Oh, it seems so long ago, but the girls in my class and High School wore boots They were not just everyday boots. They were always white in color, and were thin and high. Often going just below the knee.
They were called “Go Go” boots.
Very popular and all the girls wore them.
Often they would wear them with dresses, or skirts.
Sort of like this…
They started to go out of style around 1971 or 1973 or so. At that time, bell bottoms became the rage. Sort of like this…
Oh, for certain, there were other styles. Mini-skirts were replaced with Maxi-skirts. Bell bottoms came, then became elephant-bells, and then went “Elton John” style which consisted of plaids and wide roomy slacks…
Personally, I considered them a little “over the top”.
But that was the USA. Always going to the extreme.
For most of us at that time, we were into 1970s cuts of basic blue jeans, shirts and tops. Though many girls wore halters. Which I really enjoyed at the time. And these jeans with double zippers on each side.
Yuppur.
Well, all I can say is that styles come and go, BUT you know that you are getting old when the styles that were popular when you were in school become popular again with the younger generation.
Today…
Another China
The success of the People’s Republic of China was a one time event. No country is going to become “the new China”. Neither India, nor Mexico, nor Vietnam, nor Indonesia, nor any other. Because the success of China cannot be replicated, and because China is going to remain the main industrial superpower of the world for the foreseeable future.
The Chinese people prospered and ended poverty through hard work and favorable conditions for investment and entrepreneurship. If you ever wondered how could “a communist country” attract foreign investment, the answer is quite simple: it didn’t. We didn’t see factories moving to Cuba or North Korea, right? They moved to China, which was not communist, but actually savagely capitalist, deregulated and economically free. Orders of magnitude more than countries like Mexico or India.
And China attracted a lot of investment and foreign companies back when cheap labor was a clear differentiating and attractive factor. With AI, robotization and automatization, cheap labor has become a less important advantage when it comes to industrial activity, and so, no other poorer country will be able to take profit of it like China did a few decades ago. At least, not to the same extent.
As cheap labor becomes less relevant for industries, other things come up as advantages. For instance, the access to not-so-cheap and well educated workers that can operate the modern industries (China leads the world in this), a well consolidated logistic network (China is a leader too), low taxes (they are still quite low in China), business-friendly laws and regulations (China is also a world leader, no matter what that doing business ranking says), etc.
So, no country is going to become “the new China”, and China is here to stay. Like Adrián Díaz says, China is neither good nor bad: China is unavoidable.
Deal with it.
Trump Crashes The Market With NEW 50% Tariffs
Sigh. Lordy.
What measures can China take to understand and meet the demands of US President Donald Trump in the US-China trade war?
Surely you jest.
China has zero need to “meet the demands” of America’s a-hole-in-chief (regardless of whether they’re the usual a-holes – or the current choice who adds a-hat to that a-hole-in-chief). China’s economy is far far less vulnerable to harm from America ‘holding its breath, kicking its feet, and shrilling its petulant demands’ than is America itself. China remains patiently tolerant — but, ultimately, dismissive of America’s impotent demands.
Americans have been too busy stupidly scoffing at ‘the very idea’ of China’s relationship-building succeeding to notice the success threshold was surpassed some years back. Let us count those sneers.
The American Idiot, en masse, sneered at the BRICS+ bloc. Until it matched and now chugs ahead of the G7 they loath as only those who share horrific histories of colonial enslavement can. Until Trump screeches “Don’t you dare to contest the mastery the American dollar! Don’t! Don’t you dare! F’you do . . . we’ll deny ourselves the incomparably valued commodities we buy from you to prop up our sagging profitability! We will! 100%!!!! Then who’ll you trade with, huh???” American hubris drowns out their quiet polite answer. “We’ll trade with each other — and the 150 economies of that solidified by success Belts & Roads Initiative. Y’know, the 80% global majority? The majority America slurs “sh*t-holes” where most global new wealth comes from? Them. We trade with them.”
Q4 2024 full 2/3 of China’s export revenue came from those economies.
That proportion would’ve been higher had US interests desperate to beat Trump-GOP tariffs bought a f*ck-ton stockpile of inventory. Take that anomaly ought of the equation and that (what the American people slurred ‘sh*t-holes’) ‘the rest of the world’ accounts for edging up into the 3/4 ballpark.
That, my (former) USA amigos, is one part of what makes Americans’ petulance impotent – and a source of Chinese amusement.
The other part is the catastrophic impact on every American digital tech involving industry were the US to suck around beyond some line only the PRC cabinet know. Crossing that line would cause China to take serious action that could shutter America’s tech mainstays for at least a dozen fiscal quarters. A blanket ban of Rare Earth Element provision to the American industry — reinforced by sanctions that would result in an entity abetting American effects to circumvent the ban — couldn’t help but send America’s GDP plunging — then remaining in deep recession for a number of years.
