Illusions often differ from reality. As meany American well know when they compare their lives with television and the movies out of Hollywood.
Living in the desert.
Ridgecrest.
Looks flat, but…
…has really deep ravines all over the place.
You can never know this from the pictures.
It isn’t until you are walking out on the desert that you see the shall ravines are all over the place and very, very deep.
Truth you all.
Today…
How To Start War With Russia – A British Think Tank Has Ideas
Once a while the writers at RUSI, the British Ministry of Defense think tank, produce some valuable research. Mostly though they are out to push war mongering nonsense. A recent piece in Foreign Affairs by Jack Waitling is of the later kind.
Ukraine’s Hardest Winter – Foreign Affairs, Nov 11 2025
With the Donbas in Peril, Europe Must Pressure Russia Now
I’ll leave the dozens of outright lies, false assertions and delusions therein for others to mock.
Waitling’s main thesis is that more (economic) pressure on Russia will somehow press it towards a ceasefire without concessions from the Ukrainian side. But his suggestions on how to do that are all designed to drag Europe into an even more direct battle with Russia.
To support the Ukrainian campaign against Russia’s oil industry the Europeans should close the Strait of Denmark:
For Ukraine’s international partners, the question is whether they are prepared to match Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s oil infrastructure with comparable real rather than performative pressure on Russia’s economy. Above all, this means targeting Russia’s shadow fleet: the hundreds of decrepit tankers, operating under flags of convenience, often without insurance or trained crew, to move its oil to India and China. This will require denying the 80 percent of Russian seaborne oil exports that pass through the Strait of Denmark and threatening secondary sanctions against the ports where shadow fleet vessels unload.
…
Some European governments—including Denmark—have cited the 1857 Treaty of Copenhagen, an international agreement that established tariff-free transit of commercial shipping through Danish waters, as a legal barrier to action. But this is an excuse rather than a real obstacle. The countries that have a Baltic coastline today, excluding Russia, could agree to a new treaty requiring ships to meet certain standards of insurance and certification to be allowed to navigate the Baltic—for example, on grounds of ecological protection. Since the aging vessels of the shadow fleet do not meet these requirements, such a treaty would deny them entry into the straits. This would not impinge on the principle of tariff-free transit for commercial shipping through Danish waters.
Nice idea. But would enforce such nonsense and how?
Neither Russia, nor any non-NATO country, would recognize such new treaty. Ships not insured in London, i.e. the ‘shadow fleet’, would continue to sail but be accompanied by Russian naval forces. What country will be willing to sink the Russian frigate that protects a ‘shadow ship’ convoy from outside intervention? On what legal grounds?
Ukraine does not have a recruitment problem, Waitling claims, but must receive better in country training by NATO forces:
There has been widespread confusion about Ukraine’s manpower situation. On the one hand, Ukraine has enough people to keep fighting. Nationally, there is no manpower problem. But the number of combat-ready infantry in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been declining for almost two years. At some point, it will hit a level that will render it impossible to hold the front, barring a shift in Kyiv’s approach to force generation.
The challenge is less about pulling people off the street and more about improving the quality and capacity of training and integration of Ukrainian infantry into combat brigades. There are more people serving in the Ukrainian military today than at any point during the war, but the military is unable to train its personnel to perform frontline combat functions. To solve this growing problem, Ukraine’s new Army Corps will need to establish brigade rotations and allow better units to help train the less capable ones.
With more than 160,000 desertions this year alone in Ukraine one might doubt that better training would somehow result in more Ukrainian troops on the frontline.
This is an area in which Ukraine’s international partners can make a significant contribution.
…
European states could also deliver in-country military training. By allowing Ukrainian forces to train on their equipment, in a setting in which European trainers would be supported by the Ukrainian commanders who will ultimately employ these soldiers, such a step would directly address Ukraine’s force generation challenges. It is true that the presence of European trainers in Ukraine would provide an inviting target for Russia. But Russia has had limited success targeting Ukrainian trainers, so this is clearly a manageable risk, and it could play a key role in building the units Ukraine needs to sustain its defensive line.
What can European NATO trainers, which have zero recent experience in war, teach Ukrainian soldiers who have fought a high intensity conflict for over three years? Who will be willing to send these trainers to Ukraine? What is the plan after dozens of them die due to the inevitable Russian missile attack that will follow such their deployment?
Waitling does not only want to push western ‘trainers’ into Ukraine, but also their air forces:
Poland and Romania could request Ukrainian permission to engage air threats over Ukrainian airspace that are approaching NATO’s border, just as Israel intercepted many of Iran’s Shahed-136 drones in Jordanian airspace. Without creating an obligation for Poland, Romania, and others to engage targets over Ukraine, such permission would set the stage for deconflicting European aircraft with Ukrainian air defenses. In this way, the European coalition could project airpower into Ukraine at short notice.
Project airpower into Ukraine for exactly what? To shoot down $50,000 drones with $2,000,000 missiles? Or is it to bomb Russian positions? One wonders how many minutes any pilot attempting that would have to survive.
All three measures Waitling foresees, the closing of the Denmark Strait for Russian oil, the introduction of western trainers into Ukraine and the projection of airpower would massively increase the potential for a direct conflict with Russia.
It seems that this is exactly what Waitling is aiming to do.
Russia says Ukrainian-British plot to hijack hypersonic missile foiled
Russia has thwarted a Ukrainian-British plan to hijack a MiG-31 jet equipped with a hypersonic missile and to use it to carry out a false flag attack on a major NATO airbase, the country’s state security service reported.
The FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, said in a statement carried by state media on Tuesday that the alleged operation was directed by the main intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and “its UK handlers”.
The plot sought to convince a Russian pilot to fly a MiG-31 armed with a Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile – a key weapon in Moscow’s arsenal – to the Romanian city of Constanta, where NATO is building its largest airbase in Southeastern Europe.
The plane would then be shot down by air defenses, providing a “large-scale provocation”.
Russian state television showed pictures of messages and recordings of a man who they said was working for Ukrainian and British intelligence.
The individual reportedly offered $3m to the pilot to take part in the scheme, as well as citizenship of any European country of his choosing.
An FSB official claimed that British-founded group Bellingcat – which is branded as “undesirable” by the Russian government – was involved in the operation or was used as a cover or intermediary, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
The Russian security service criticized its Ukrainian and British counterparts for showing a “lack of originality in plots”, pointing to a similar allegation it made in 2022, months after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At the time, the FSB said the United Kingdom had participated in a Ukrainian operation to hijack an advanced Sukhoi Su-34 fighter by buying off the pilot and offering Western citizenship.
Bellingcat has not immediately responded to the accusation of its involvement in the latest claim. The organization did reject the FSB’s framing in the 2022 allegations.
Russia, Ukraine and its Western allies persist in fighting a vicious information war as the war on the ground shows little sign of easing.
Russian ground forces have been pushing deeper into eastern Ukraine in an attempt to take control of more land and resources, but movement on the front line remains incremental.
The two sides are also engaged in a war of attrition in the skies as they launch hundreds of aerial strikes against each other on a daily basis.
Russian attacks, some of them using Kinzhal missiles, have heavily damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure over the past week.
Why do I pray more Teslas get destroyed?
Because you are a brainless sheep who lives only to find new targets to hate.
Incapable of independent thought, or understanding the concept that someone disagreeing with you may not support the person you hate, you are just a simpleton who has decided to remove the burden of intelligent thought from your life and chosen someone else to think for you.
You are a mouthpiece for other people’s ideas, this is proven by the fact that you can’t even articulate why you hate Tesla, and are reaching out so others can instruct you on how to live your life, you are literally asking other people to speak for you because you don’t even know why you dislike Tesla.
Why doesn’t China accept refugees like civilised countries do?
Why doesn’t China accept refugees like civilised countries do?
You know in China, if you invite your friends for a drink, and you open another bottle of liquor for a toast, it is 100% your job to drink it up.
Bottom up, cheers, not a single drop left.
Otherwise your friends will think you are lame braggart. You may ask your friends at the table to help you drink some, but it will be nonsense for any of you to blame someone else who is not even at the table, for not helping you.
If you are the host and you can’t drink, don’t open that bottle.
If you get invited by a lame host, and you don’t like to be forced to drink, then don’t go.
Actually, without those so called civilized countries and their direct, indirect support into those dirty bloody wars, there wouldn’t have been this many refugees in the first place.
Why should China wipe your ass, or clean the mess after your party?
