here all my life, my parents still live just at the other end of the village. I moved in next door when I became a PC, longer ago than I would like to admit!” Mike’s eyes smiled warmly. “What brings you out to this neck of the woods? Do you know the village?”
“Oh I’m not from around here. I bought this place at auction a few weeks ago, just looking for a fresh start really. I loved the look of the village and this was all that was in my price range. Good thing I’m not afraid of a challenge!”
Mike chuckled. “Well you’ll certainly have one of those with this place! It’s been empty for a few years since old Mr Mackenzie moved into Cedar View. I don’t think he had done any work on the place in my lifetime.”
“Yeah I’m getting that impression,” Sally said, eyeing the crumbling section of stud wall now strewn about the kitchen floor. “I might have bitten off more than I can chew, there’s so much to do before the builders come!”
“Well I’m just next door if you ever need anything,” Mike coughs and swats at the dust in front of his face.
“Thanks Mike, I guess I’ll see you around.”
Mike picks his way carefully back into the passageway and disappears from sight. It took Sally a moment to realise she was still standing in the same spot, a goofy smile on her face, and she shook herself out of it and picked up the sledge hammer.
By that evening Sally was exhausted, every muscle in her body ached as she hoisted herself up the stairs and into the small decrepit bedroom overlooking the back garden. The house had two larger bedrooms, but this one was in the best state for now. At least the floorboards were intact and the windows closed properly. She undressed and climbed into the sleeping bag on the narrow camp bed, ready for her first night in the new house. Sleep came in an instant.
A flash of white catches Sally’s eye, and she follows it up the stairs to the top floor of the house, hands feeling her way along the dark uneven stairway. Pushing open the attic door she sees a young woman shrouded in white gazing down into the garden, her profile illuminated by the pale moon. Her face is partially hidden by her long red hair, it catches the light as she stands transfixed by the view of the garden, her face unreadable. Sally starts as she hears a woman’s voice fill her head. I am here. The woman turns from the window and moves noiselessly towards the far side of the attic, navigating the stacks of boxes and broken furniture, her white nightgown shrouding her feet and ankles making her seem as if she were floating. She comes to a standstill in front of a large dust-sheet and her piercing eyes meet Sally’s expectantly. Sally is transfixed by the woman’s ashen complexion, the deep-set green eyes envelop Sally in their melancholy. The woman points with one alabaster hand to the shape beneath the sheet and Sally lifts it for her, unspeaking. The woman runs her hand slowly along the surface of the desk, making no imprint in the dust. Her hand continues along the ornately carved oak leaves at the desk’s corner, and then pauses. With a barely perceptible click, the oak leaves part as a concealed drawer slides forward. As the woman reaches in, Sally again hears the voice fill her head. I am here.
Sally wakes with a jolt. Her eyes comb the unfamiliar room until she is satisfied that she is alone. She flops back onto the pillow with a sigh, tugging the sleeping bag back under her chin and closing her eyes. A few moments pass. “Nope!” she calls out, heaving her aching body out of bed and fumbling on the floor for the torch she heads for the attic. She pauses in front of the draped sheet, the light from the torch casting strange shadows as she pulls the sheet aside. She feels herself holding her breath.
The carving makes Sally’s heart quicken as she traces her fingers over the oak leaves and acorns. She doesn’t react at the quiet click from the drawer. A small leather-bound book is all that Sally can see inside, and she removes it carefully. As she opens the front cover the torch begins to flicker and die and she carries the book downstairs to the back bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Sally is still wide awake at five a.m. the diary sprawled open in her lap. She is fixated on passages, turning them over in her mind, ‘I’ve lost all sense of time’… ‘Listening to the sounds of Annie playing down below’… ‘Refuses to let me see her’… and the phrase that Sally can’t stop repeating to herself ‘no-one knows I’m here.’ Halfway through the book, the entries stop. Sally flicks through the blank pages, hoping to reveal some kind of answer and finally lets the book fall shut.
“Hi, I’m sorry to bother you,” Sally smiles as Mike opens the door, squinting into the daylight.
“What time is it?”
“Oh, gosh i’m sorry, it’s not even eight o’clock yet, I didn’t realise, I’ll come back another time,” Sally cringes, turning to go.
“No, wait, please. Is everything okay?”
Sally pauses, unsure where to start. “This might sound like an odd question, but did you know the people who used to live in my house?”
“Um, no not really, they kept themselves to themselves. There used to be a lot of gossip about the Mackenzies but it was all idle stuff really.”
“What do you mean?”
Mike swallows. “Well there was a missing persons case at the time, I remember my Mum telling me about it. Mrs Mackenzie ran off one day and never came back. Everyone knew that old Mr Mackenzie was a bit of a bully, probably knocked her about a bit, it wasn’t really talked about back in those days. And then one day she and the girl were just gone.”