They are the one who keeps telling you don’t do it, shouldn’t do it, stop doing it…
Your people vote for your politicians and military to give those people freedom, now they have it, in your own country.
That is a Mission Accomplished.
What’s better, you don’t have to spend trillions to deliver freedom over, they come for it. Cheaper, faster, safer, isn’t it better?
Afterall, it’s you who opened that bottle, not China. Say no more, say no more, buddy, cheers, bottom up, not a single drop left.
Cause that’s the only way for you to stay civilized, barely.
Cranberry Barbecue Beans
Sweet savory, and bursting with cranberries, these barbecue beans are begging to be served alongside your holiday ham.
Yield:10 to 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (1 pound) package Camellia Brand Navy Beans
- 8 ounces (6 slices) thick cut bacon, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup cane syrup
- 1/2 cup yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add beans and water to cover by 3 inches. Cover and let soak overnight.
- Drain beans and rinse.
- In a large Dutch oven, add beans and water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until beans are tender, about 1 hour.
- Drain, discarding liquid.
- In same Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is beginning to render, about 5 minutes.
- Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender and starting to brown at edges, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add beans and cranberries; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
- Add ketchup, barbecue sauce, cane syrup, mustard, and thyme. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, until sauce is thick, 45 to 60 minutes.
Notes
Bean math: 1 (15 ounce) can beans = 1 1/2 cups cooked beans, drained.
How do avoidant individuals feel after a breakup when someone who treated them well gets hurt, cuts off contact, and disappears?
If you have an avoidant personality or love someone who does, then read on; this is written from a place of straightforward experience and empathy. Often someone with an avoidant personality doesn’t want to do the actual “break up” themselves. But if you won’t and they have to, it will be polite and civil. “It’s not you, it’s me…I wish you well…you have a bright future ahead of you…blah.” (I’ve heard that speech a few times in my life so I have it memorized.)
If you find yourself pushed to the brink of your emotional endurance by their avoidance, struggle to communicate, hesitation over commitment, and similar concerns that leave you feeling rejected (Again, can you tell I’ve walked this road? Dating and marriage has lent me its experience.) then perhaps you have been the one to end things and you wonder how it will affect them. Well, at first they will feel relief. But that won’t last. Then come the feelings of intense loneliness, self-doubt, feeling that their needs are a burden and that they’ll always drive everyone away, that no one will stay. They may or may not try to get you back once they realize there’s been a mistake. They may throw themselves into work or hobbies to keep themselves busy. Some turn to alcohol or other things. Anything to numb the emotions.
And here’s the thing; the internet will make them out to be bad people. “Experts” will call them cold, narcissistic, stoic, hard hearted, even cruel. And many in the comments will fuel the fire yelling and railing about how they were hurt by an avoidant ex or currently being hurt by an avoidant partner and that people with those personality types need to grow up, that we shouldn’t coddle them or step on eggshells etc. And that makes me so angry. People with avoidant attachment styles aren’t bad people. They are also not cold or narcissistic. (Classic narcissism is very rare and people throw the word around too much.) Many of them are very generous, giving, charitable, and ethical. They just so happen to carry baggage (like everyone else) and they’ve been hurt in life in such a way that their internal protective instinct was to build walls around their heart. They are good people worthy of love and respect, and from me they will be given empathy and understanding. Time has taught me lessons that I wish I had known twenty years ago.
I feel that rather than understanding how they respond to a breakup, it would be more helpful for you to understand how to love them in a non-threatening way so that instead of being yet another person who breaks up with them, you could finally be their person; their person who stays. You’ll need empathy, tenacity, and unconditional love though. If you don’t have those then do them a favor and walk away. Otherwise, read on. Here is an excerpt from one of my previous answers I wrote:
Avoidant people just want someone in their life who will be fair with them. Someone they can trust. Someone who will be worth the risk. Risk is terrifying to avoidant people. They have a deeply rooted fear of not being worthy of love; or at the least, of no one staying long enough to truly love them. They’re deeply lonely when you get down to it. Because they’ve never experienced people in their personal lives who did treat them fairly, or who didn’t place heavy or hidden expectations on them. Every time they thought they could let go and relax, someone dropped the bombshell on them; and you are a potential threat of that happening again. They’re afraid to bond with you because they haven’t had much of that in their life before. They’re hesitant to have a deep connection with you because it may make them feel smothered and pressured—even if they crave connection in their heart of hearts.
They have a defense mechanism that is many layers deep and most people are not patient enough to penetrate them. Avoidant people will do exactly what the name says; avoid you. They start to feel an intense emotional connection to you and they fear what it could mean if they allow themselves to depend on you. What if they lean on you emotionally or come to rely on you in some way and you leave? What if you use it against them in an argument? What if you depend on them and they let you down, then how will they be able to handle your disappointment? The potential risk is too much for them to bear, they tell themselves, so they put distance between you and them. They pull away. And if they ever get past that to potentially being engaged to you, they fear the risk in marriage. What if you take everything they have one day? If they try to prevent that with a prenup what if you refuse to sign? What if living with you takes away from them the few moments of peace they have in living alone? What if you hit them with hidden expectations? What if you try to change who they are? What if they can’t trust you? What if…? They fear the risks involved. They run risk analysis in their minds constantly over things that may or may not ever happen, but that cause anxiety nonetheless.
You want your love for them to bring them comfort, peace, and security, but instead it makes them feel pressured and afraid of letting you down—and even if you don’t feel that way, they do. Their fears seemingly come true personified by you. In the past they felt tolerated, or ignored, and you just want to shower them in love and affection; and to them this is overwhelming, foreign, and seems too good to be true. Unconditional love is not something they’ve had a lot of, at least not from romantic partners.
And in many cases, when they begin pushing their loved one away, their fears become a self-fulfilling prophecy when their partner feels rejected, unwanted, or hurt. Their partner breaks up with them, and they feel relieved at first because the pressure is gone. But then the intense loneliness returns, and the feelings of, “See? They left you too. You’ll never find love. You’ll always be alone,” come to mind. The cycle repeats over and over with each new love interest.
But if you truly love this person and want to be there long term in their life then you have to have tenacity. Love is a choice. It’s not just the rush of excitement, the spark of chemistry, or the thrill of lust. Love goes deeper; it’s a commitment that says, “no matter what happens, I will always be here for you. I choose you and I will not walk away. I will not back down or give up on you, because you deserve love. You deserve respect. You deserve to have someone in your corner no matter what. I am here and you are safe with me.”
That doesn’t mean smother them, but if you can’t give them the patience and determination it will take to gently peel back the layers and walls around their heart in order to get to their true selves, then please don’t be another person in their life that lets them down, makes promises, and then walks away in a fit of frustration. If you love them and are determined to stand by them then be someone who keeps your word. They deserve that.
Everyone deserves love. Unconditional love.
Edit: For the person who said in the comments people with avoidant personalities should be satisfied “just having friendships” in life, take a hike. Everyone deserves to be loved and cared for. No one should ever be left wondering why no one ever stays or if they are a burden or if their needs are just too much. No. Just because you can’t be their person doesn’t mean someone else can’t. This is what I mean. The internet is full of ridiculous notions and comments and I won’t tolerate it on my answer. I will delete those comments.
DISCOVER HOW CHINA’S RETIREES ARE TAKING SOCIAL MEDIA BY STORM
This is a WONDERFUL video.
Are farmers in the USA really going to suffer because of traiffs on potash from Canada?
Yes, farmers will suffer and potash is far from the only problem. 60% of the USs crude oil comes from Canada and is going to get more expensive.
Farmers use a huge amount of diesel fuel for planting and harvesting. Those tractors don’t run on nothing.
Speaking of tractors, parts for repairs are also going to go up. At the same time American agriculture products are facing tariffs in Canada and China means farmers sell less. Since Canadians are, rightfully, boycotting American products they sell even less.
Farmers already work on extremely thin margins. This could entirely break the American agricultural industry
~Awakening~
Written in response to: “Center your story around a character who’s struggling to let go.“
Jim Parker
~ Awakening ~
Charlie Sue woke feeling refreshed and ready for the day. She sat up in the queen sized bed stretching and looking for Dermott. He was usually a late sleeper. Oh there he was, sitting in the recliner by the door, just watching her. “What are you doing up so early Derms? Come here and give me a morning kiss.” He came over and gave her a peck on the lips, then sat on the bed, still silent. He was acting different, like he was nervous. “Somethings wrong. What is it?”
“Nothing Honey. I was just waiting for you to wake up.”
She went all business. “Bullshit. You never get up before me. And even if you did, you would be on the computer by now. Tell me. And don’t lie to me.”
Intimidated, he hung in there. “No. Everything is fine. We’re going to have lunch with Miss Debbie and Shewuma today.”
Time for a change in tactics. Charlie Sue pulled up her nightgown and straddled Dermott’s lap. She pushed her fingers slowly across his scalp through his red curls and went close to his ear, her lips nibbling as she cooed, “I know something is going on Poodle. We need to get past this because I want you inside of me.”
That did it, Dermott’s will collapsed in on itself and he spilled the beans. She listened intently as he told her, in detail, about the events of the night before where Debbie found her outside in a zombie state transmitting information about the family to God knows who.
Charlie Sue didn’t believe it. In the short time she had lived with Dermott she felt something about herself was different. Not broken, but off kilter, out of whack. But with her eidetic memory how was that possible? Anyone else but not her. “And we’re allegedly going to have lunch with Debbie so she can what, interrogate me or hypnotize me or something?” Charlie Sue climbed off of him and hurried to the bathroom, her whole demeanor shifting to focused purpose. Looking in the mirror at her failing sleep braid, she decided to forget the hair and make-up and grabbed the sweat suit she used for jogging. Mulling the consequences of everything Dermott had confessed, she peeked back through the door and saw him still sitting there sad faced and using a pillow to cover his erection. It would have been cute under normal conditions. “Get dressed Derms. I’m not waiting, we are going over there right now.”
**********
Dermott and Charlie Sue left their guest cottage and walked deliberately towards the main house. All 85 pounds of Molly was outside and ran to them wagging her tail with a happy pets eagerness. Dermott stopped, intending to frolic for a moment but Charlie Sue doggedly kept going, so he abandoned Molly’s affections and caught up to her. She was focused to the point of manic. Sitting in an Adirondack chair on his front porch wrapped in a blue blanket, Robert Hazer sucked smoke from his Meerschaum pipe and waved a morning greeting. Some 30 yards away in the target practice area, Wolf was throwing cans of sparkling water backwards over his head, then spinning, drawing an arrow and pinning it, hissing it’s carbonation, to the nearest of 6 targets in a semi-circle. Dermott wanted to watch some of this mind-boggling display of skill but Charlie Sue kept hard charging on her mission and he stayed with her.
Shewuma gave them a jolt, suddenly appearing between them, seemingly out of nowhere and wrapping an arm around each waist. “Good morning kids. Where are you two heading so hell bent?”
Charlie Sue stopped and gave Wu a hard look. “I’m going to see Debbie.”
Wu eyed Dermott warily. “You told her. Debbie owes me a foot rub. We made a bet you wouldn’t…” Charlie Sue barreled forward. Shewuma grasped the back of the hoodie and spun her around. “I see from your aura that you are in riot mode. Calm down.”
Trying to jerk free Charlie Sue answered, “I don’t have time for this chit chat, Shewuma.”
Shewuma took her disheveled braid and pulled her face to face, wincing. Molly appeared next to Wu growling under her breath. Wu’s eyes went blank and cold. Charlie Sue remembered that same look in the eyes of a feeding Great White on Shark Week. Dark, menacing and ruthless. Her resolve didn’t falter, but fear mixed with common sense surged to the forefront. Like a fading dream she recalled experiencing this depth of dread once before but then the near memory was gone. How was that possible?
Shewuma could see in Charlie Sue’s darkening aura how badly she frightened her and tried to soften the situation, “Now you just settle it down young lady. You go in there and be respectful. This is not personal so you act accordingly. We clear?” Wu released the lock on her braid and waved Molly off.
“Yes Ma’am. I didn’t mean to…”
“Forget it. Let’s go work this out.”
Dermott began to speak and the women said in unison, “Shut up Dermott.” Then Wu heard Debbie say in her mind, “Bring them to the vault,” and she veered all three to the side door.
As the massive 5’x7’ door layered in thick sections of steel and concrete slowly opened into the vault, Charlie Sue expected to feel claustrophobic. Dermott had told her about the vault but actually seeing it was a revelation and looking around took her breath. Debbie came to Charlie Sue and enveloped her physically and mentally in a benevolent hug until she relaxed and then embraced it with a feeling of relief. Debbie spoke softly. “Everything will be fine. Something unnatural is happening with you. We’re going to figure out what it is, you need to let it go.” The high ceilinged vault was at least 40’x 25’. As the slow heavy door glided closed with a dull thud, Debbie gave her a quick tour. To her immediate left a pantry stocked with emergency survival essentials, from sleeping bags to food and everything in between. Next to it a full bath, then a kitchenette including a refrigerator. A little further down an enormous sectional couch. In the center of the room a boat shaped conference table that sat ten. Charlie Sue realized that practically everything in the room was white, including the impressive marble fireplace fully outfitted with logs and kindling. On either side of the fireplace, hung enough firepower and ammo for a small army. AR 15s, 9mm sidearms and 12 gauge pump action shotguns interspersed with edged weapons of all shapes and sizes. But what was most impressive was the far wall. Having minored in art history in college, Charlie Sue recognized valuable artifacts when she saw them. There were many but some stood out. Rock fragments covered with Egyptian hieroglyphs. A Pre-Incan figurine of a high priest made of gold, a bronze Viking cross from 12th century A.D. And incredibly an ancient Bagdad battery. But all of these artifacts paled in comparison to the treasures they flanked. A pyramid of recessed niches in the wall, each containing skulls carved from blue crystal. The legends were true.
Debbie said to Charlie Sue, “Yes. We call them the Sancti. They are super computers. I am their keeper until my people return to Earth.” Flabbergasted, Charlie Sue realized that Debbie could read her thoughts. Was it possible that all of Dermott’s crazy stories were true?
With no inkling of where this was going, Debbie, Wu and David E. wanted to take the highest road and give Charlie Sue complete benefit of the doubt but there was too much at stake. Holding her by the shoulders, Debbie said “Don’t worry Honey. Dermott loves you, so we all love you. We are your family now. Sit down here at the table and watch this. Then I am going to give you a complete physical.” A hologram of all of Debbie’s memories of Charlie Sue’s actions the night before began to run like a film.
As Debbie began the examination she telepathically asked Shewuma about the Eagle. Wu answered her mind to mind. “He’s on his way. I briefed him on everything we discussed. He’s a Shaman for the tribe, so he’s qualified and well versed in ancestral ritual. If it comes to the worst case scenario I’ll take care of it.”
Just then the Eagle and Jimmy entered the vault carrying a satchel, trash bags, and a silver serving tray with a teapot of hot water, cups and a stack of towels.
Debbie finished her examination and said telepathically to David E. “There is involuntary restriction in her core but no GI issues. That’s all I found.”
“Could be muscle memory holding on to unremembered sexual abuse. You better take Dermott out of the room, this could get dicey.” He thought back to her.
“She’s as healthy as a horse,” declared Debbie to the room. “David E. You’re up. And Jim, would you take Dermott and get him some breakfast? This might take a while. It will be boring.”
Debbie, Shewuma and Jimmy knew that David E. spent many years in secret cold war programs. MK Ultra, LSD trials and Remote Viewing being the only examples he had ever mentioned. He rarely spoke of any of it and if he did, the deep remorse embedded into him from that time in his life leaked through cracks in his normally unimpeachable character like immoral sludge from a rusted and long forgotten barrel of heinous deeds. So they were surprised at how dramatically his demeanor and behavior hardened as his questioning of Charlie Sue quickly became interrogation and then intimidation.
He began by asking her simple questions about her moods, sleep patterns and appetite. He logically moved on to previous relationships. Especially former lovers and her parents. Then her medical history and family medical history. Any mental illness, perhaps some trauma to her or trauma she witnessed? Is she or was she ever on any medications. His tone became steadily more aggressive and the questions more intrusive. On he went for many minutes until he was openly badgering her. Then, waving a folder of papers in front of her, he said, “This is your file from human resources at Lockheed. We know what you did. We know about the white wash at the plant. We know about your perverted sexual history.”
“No. That’s not true, why are you saying this?” Charlie Sue started to get up and Wu snatched her back to the seat and held her firm.
“BULLSHIT!” Hollered David E. and threw the pages in her face. “We’ll come back to this. Because I want your response to this question and don’t pretend like you don’t know or there will be consequences. What is your relationship with time?”