“What girl?”
“The Mackenzie’s had a daughter, I don’t really remember her much. She was about ten years old when she left. Mr Mackenzie reported it to the police but nothing ever came of it. He sort of withdrew after that, nobody saw much of him.”
“Annie,” Sally breathed.
“What was that?”
“The little girl – is her name Annie?”
“Err, yeah, how do you know that?” Mike looks at her quizzically.
“I need to show you something,” said Sally, holding out the diary.
Mike closes the diary gently, and takes a sip of his now-cold coffee. Sally feels hoarse, having recounted her dream and finding the diary.
“The whole thing was bizarre, the dream was so vivid it was as if it were really happening. When I woke up I was freaked out, but I had this urge to go and look for myself, I just couldn’t ignore it.”
“What do you think it all means?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t get her out of my head. What kind of life did they have? What was going on in that house? And how did she bring up her little girl like that? The diary isn’t really that long, how much time do you think it covers?”
“It’s not clear,” Mike sighed, “it’s all written in the same ink, the handwriting doesn’t change much, but there are no clues in the entries on what date they were written. What do you want to do with it?”
“What can I do with it? I guess this explains why she left, and what kind of life she had with old Mr Mackenzie, but what good will that do to share it? Most people won’t remember her. She’s just a figment of history now.”
“Maybe you could send it in to one of the newspapers, they might do a feature on it? Maybe she’s still around and might read it?”
“Yeah that might not be a bad idea. I’ll think about it. I haven’t cleared out the stuff in the attic yet, there might be something up there that will tell us more.”
“Us?” Mike locks eyes with her over his coffee.
“Well, I only mean that…” Sally trails off, “You seem just as interested in this stuff as I do. Anyway, I need to be getting on, I’m behind on the demolition work,” Sally stands to go, fumbling over her coffee cup, the diary and nearly dropping both.
“Let me know what you find. Here is my number in case you need anything,” Mike holds on to the slip of paper as he meets her gaze, “Why don’t you swing by again tomorrow?”
Back in the kitchen Sally tries to continue where she left off but can’t stop thinking about the diary. The image of the woman in white, shut up in the house while life goes on below makes her stomach turn. She wonders how old Annie would be now, and if she remembers the house, wonders what her mother told her about their life here. Sally lets the sledgehammer fall, and trudges back up to the attic. She combs through the boxes, suitcases and looks under all the dust sheets, moving methodically from one end to another. As night falls, she comes to a stop at the oak desk and places the few things she has found gently on its surface. Some children’s books and toys, a gilt edged hand mirror, cracked and worn. And a blanket, well used and frayed at the edges, the blood-stain clearly visible within its knitted folds. Sally switches off the attic light, and goes to bed.
“No!” She screams. Sally feels herself being dragged downstairs, strong arms crushing the breath from her as she kicks and squirms. A rush of freezing air hits her bare skin as she is bundled through the kitchen door. Her kitchen door. She is silenced by the force of a fist making contact with her abdomen. Her view is clearer as she is hauled across the garden, a hand covering her mouth now. Her white flowing nightgown sticks to her as the rain lashes her skin. The stable door crashes open as she is manhandled inside, into the recesses of the stable. Her breath catches as the figure carrying her pauses, and she begins to scream again. She screams louder as she feels herself falling.
Sally sits bolt upright in bed, her body drenched in sweat and struggling to catch her breath. Throwing off the sleeping bag she jumps out of bed and grabs the torch. She takes the stairs two at a time and throws open the back door. Casting the torch across the garden she reaches the door to the stable and drags it open, straining against the force of the years of weeds, damp and decay. The dark stable is empty apart from the large workbench in the far corner. Sally circles the bench, scanning the torch beam over the uneven floor until she sees it. The trapdoor is partly concealed by one end of the bench and it takes her a few minutes to shift the weight of it until the brass handle comes into view. It takes all of her strength to lift the stone cover. The smell of damp earth and something putrid hits Sally as she shines the torch down into the void. The well is at least fifteen feet deep, the bottom barely visible. Sally lays down on the floor and extends the torch at arms length, the light now catching the reflection of the water at its base. Two skeletons lay partially submerged, their limbs entwined. The smaller one, clutched in her mother’s arms. Sally closes her eyes. “I’m here,” she sobs.
“Come quick,” Sally blurts into the phone, “I’ve found them, they were here all along.”
Is it ever appropriate for surviving family members to tell someone who has arrived at a funeral that their presence is unwelcome?
Yes! Especially if you know this person is going to cause drama. I married my high school boyfriend and was with him for 17 years. He was a narcissist with rage, a very dangerous and abusive person.
My three sons and I had escaped and had a wonderful life together until 3 1/2 years into our freedom my youngest son age 6 was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.