“I…don’t know what you mean.”
David E. nodded to Debbie and she pulled a plastic bag over Charlie Sue’s head. Charlie Sue kicked and squirmed to no avail as she hopelessly tried to gulp some precious air. With Eagle’s psychic help, Wu had been learning to disengage her empathic reception of someone’s emotions when touching them, but Charlie Sue’s feelings of terror and betrayal were leaking through and taking a toll on her. She knew she couldn’t keep it up much longer. Debbie removed the bag to gasps for breath and wracking sobs. “Why?” Charlie Sue could barely articulate.
David E. put his finger in her face. “Last Chance girl. Last go. What is your relationship with time?”
Tears streamed from her eyes and she cried out, almost hysterically, “I DON’T EVEN WEAR A WATCH!”
He sighed heavily, with finality. “That’s it Deb. No tics, no traumas, no phobias, no psychosomatic or buried mental illness. No sign of mental conditioning, mind control or torture.”
Shewuma stepped away, fighting back tears. Then quickly regained her composure. Debbie noticed her pain and asked her silently, “You all right Baby?”
Wu simply nodded.
David E. looked at Charlie Sue with true regret. “Sorry Honey.”
“Sorry! SORRY? You people are fucking crazy. I’m calling the cops! I’ll sue your asses! Does Dermott know about any of this?”
As she rose from the chair, Debbie pressed a nerve in Charlie Sue’s neck and she sat back, suddenly calm.
“Want to try the Amobarbital?” David E. asked. Debbie looked at Shewuma with consternation. “What do you think WuWu?”
“No. Dibs, when she thought she was suffocating, there was a muddy dull swirl in her aura over her head. I think that’s where we need to go.”
“I saw it too, Chieftess,” Said Eagle. “A disconnected level of consciousness.”
Debbie was fascinated. “So what do we do?”
“I think we can access it, but I will need your help Comista.” He held out his hand and Debbie and Wu both took hold. After several seconds Eagle said, “Good?”
Both women were in.
Jimmy came back, oblivious to the hell that had been imposed on Charlie Sue. “Jims,” Asked Debbie. “How is Dermott holding up?”
“He’s fine,” Jimmy stated. “He’s up there playing video games. Making any head way?” He noticed that Wu seemed distant and took her hand. “You okay Woser?”
Producing a forced smile, she kissed his knuckle, then looked at Eagle and said, “Let’s do this.”
Eagle looked around at his companions and said, “ For the time being, I ask that all of you move counter clockwise if you have to walk in a circle.”
Shewuma went to her knees and softly recited a Hopi prayer over and over while Eagle built a roaring fire and slid Charlie Sue in her chair about 3 feet in front, facing it. Addressing the sacred fire by name, calling it Fuego, he then asked the fire for five results from this ceremony: “Make me less judgmental of those I encounter. Help me forgive others when forgiveness is not my choice. Keep my wife Luce, safe and happy. Help my new daughter learn wisdom and respect for Mother Earth and her ancestors. And please Fuego, help us unravel the mystery of Charlie Sue and her secret life.”
The next minutes of preparation were uneventful. The Eagle made tea. Crushing several buttons of what Debbie realized was Peyote. He separated them into three China cups on a silver tray and poured the hot water over them. While they steeped, He put a large black trash bag and the bath towels next to Charlie Sue. After setting the serving tray on the floor in front of the fire, he handed Charlie Sue and Shewuma each a cup and took the third one for himself. “Can you drink Charlie Sue?”
She nodded yes, still in a compliant state from Debbie’s earlier application of acupressure.
Within moments of drinking the gritty liquid, Jimmy and David E. were startled and reacted as all three began to vomit. Debbie stopped them, explaining it was normal to throw up after drinking Peyote. Expecting it, Eagle tried to contain the mess in the trash bag as best he could. Then continued cleaning up with the towels. He paused and said, “You guys should get comfortable. We are going to be here for a while.” Wu and Charlie Sue appeared to doze off.
Jimmy sat on the couch and began fiddling on his phone. David E. started around the conference table towards the laptop. Debbie interrupted him telepathically with, “Counter clockwise David E. Remember?”
“Sorry.” He whispered and turned to the other direction. Debbie went to its perch in the wall and joined with her Sanctum. As she covered the 13th Sancta with her hands, all of the Crystal Skulls emitted a blue luminance that enveloped her.
**********
Jimmy turned off his phone and stretched. Three hours of computer spades was enough. He was bored and scanned the room hoping for something, anything to happen. David E, was typing away on the laptop. Lord only knew what crazy conspiracy he was working on. Debbie, still covered with blue light, had not moved a muscle. Computers are supposed to be so fast. What the hell did they talk about for three hours. Eagle had been just sitting and staring at Charlie Sue the whole time. But then Eagle stood with urgency. He touched Wu to bring her around. “Debs. I think something is up.” Jimmy whispered. And she hurried over.
Eagle and Wu holding hands so he could talk to her silently, were pointing and commenting about the space over Charlie Sue’s head. Debbie placed her hand on theirs. “Don’t wake her Comista. See her aura through my eyes.” Debbie was fascinated. She saw it. Shimmering layers of colored light projecting outward from the body. And there, over her head as they said, a swirl of darkness. “It’s an independent level of consciousness, Comista. Only connects to her Delta state. I’ve heard they are possible but I never believed it until now.”
Debbie’s Sancti addressed the event full bore and it made sense. Of course. A separate altered state of consciousness. With no connection to her other levels and brain waves of sentience, it could work unimpeded while she slept and then disappear as if it never existed when she left Delta sleep.
“Comista. I need you to pull her Delta state into her Beta frequency. She should wake up and remember everything. Can you do that?”
“Yes Eagle. I think I can.”
“Okay. Give us a second to prepare. I don’t know how this will go.” He gently picked up Charlie Sue’s limp body into a firm hug and Wu put both hands on her shoulders to feel what was about to happen. “Comista, do it!”
Debbie pulled the delta waves and the unknown state of being into Charlie Sue’s Beta consciousness and all hell broke loose. Charlie Sue awoke in shock, struggling and clawing the air as she let go with a bloodcurdling scream. Shewuma cried out and dropped to the floor, unconscious.
How fool-proof is using LegalZoom to set up an LLC?
I chuckled when I read the question. 🙂
“Foolproof?” I cannot tell you how many times folks tell me what they need, because they’ve spent an hour researching on the Internet.
My firm (https://www.L4SB.com/) competes with LegalZoom and others, selling LLC registrations. When an order comes in, a paralegal will be assigned to the case — we don’t automate. I cannot tell you how many times a week a paralegal will come into my office saying, “Umm, a client is ordering a LLC for her medical practice, but I think she’s in a state where she needs a PC or PLLC.”
Point being, it’s really easy to give clients what they ask for. It’s much harder to really understand what the client is asking, and then make sure they are doing it to serve their best interest.
Manager managed versus member managed? That’s a good question, and there are real legal consequences down the road. A good operating agreement? It’s more important than you might imagine.
If you’re interacting with any third-party, i.e. partners, clients, investors, etc., you owe it to yourself to verify that whoever you’re doing business with will actually have properly licensed attorneys and paralegals helping you.
Good luck to you! Larry.
If China’s system is superior to liberal democracies, why are so many Chinese elites sending their children to study in America and the West?
I’ve said it many times before.
The moment you think there is nothing to be learned from outside, is when your society is doomed.
The Song thought that and were overthrown.
Then the Yuan thought that and were overthrown.
The Ming thought that and they too were overthrown.
The Qing also thought this and guess what they too were overthrown.
Today you can look at westerners, many of them think they are the APEX society and nothing can be learned from the subhumans outside. Francis Fukiyama in the 1990s wrote about the END of history how western literal democracy was the PEAK of CIVILISATION and nothing could be better.
Or look at how many white supremacists are online and in real life whereby they think they are peak civilisation and nothing can be better than them and everybody has to follow them.
Richard Lock literally said Africa has to follow western countries or they will be left behind.
Oh and you’re also shit at maths.
PRC China has 47 million students source:
There is just over 1 million overseas Chinese students.
Which is the bigger number?
47,000,000
1,000,000
Come on tell don’t prove this meme!
Tesla and China are battling to electrify diesel trucks. Climate funds and Wall Street want in.
The numbers are damning. You all must watch this.
How can Tesla survive with the 70% decrease in sales in Europe, a 75% decrease in Canadian sales, and a 45% decrease in Australia?
It will not. Plus people are now sharing just how miserable teslas are in terms of quality and durability. Tesla blames owners for failures of parts they know are defective; like blaming an owner for putting the car through a car wash when a power steering pump fails.
Low mileage teslas are increasingly inhabiting junk yards. While they do have good acceleration, they are too heavy and performs poorly in curves. I enjoy taking my little Toyota MR2 (modified) out on track days and am surprised when a tesla shows up. On a track that rewards momentum through turns, and especially hairpins, I can make up three car lengths or more on a tesla and on short straights they cannot catch up.
They are shit cars in every dimension. On one track there is a slight rise with a short downslope on the back end. I cannot see ANY tesla having the suspension to handle the droop that this causes at speed while maintaining control.
Have you ever experienced something you can’t explain?
This didn’t happen to me, it happened to my mom. She grew up in Romania/Transylvania. She said she went to see a ‘gypsy lady’.
The lady took a hair from my mom’s head. She placed a bowl of ice water on my mom’s head. She put the hair into some hot wax and poured the wax into the cold water. She then took the blob that formed in the ice water and told my mom her fortune. She was apparently freaked out and said she saw graves.
Lots and lots of graves. It frightened the gypsy lady that she crossed herself. She didn’t know what that was.
She said that my mom would leave the graves and travel across a body of water. When she got to that new land she would meet and marry there. She would then travel across a bigger body of water.
She would have two children. She would become a widow early and would not re marry.
My mom was in the holocaust and was in Auschwitz. She left there and travelled to Israel where she met my dad.
They left Israel and came to USA. She had my brother and me. My dad died in his early 60’s and my mom never re married. Now I don’t know if the gypsy told her how long she would live. She never told me that. My mom died a few days before her 90th birthday.
Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Misplaced Meow:
A Tale of Silent Feline Fury, Groovy Interpretive Dance, and the Most Embarrassing Week of Sir Whiskerton’s Life
Chapter 1: The Sneeze That Stole Christmas (Or At Least a Meow)
The tragedy began, as all great tragedies do, with Zephyr the Genie trying to be helpful.
Sir Whiskerton had been in the middle of his third morning lecture to Ditto the Kitten about the “importance of enunciating one’s disdain properly” when Zephyr materialized in a puff of lavender-scented smoke directly in front of him.
- “Whoa, heavy vibes, my feline friend,” Zephyr intoned, his lava lamp bubbling ominously. “Your aura’s like, totally blocked. Let me—”
- “No,” said Sir Whiskerton.
Zephyr sneezed.
It wasn’t a normal sneeze. It was a mystical sneeze—the kind that shimmered with cosmic intent and smelled vaguely of patchouli and poor decisions.
And just like that—
Sir Whiskerton opened his mouth to deliver a scathing remark…
And nothing came out.
- “Mrrp?” he tried.
Silence.
- “MEE—”
Nothing.
His meow was gone.
Chapter 2: The Farm Descends Into Chaos
News spread faster than Doris the Hen at a grain sale.
- “Sir Whiskerton’s mute?” gasped Porkchop the Pig, spitting out his breakfast turnip. “But how will he monologue about his brilliance?”
- “This is paw-thetic,” Sir Whiskerton mouthed, his tail lashing.
Ditto, ever the helpful apprentice, immediately began echoing his lip movements in perfect, infuriating silence.
Meanwhile, Count Catula swooped in, draping himself over a fencepost.
- “Ah! The silent treatment! How dramatic!” he declared, pressing a paw to his forehead. “You could be a star of the silver screen! The Lonely Phantom of the Barnyard!”
Sir Whiskerton responded with a mime so scathing, it should have legally counted as assault.
Chapter 3: The Rise of Interpretive Dance
Desperate times called for desperate gestures.
With no meow, Sir Whiskerton resorted to:
- Pointed Paws (for “you’re an idiot”).
- Tail Semaphore (for “fetch me the farmer, you incompetent loaf”).
- Full-Body Interpretive Dance (for “ZEPHYR, FIX THIS OR I WILL END YOU”).
It was during Option 3 that Tony the Dancing Bear wandered by.
- “DUDE. Are you freestyling?” Tony gasped, his tiny ukulele strapped to his back. “This is next-level!”
Before Sir Whiskerton could mime “ABSOLUTELY NOT,” Tony had joined in, spinning on one foot and accidentally knocking over Bartholomew the Piñata.
- “…What is happening?” mouthed Bessie the Tie-Dye Cow, watching the scene unfold.
- “Performance art,” whispered Ratso the Rat, scribbling notes for his film noir screenplay. “The Maltese Meow.”
Chapter 4: The Quest for the Lost Meow
Sir Whiskerton’s investigation led him to:
- Chef Remy’s Lab (where the raccoon offered “experimental voice-restoring pickles”).
- Sir Whiskerton declined via aggressive jazz hands.
- Slow Bob the Turtle (who claimed his time-traveling shell could “undo the sneeze”).
- This resulted only in Sir Whiskerton briefly existing in two places at once, which did not help.
- The Moonlit Melon (which mysteriously repeated “the answer is within” until Porkchop ate it).
Finally, in a last-ditch effort, Sir Whiskerton confronted Zephyr, who was busy “realigning his chakras” inside his lava lamp.
- “FIX. THIS.” Sir Whiskerton mimed, with the intensity of a thousand suns.
Zephyr blinked. “Oh. Right. The meow thing. Yeah, man, it’ll, like… return when you least expect it?”
Sir Whiskerton’s silent scream could be felt across the farm.
Chapter 5: The Grand Finale (And the Return of Dignity)
The breakthrough came at dawn.
Ditto, in a rare moment of not being a tiny echo-based menace, tripped over Sir Whiskerton’s discarded monocle—
—and let out a perfect imitation of Sir Whiskerton’s “I am profoundly disappointed in you” meow.
Like a cosmic rubber band, Sir Whiskerton’s voice SNAPPED back into place.
- “FINALLY!” he yowled, his first word in days. “I HAVE SURVIVED THIS INJUSTICE!”
The farm cheered.
- “Your silent era was art,” sighed Count Catula, dabbing his eyes with a lace handkerchief.
- “Can we keep the dancing?” asked Tony, still pirouetting.
- “NO.”
Epilogue: The Moral of the Story
As life returned to normal, Sir Whiskerton delivered one final lecture to Zephyr:
- “Let this be a lesson. Never meddle with perfection. And if you must sneeze, aim away from the aristocracy.”
Moral: Voice matters—but so does creativity (and dignity, however little remains after interpretive bear-assisted dance).
The End.
Key Jokes:
- “Paw-thetic” mimed insults.
- Count Catula’s silent film delusions.
- Tony the Bear accidentally starting a dance cult.
- The Moonlit Melon’s vague advice being eaten.
Starring: Sir Whiskerton (silent but deadly), Zephyr (regretful), Ditto (echoing disaster), and Tony (just happy to be here).
P.S. Sir Whiskerton burned the interpretive dance diagrams. No witnesses remain. 🔥🎭
Should I get my kids a phone or a smart watch to keep in contact with them?
A smartwatch is a great way to stay in contact with your child—and it can be a great place to start before they get a phone. I typically recommend trying a smartwatch with younger kids (elementary school-age) who are starting to do more things away from parents. If your child walks to school or participates in sports or other extracurricular activities, a watch can be a lifesaver if practice gets cancelled or something else comes up. A smartwatch is usually a smaller investment, too, which matters when you’re giving tech to a kid—you don’t want to buy an iPhone that gets dropped and shattered on the second day (this happened to my nephew).
Some smartwatches are designed specifically for kids and have built-in features to improve safety and teach them how to be responsible with this kind of technology. I recommend smartwatches that include GPS tracking, two-way talk and text, and a camera if you want to be able to see what’s going on. Companies like Gabb offer smartwatches with a closed network and parental controls. Others, like AngelSense, have features designed for children with special needs.
As kids move into middle school and increase their independence, it makes sense to look at upgrading from a smartwatch to a phone. One of the benefits of starting with a watch before getting your child a phone, is that they will have developed responsible habits—from remembering to charge the device and put it on in the morning, to only communicating with known contacts and using approved apps. And if you go with a brand like Gabb, you can get a phone in the same family, which makes the transition easy for both kids and parents.
Who is benefiting from these tariffs?
Trump believes he’s gong to use these tariffs to create a new world order, similar to Bretton Woods, then the Jamaica Accords. He even ready has a name for it, the Mar-a-Lago Accord.