My ex did not visit the boys, did not pay support. He was a very absentee father, which all of us agreed was better for our new calm home and for our souls. When our youngest son was diagnosed, my ex did go with me to the very first Oncology neurologist appointment. so he was with my terminal son for 3 1/2 hours on that day.
Then again he visited when my son was at home under hospice care and was with him for approximately 3 1/2 hours.
In the 11 months of heavy duty caregiving, my ex was there for seven hours. After my son passed while I was planning the funeral my ex called to let me know that he would be there and who he would want there and who he would not want there and threats were made if certain family members showed up, etc.
I let him know that if this was his attitude, he was absolutely not to show up at the funeral.
There was a police station right across the street from the memorial Park and I called them.
I told them the situation And asked if they could have an officer at the funeral. They were so kind and I will never forget the officer saying how very sad, what a sad situation.
He let me know that he could not have an officer take the time to be present during the funeral, but since they were right across the street if we had to call them, they couldn’t be there in minutes.
My ex never did show for the graveside service nor did he come to the church service, but we were all looking over our shoulder, which was something we didn’t need that day.
I remember watching my oldest son constantly checking over his shoulder and thinking that his brother had just died and he was on guard looking for this awful man.
No one should have to deal with anyone that doesn’t have their best interest in mind at a funeral.
Cherry Chocolate Rum Squares
Yield: 36 servings
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 (18.25 ounce) box “pudding in the mix” devil’s food cake mix
- 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
- 1 teaspoon rum extract
- 2 eggs, beaten
Frosting
- 1 can chocolate fudge frosting
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cake
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, cherry pie filling, rum extract, and eggs. Stir by hand until completely blended. Spray a 15 x 10 x 1 inch jellyroll pan (13 x 9 x 2 inch works fine) with cooking spray (or grease and flour** it). Pour the batter into the baking pan.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. It is done when a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
Frosting
- Combine the canned frosting, rum extract, and pecans. Mix well. When the cake is completely cooled, spread over the top.
Notes
* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
** For best results, use our Pan Release!
How do Chinese private companies maintain independence while adhering to state control?
Maintain independence?
You’re wrong man.
China is a democracy, which means the power lies in the hands of the people, and by extension, their representatives, the CCP.
Power does not lie in the hands of the few ultra rich in China. The rich cannot control the medias, social medias, or lobby to have politicians speak on their behalf.
So in order to have some sort of security, private companies almost always try to get on the good side of the government in China. Since lobbying is illegal and punishable by death, the smarter private companies have learnt to follow and help with the CCP’s agenda for development of the nation.
For example, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, China was in desperate need of masks. So BYD, a private car-making company, made a high-profile publicity by converting their factory to making masks, and in two weeks became the top mask-maker in China and worldwide. BYD earned a lot of money selling masks, some name for itself, and got on the good side with the CCP.
Other private companies also actively do this to different degrees. They don’t try to maintain their independence, they try to make themselves connected and useful to the government. So they gain some sort of influence.
Do we lose about 40.6 billion dollars annually to Canada due to the trade deficit?
Do you lose thousands of dollars to your grocer every year? You buy from him but he doesn’t buy anything from you. Is he ripping you off? Should you burn down his store?
People buy Canadian goods. Even American people buy Canadian goods. People buy American goods. Even Canadian people buy American goods (or used to). But here’s the thing.
To be fair every Canadian will buy the same amount of American goods that every American buys of Canadian goods ok? That’s fair right?
So 40 million Canadians buy $1,000.00 worth of American goods. that’s 40 billion dollars.
But there are 350 millions Americans, and at a grand each that’s 350 billion dollars.
Result is a 310 billion dollar trade deficit. So what.
The United States consumes more stuff than it could ever produce. It will always run a trade deficit with just about every country because you have so much money. If you want to eliminate the deficits, lower your standard of living and stop buying so much shit.
I run a deficit with my Honda dealer but I wish I was wealthy enough to run a huge deficit with a Ferrari dealer.
What would you do if you went to your mailbox today and found a letter telling you that you have been called to military service?
I would get on my knees and pray for the country.
If the US gets to the point where they are calling up 65 year old men we are in big trouble.
I’m in good shape. My night vision sucks. I can’t handle extreme hot or cold anymore.
I served from 17 to 20 years old. Some of the training and requirements put a hurting on me at that age. Now it would probably put me in the hospital.
I would do something like work in an ammo plant or guard prisoners to help with the war effort.
I don’t belong in a uniform on the battlefield. That’s a younger man’s game.
“Please tell me what you think.”
SET THEM FREE! :0)
A decent advance in … Decency 😀
Well done!
New AI is better, I think. But I think that you can make those pictures with more cloth, or maybe Asian, or animal, plant, planet, statues, or something else. Or what kinds of bodies that Domain Commander use looks like, or the bodies of the higher level leader. (This is not order, just suggest, or more close to opinion.)