He wants to create a situation where some countries are effectively vassals to the U.S., paying the U.S. for protection against a second group, the “enemies”.
Except under these circumstances the country you’re paying protection to is barely distinguishable from those bad guys. He wants to set the monetary exchange rates. Dropping the U.S. dollar, making U.S. manufacturing competitive around the world. If that sounds incredibly inflationary, you’re paying attention.
He thinks that he’s playing 12-dimensional chess where the countries he’s just put egregious tariffs against will come begging for relief, and he’ll set the terms.
I suspect he’s going to be bitterly disappointed in the real-world outcome of his gambit. When it fails bigly I expect some serious wag-the-dog moments like attacking Greenland and Panama as distractions. Perhaps Canada, though I’d like to think he’s not that stupid.
As usual, the only ones who’ll benefit from this are himself and his billionaire buddies. The rest of us around the world get screwed.
Why Anti-China YouTubers Are Failing (And Crying About It!)
How could America go to a free healthcare system? I personally see no way for it to work. We would have to dismantle the entire system.
Not free, free at source.
The obvious solution, though not the best one, is simply “Medicare for all.” You just expand and expand the eligibility until it covers everybody. Of course the insurance companies get screwed as everyone drops them like a live grenade, but that doesn’t bother me. They can diversify their business with sufficient advance notice.
The preferable solution is the UK’s: a National Health Service paid for out of a special National Insurance tax (which would still cost less than health insurance does now). All the state-owned hospitals come under its aegis. Clinics have contracts with the NHS to provide services. This does require scrapping a lot of the current system, but it improves things for the patients.
What are Taiwan’s main reasons for their unwillingness to return to Mainland China?
Let’s consider the years of ruling Taiwan under different rulers and make a pie chart of the past 400 years:
The Chinese Empire takes about 50% of time-212 years. The second is the Republic of China in Taipei, about 1/6 of the time—76 years. Japanese Empire is 50 years. While the third was a European country—Dutch. then the Ming Royalists and Spain.
Let’s focus on the past 150 years and the chart would be very different:
The administration from Mainland China—the Chinese Empire and the Republic of China at Nanking sums up to about 1/6 of the time, while the Japanese Empire and the Republic of China at Taipei sum up to about 5/6.
I am 50 years old now. What I heard about the administration outside Taiwan are all from my parents and grandparents. The two years of ROC in Nanking’s administration were pure military. Then the central government of the ROC moved to Taipei and Taiwan since then never received any instructions from mainland China. About the Chinese Empire—which was not a modern nation—according to my past grandparents—it was a nice time when people were honest and took care of each other. The administration of the Chinese emperor in Beijing was minimal.
During Japanese colonization, Taiwan was supposed to follow instructions from Tokyo. However, the Japanese Empire authorized the Taiwanese Governor to work independently, so the Taiwanese did not feel much about the influence of the Japanese mainland.
In other words, this island has been running independently for more than a hundred years, except for the two-year military taking-over. Taiwanese are accustomed to this political operation.
Returning to mainland China is a totally new thing for the Taiwanese, except for those immigrants after WWII. More of these WWII immigrants can accept “reunion” yet most local Taiwanese do not prefer it. China is a totalitarian regime and the Taiwanese had 40 years of this experience under the ROC’s martial law years. It was a dark memory so it is hard to expect people would choose to go back to those days.
Is Elon Musk intentionally driving the value of Tesla down right now?
To what end? Look, what people don’t realize is that Elons wealth is based solely on the value of the Tesla Stock. He’s actually quite cash poor. Tesla is the only thing of value he has. If he loses Tesla he’s essentially done. SpaceX is tied directly to government Contracts.
Elons purchase of Twitter was leveraged by Tesla stock, if the value of the stock goes too low his creditors are going to declare him in default and will seek to recoup their losses. That means seizing both the Tesla stock he leveraged against AND Twitter.
Moreover, if the stock price continues to drop, he could be ousted from management by the other shareholders, essentially removing his control of the company. Even if this were a stock buyback scam, first he would be sued up the ass by the other investors and secondly, even if he was allowed to buy up Tesla stock on the cheap that’s not going to bring customers back to the car showrooms.
So no, the Tesla shock price free fall is not a good thing. He has triggered a worldwide boycott of Tesla products, that’s not something he can easily reverse. There is a lot of anger directed toward him personally.
BREAKING NEWS
One of Teslas top investors has just called on Elon to resign. The investor revolt has begun.
MORE BREAKING NEWS
Europe top hedge fund as sold all its Tesla stock and instructed all its investors to immediately divest from all Musk owned businesses
Why does China call itself a ‘superpower’ when its people can’t even vote for their leaders or speak freely without fearing consequences?
One Million people protested against the US President Trump all of Saturday
Will it help 0.1% ????
Until minimum 20/1/2027, Nothing will change in the US and Trump will do whatever he wants and run amok
Can anyone change anything?
So what’s the point of SPEAKING FREELY???????
Meanwhile
In China, Protests can change so many things
It led to the overhaul of the rural banking system in 2022
It lead to the end of covid lockdowns in Dec 2022, at least 6 months earlier than planned
It lead to the strategic mixed economy of private public models after the bank failures of the 1990s
Protests make a change!!!
I like such a system better
Shorpy
What would be the ideal body armor in the post-apocalypse?
Would you need a body armor though?
Think about it very carefully instead of just parroting fictional settings from movies and video games. “Post apocalypse” will most likely mean that most living beings on Earth had been killed by some catastrophe. Nukes, asteroids, super virus, whatever.
People think there will be roving gangs of armed bandits that the survivors would have to fend off for eternity. But why? Why is the default assumption is that you have to rob other people when… you know, you can just peacefully pool your resources, work, and survive together? People built civilizations by doing that instead of staying like territorial apes. Why would your first instinct be to shoot other people?
Cities and civilization is the natural evolutionary path for people. Because of that, it won’t take very long before people start to rebuild on the ruins of the old world.
And when you have organized city-states, you probably don’t really need any body armor unless you’re of the “soldier” or “hunter” class. It won’t take long before we’ll go back to agriculture (or maybe we’ll never get rid of agriculture at all) so we just farm food instead of hunting all day long for it.
There probably won’t be that many wild animals too because it’s the apocalypse. Too many fictional settings just assumed that those animals aren’t going to be severely affected by whatever it is that wiped people out.
So maybe something light that can protect you from animal bites would be enough for the first stage while everyone is still consolidating. But I’m not even sure that’s a great idea considering that body armor is heavy and stuffy; it makes you lose calories and water wearing it—not a great thing when food and clean water might not be readily available.
And if you live in a city, after you emerge from the bunker/shelter there probably won’t be any wild animals to worry about, at least none that warrants armor protection.
A Quantum Prison
Written in response to: “Center your story around a character who’s struggling to let go.“
Jason Richards
Thomas shook his head and looked down, John let out a sigh and continued.
“Look, If we put that kind of power through it, the power needed for something bigger than a rat, it may, as Paul said, become unstable. I think its power related problem. Almost like the Converter needs more power. More power to process more information. Then…” he stopped.
Thomas raised a hand. “Why did Paul have to go behind our backs and air out his fears?
“Paul was scared. That was plain to see,” Said John.
“He didn’t have to tell them we were years off though. We’re almost there. The device works on smaller things. We’ve proven that with the rats and mice. The Bio-printer also works great. We went through it with them, John. That’s why I’m calling bullshit. Ninety nine percent complete and they shut us down. I don’t buy it. I know you can finish this John. I want to see this through. If we can solve this problem and then we show them it works, we will be in all the academic and research papers.” Thomas paused. The cups clinked against the saucers as the waitress put both cups down in front of the men. John lent forward, took a sip then lent back.
Thomas continued, “I want to break in. This weekend. We’re close John. You know it.”
John ignored this, “Have you manage to contact the others?”
“No, Greg and Marcus are both taking long vacations.”
“What together?” Asked John with a baffled look.
Thomas looked at John, tilting his head slightly left, “no”.
John laughed.
“Paul ruined this project by informing them it couldn’t be done on time!” Exclaimed Thomas.
“Look, Paul was ready to quit anyway. It was when that monkey came out with the extra arm. That was when he decided to say something.”
“It just needed to be tweaked, is all. You know that. Two weeks left before the due date. Two weeks!,” said Thomas.
They each took sips of coffee in silence.
“You know, I suspect they are selling this tech to the defence force. Paul told them how close we were. Did you ever think it was strange he was here before all of us started the project.” Thomas took a sip.
“What makes you say that?”
“Paul was an informer on the project. That’s just my guess. I think its obvious now that I think about it. I doubt he thinks this is dangerous. Suppose they could use this tech for creating spies. No need for shitty disguises, right?”
They finished up their coffees.
“Look Tom, You know its risky going back in there. Breaking in. They escorted us out for a reason.”
“In the contract, it said we needed results before the 29th. That’s two weeks from now. We can do this. We can prove this works. We need to try.”
“Tom, You need to let it go. We go back in there, we go to prison.
Do you understand that?”
They walked outside.
“Look Tom, lets go bowling or do something next weekend. Golf. Anything. What do you think?”
Thomas let out a short sharp sigh, “Sure man. Sounds good.”
Thomas got home and opened his apartment door, his cat cried out, a long slow cry came from the lounge room. He rushed over. “Aww, Tabby you poor girl. We will get this fixed this weekend. I promise.” As he stroked her head softly. She had arthritis, it had only gotten worse over the years, to the point where she could barely move. Both rear legs had locked and would drag along as she needed to eat or do her business. Often staying on her little cushion as the pain medication helped ease the suffering.
Two weeks ago the nurse had told him to put her down. Pleaded with him.
“She’s suffering. She is in severe pain,” the nurse had told him.
He refused. Something could be done.
Thomas’s heart broke seeing her this way. His companion all these years. Often sitting on his lap as he studied exams or being there for him when Sharon broke it off. He couldn’t let her go. Not like this. He thought about his conversation with John. He hoped it had went differently.
Thomas removed two pills from the cabinet and crushed them up in Tabby’s tuna and lamb meal. Tabby heard the can being opened and tried to get up but collapsed in pain. Thomas rushed over with the bowl and placed it in front of her, patting her gently as she ate.
He then sat back down on the couch and watched Tabby as she slept. Watching her stomach expanding and deflating. He sighed. He got up and went to the book shelf, Grabbed a folder and sat back down. The folder read ‘Presentation 3″. He flicked through a couple of pages.
“Imagine a loved one, their body is failing. Cancers or old age. Giving them a brand new body, free from illness. Then we transfer your loved ones mind over. Their memories come with them.”
Then whispered, “Just hold on Tabby, please.”
He starred at the brown key on the desk, the one he had said he lost but then found weeks later in the bottom of the washing machine. He knew this day would come, and so he didn’t hand it back. Thomas hoped they hadn’t changed the locks.
On the drive home, John reflected. He was sceptical on what Tom said, but then again, he was also sceptical that the team got canned when the contract didn’t expire for another two weeks. For what? What did he have to show for it. Nothing. The pay check was good, but he was in it more for the geeky hands on stuff. The cutting edge. He knew he could work out the problems, if he had more time. It was him that made a particle accelerator in his parents garage, for a science show. Won first prize. He also converted his Go Kart to hydrogen. “This kids a wiz. He’s going places. Our boy!” His parents gushed to friends.
In his empty apartment, John sat on the chair facing the window of the city. Large building windows reflected the sun. He held his head in his hands. On the desk was all his notes from the project. Much like Tom, he couldn’t let it go either. The risk is too high, he thought. The thought of prison was too much. Does Tom honestly believe that they would let them continue if they could prove it works? They’d be arrested on the spot. He was so close to finishing it. So, so close. But the rug was pulled, time to let this go. He went out for his weekly jog. Took a shower.
Then it came to him. More power without the critical crash, or weird anomalies. The thought of spreading the instruction load over two quantum converters, instead of one. Both working in parallel. The hardware upgrade was easy. He had a spare chip, a backup. Such a simple idea, why hadn’t he thought about this earlier. It would just slot right in. The crucial part would be rewriting the code.
He got out of the shower, soap still under his arms and down his torso. He quickly dried off and jotted down some notes on a scrap of paper by his desk. Water dripping from his hair. Three days and nights to rewrite the code. This could be done. He picked up the phone and texted Thomas.
“I’m in. Lets do this on Sunday. I may have found a solution,” he wrote.
John searched through his desk to find the USB with the source code. Something he shouldn’t have taken, but was proud of his work and made a backup. Snuck it out in the sole of his shoe. He booted the computer and made a strong coffee, the first of many tonight.
There was work to be done.
Thomas heard his phone vibrate, lent over and viewed the message. His eyes lit up. He looked over to his sleeping Tabby, “Just hold on,” he said, a glee in his eyes.
***
John sat inside the same café, same table and waited. He looked at his watch then heard the sound of the Ducati pulling up front. He was about to stand but then sat, scrunching the napkin in his damp hand. He felt brittle and exhausted. He had worked 30 hours straight. Tom walk in, scan the room and locked eyes with him.
John stifled a yawn as Tom approached and sat down.
“You look like shit,” said Thomas.
“Gee thanks man,” John laughed, “I’ve been busting code out for the past few nights. This should work.”
John explained the idea on the dual Quantum Converters. Thomas was beside himself.
They would go tonight.
Thomas had parked the white Subaru three blocks away. He looked over at Tabby. He had given her more medication to ease her pain. But it had hardly helped. She barely moved, just moaned. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door then held her in his arms. He walked slowly to the building.
It was a simple red brick block in the industrial area. From the outside it looked like a telephone exchange building. No windows, just large double doors. Mark, the old maintenance guy had drinks with them the day everyone got let go. He told Thomas the whole building had had its power cut before everyone left. The security cameras should pose no threat. He was willing to take this chance.
He spotted someone walking over, a slight limp from his left leg. The shadowy figure gave a wave as it approached closer.
“Hey Tom. What’s with the cat?” asked John with a puzzled look.
“This is our test subject, its bigger than a rat” he said with a smile.
“Really? What if it doesn’t work?”
“Are you second guessing your code?” Said Thomas with a laugh.
He turned and faced the door, placed the stolen key in the lock and closed his eyes.
“come on, please,” he whispered.
Then turned the key, It had opened.
The room was completely dark. Thomas went straight to the right, to the switch box. Then turned on the four switches. Each giving a satisfying clunk. The florescent lights flickered on. Almost everything was where it had been when they were escorted out. Thomas and John walked past the cages of rats, past the lunch lounge, and met John in the other room.
The room was tiled in white and had white cream walls and a high ceiling. In the opposite end of the doorway sat a long metal cylinder with a clear lid. At first glance, it looked like a mini tanning bed. This was the Bio-printer.
To Thomas’s left was what looked to be two portable showers connected with fibre optic cables. This was the machine that could transfer consciousness from one living organism to another.
Thomas thought about his theories again. This will truly be used for the military and that was why this was being shut down. He felt anger. Maybe one day it would be used for good.
Tonight, it would be.
He watched John plugging in boards and uploading the new software to the main unit. John was in his element here.
“The computational power is almost double. The second Quantum Converter seems to be doing fine. All internal tests have passed,” John said as he punched a few keys on the keyboard. He placed Tabby down on chair, she seemed settled.
“Ok, shall we test this?” Asked John.
“Firstly lets do the mandatory test we’ve always done.” Said Thomas. John agreed.
Thomas walked down the hall and opened a cage to retrieved a healthy brown rat. John snipped some rat hair, enough for a DNA sample, and placed it in to the Bio-printer. The display went dark, then the reflections of blue and red lasers bounced off the cream walls. The machine beeped, much like a microwave would, to alarm its user it was ready.
John removed the freshly printed rat. It had black hair and was warm to the touch, the heart was beating faintly — they had to move fast.
They each opened their doors and placed both rats. Then Thomas stood back and stroked Tabby as she tried to nod off. She must have been exhausted with the travel, he thought. John pressed a few buttons. The ceiling lights dimmed for just a second the only sound was from from the compressor that cooled the machine. Then the screen read ‘|Rand0||Completed|’.
John opened the first door. The fat brown rat just laid there. Motionless, his body growing cold. Then he opened the second. The newly printed black rat was full of energy. Sniffing its new enclosure and did all the right things a healthy rat would do.
This test had been done hundred of times before. Anything larger than a rat would not convert consciousness over. Most times nothing would happen. Other times there were rare physical anomalies. More computational power was needed. Paul was wrong about his fears. We just needed to try this from a different angle.
Both men heard sirens in the distance. Was it for them?
John turned to Thomas, “What do you want to do?”
“All internal tests passed, right?” Thomas asked.
“They all passed. Even with the increased power. The second processor is doing its job.” He pointed to several things on the screen, see?” John said with a smile.
“Ok lets try Tabby.” Thomas cut some lose hair from her and placed it in the Bio-printer. An almost identical cat was created. Same white and black fur, but the white patch over her left eye was now on her right eye.
The sirens were closer now, a block away…
John lifted out the printed cat and placed it in the machine. Then closed the door. They had to move fast.
“I’m not going to prison, Tom. I can’t,” John said in a panic.
“You wont. If this works. We can explain our way out of it. The contract said 2 more weeks!”
Thomas kissed Tabby, “I love you. I love you so much” He was nervous as he placed her in the little chamber and closed the door. But he had nothing to lose.
The two men looked at each other. Thomas sat down on the chair, head back against the wall and gave a small nod to John. Then he starred at Tabby’s door, deep in thought. He had made the right decision not putting her down two weeks ago. She will be OK.
John pressed a few keys closed his eyes and executed the command.
The screen read ‘|Rand1||Completed|’. A message John had not seen before.
Smoke began to billow out of the machine.
He looked at Tom. Tom had his same expression on his face, his head against the wall. Focused on Tabby’s door. The two men said nothing. John opened the second door of the newly printed Tabby.
Tabby came out, purring against John’s ankles, and with a smile he gave her a pat. A flush of relief fell over him. He had solved it.
Then he opened the other door. The cat moaned and cried. Tried to stand. But couldn’t. John stepped back, shocked. This shouldn’t be… What had happened?
“We have the place surrounded, come out now!” said a voice through a megaphone.
Thomas closed his eyes, the anchor of reality was being tugged, then pulled and twisted and then nothing. He opened his eyes and felt pain, so much pain. The most terrible pain he had ever felt in his entire life. He tried to stand but couldn’t, his legs felt like a rusty stuck gate. Pain shot through his body. He screamed out in agony. He screamed for help. He wanted to die.
The door in front of him opened. John stood tall and looked down at him.
Why does China charge high tariffs on US goods if tariffs are not effective? Why doesn’t China lower its own trade barriers to allow more US goods?
Chinese counter-tariffs are for political reasons, not economical ones.
The problems is that the US doesn’t sell China the things it wants, like high level chips and machinary. And low end American products like cars and farm products are easily replaced by imports from elsewhere or domestic produce.
Do you regret not having children of your own?
No. My wife and I did not want kids. We were never super comfortable around kids, and so we practiced safe sex.
Ten years ago, I was looking into a vasectomy, but then my wife convinced me not too. I then found out that her reason was not that she wanted kids, but she was insecure, and thought that if I ever left her I may want kids. I told her, “it is not that I don’t want kids with you, I don’t want kids, period.” That made her feel better, and she was agreeable to my getting a vasectomy. Now we are in our 40s, and the chance of having an uncomplicated pregnancy is lowering, and not wanting kids anyways, I got a vasectomy.
I am now late 40s, and we are good. My vasectomy was a success, my wife got off the pill, and we are both the better for it.
The reason I got the vasectomy, it was easier for me to have the surgery than my wife. It was much less invasive, and easier/faster recovery time. I would recommend to any couple not wanting kids to have the guy get a vasectomy.
I slept with his best man, he leaked the video during dinner with my family
https://youtu.be/MQFT_PgZSoc
Do Americans really avoid hospitals, even in serious situations because of the bills that follow after?
I broke my ankle in Scotland and spend a day at the tiny hospital in Oban, being treated and taken care of. My wife went to pay the bill. “There’s no charge for emergency services,” said the accounting nurse. “We’re here to fix people. Not charge them.”
“But we’re not Scottish,” said my wife. The nurse obviously knew that.
“It makes no difference, there’s no charge. Take care and tell your husband to stay off that foot!”
Three months later my wife dislocated her shoulder and spend four hours in the Stanford ER before they managed to massage it back into place. We received the bill (although insurance paid it). It was forty-five thousand, eight hundred and eighty dollars ($45,880.—). The American medical system is a thieving menace that MUST be put away, SOON!!!
How do you see the trade tensions between China and the US evolving in the near future?
It will cool down.
Because China has pretty much already won the trade war.
The US started the war in 2018 with two clear goals:
- Make the US great again;
2. Stop China’s rise.
China was forced into this war with one goal only:
To defend the Chinese right of growth and development.
7 years into the war and counting, the US is no greater than it was in the 2010s, and China is now stronger than ever.
Any clear headed observer would understand that China is winning big time and there’s no change to this in the foreseeable future.
The US must change its strategy.
Does it double down on the losing strategy of “actung tough” on China, maybe even move toward physical war? since the US has basically depleted all the cards it can play in the trade war during the past 7 years?
Or does it back down and go back to pre-2018 era, when US corporations made huge money working with China?
It would seem like the second option is far less risky and more lucrative.
However, China wants to make double sure that the US doesn’t choose option one, so it showcased some of the most advanced weapons on planet earth during its Sept. 3rd parade, before hitting back at the US sanctions in October.
So here we are, Trump and Xi shaking hands by the end of October, 2025, de-escalating the trade war.
Is wine investing only for the ultra-rich?
Historically, wine was a sophisticated investment only for the ultra-rich.
Now, it has become easier to invest in it if you aren’t super rich.
What’s more, some wines are liquid, if you excuse the pun, so they are easier to sell than has historically been the case.
On my podcast recently, I interviewed a wine-investing expert on this very subject:
Like all investments, the key things are deciding on:
- How much risk do you want to take?
- How much liquidity do you need?
- Do you have the knowledge, or do you need to outsource it to a wine-investing company?
- Which trends could help or hurt a particular investment in the future? In the West, people are drinking less alcohol, especially younger people, but the world is a big place where luxury alcohol consumption is increasing drastically in some parts of the world.
- High-end wine is in the luxury goods sector and is distinctive from other drinks. Is this sector, in general, primed for growth?
What, as a taxi driver, was your meanest fare?
My own, the author of the question. A pair of couples I picked up at an expensive restaurant one evening. They were going to two destinations each about two miles apart. They were not a happy group. The man sitting beside me engaged conversation with me, but nothing from the back of the car, he was a nice bloke, but the silence from behind was notable. We arrived at the first house and they start arguing about how to split the bill ( total fare 43 quid). Nice bloke gets bored of 22 or 23 quid as the share of the couple who are going further, gives them 50 quid and says ‘just give that to the driver’. He’s made his point that they are are tight arseholes and he can get out of the cab and get on with his life. I go on to the next drop and drop the couple at their home. The woman gave me nice mans £50 and said ‘I want £7 change’. Free trip plus £7 profit for them, plus stole my tip. Absoutely hilarious and worth it to see such gobsmackingly poor behaviour.
Hart Stillwell’s Baked Beans
Hart Stillwell, a frontier novelist, made a rough version of these beans over campfires while on fishing and hunting trips.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cooked navy beans or other white beans
- 1 1/2 cups tomato juice
- 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar (or less)
- 3/4 cup strong black coffee
- 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 4 slices slab bacon, chopped
- 1 carrot, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons unsulphured dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons dry mustard
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
- Bake the beans, uncovered, about 1 1/2 hours, or until they have thickened and cooked down, with a “skin” just beginning to form on the top of the beans.
Notes
If you like beans less sweet, reduce the amount of brown sugar.
These beans reheat well and keep refrigerated for several days.
If the Chinese government demands that US importers pay in Chinese yuan instead of US dollars effective immediately, what would happen?
They can’t
The Yuan isn’t freely available everywhere for people to buy and pay like the Dollar, Pound or even the Indian Rupee
One reason the Chinese have such a resilient economy is the DUAL CIRCULATION SYSTEM.
A Key advantage is that the Yuan isn’t freely convertible.
Only the PBOC and HK and 18 financial institutions in the world can sell Yuan against almost 14,700 that can sell Dollars Or 4,235 that can sell the Pound Or 2,167 that can sell Singapore Dollars
So these importers would have to pay the PBOC in Dollars and buy Yuan from them and pay the exporters
They do this anyway
They pay Dollars to PBOC who in turn pay Yuan to the Exporters in China
So there is no point of this
Yes, like Russia if Chinas accounts were frozen and China couldn’t access the dollars to convert into Yuan and pay it’s exporters – Then China may demand payment in Yuan
Otherwise there is no need or point so far