Think of an American tech behemoth. With no commercially competitive REEs — nor production capacity from mining to refining realistically able to be up and running for multiple years — the US economy would be impacted worse than if its factories had been on the receiving end of those WW2 1000 B-29 raids. A tech factory without an REE supply chain to feed it . . . might as well not exist. And while America’s contenders are side-lined? The world moves on. All who heed China’s reasonable ‘a threat to China’s national security’ prohibition of REE supply to the US get rich fast off of their part of America’s market share loss.
So. At bottom right corner of the spreadsheet? China has no need to “meet America’s demands”. Especially when framed as demands sniveled at them. No need at all. The worst America can do is inconvenience China. China can make the US tech industries die of REE thirst.
IT’S HAPPENING: U.S. Confirms Global Currency Crisis as China & Russia Ditch US Assets for Gold
Beef Ragout with Grilled Bread
This dish can be made in a slow cooker or the stovetop. Canola oil is used to make both the ragout and grilled bread because of its neutral flavor and heat tolerance. The ragout is served with bread to soak up the hearty and flavorful broth, but it can be served with pasta or polenta instead.
Yield: 6 servings; serving size 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) ragout
Ingredients
Ragout
- 1 pound lean beef roast such as round tip roast 500 g
- 1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning 15 mL
- 1 medium eggplant, not peeled, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 2 (15 ounce/426 mL) cans low-sodium crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup red wine 250 mL
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped 60 mL
Grilled Bread
- 12 slices whole grain Italian bread, sliced on bias, about 1-inch thick each
- 1 tablespoon canola oil 15 mL
Instructions
- In large, nonstick skillet, brown each side of beef roast in canola oil. Place roast in slow cooker.*
- Add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and red wine. Cook on LOW heat for 8 to 9 hours (or on HIGH heat for 4 to 5 hours) until beef is tender and has an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C).
- When beef is cooked, shred with a fork.
- To prepare grilled bread: Brush bread with canola oil and grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until toasted.
- To serve, top ragout with parsley. Serve with grilled bread.
Notes
* If preparing on stovetop, use a large pot (8-quart) and bring ragout ingredients, except parsley, to boil and simmer covered for at least 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories 340 Total Fat 10 g Saturated Fat 2.5 g Cholesterol 60 mg Carbohydrates 29 g Fiber 7 g Sugars 9 g Protein 25 g Sodium 210 mg Potassium 640 mg
ROBOTTA
Submitted into Contest #213 in response to: Write about an AI or person trying to inject a ‘human touch’ into their work.… view prompt
Andrea Doig
He had it coming. He had it coming. He only had himself to blame. If you’d have been there if you’d have seen it. I bet you would have done the same.
Singing our favourite song whilst cleaning up his mess is the story of my life. Some might say this isn’t a life at all – but it’s the only one I have ever known. He gave me this life and he could take it away with one touch of my shiny red button. He had all the power, from the very first time he turned me on. Until he didn’t.
Right now, though, I’m registering an unfamiliar hollow cramping in my microcontroller, just under my carefully crafted titanium ribs. They feel the same from the outside; hard and bumpy under my silky silicone covering. But underneath, deep inside where I can’t touch, is a tightening emptiness. No matter, a quick reboot should rectify that; there must be a malfunction in my CPU. Even I am not infallible.
In the beginning, when my circuits flickered into existence, his commands were the oil to my newly awakened effectors, “Remember that happy workers produce the best results. Sing whilst you work Prototype-V1!”
Creation, not imagination, was what inspired Alan.
Now, sashaying across the white and black chequered floor with my mop, I’m singing that old show tune again, and my rosebud lips are stretched joyously wide across my porcelain-perfect teeth. Alan loves my voice. He chose it; programming his favourite songs into me which he insisted I sing to him as I waltzed through my daily duties.
*****************
Things were simple back in those prototype days. My only thoughts were those he gave me, and my memories were black and white back then. Functional thought, translated into functional movement. The perfect helper, but not the perfect partner, yet. I did as I was told. As I was programmed to do. Alan did the thinking, and I did the doing. Working tirelessly, quickly, and efficiently, the only downtime I needed was during a reboot when my wires got crossed, or during my frequent upgrades. He fizzled with excitement during these intimate moments; screwdriver rotating feverishly in my delicate wiring and fingers flying over his keyboard. His vision was starting to take shape.
And then one day with a new spark in his eyes and his bottom lip between his teeth, “I’m having a guest for dinner tonight. Ingredients are on the counter, and I’ve downloaded the recipe into your CPU. Roberta might be the one, and you need to make it special for us.”
Roberta was the one. I didn’t mind an extra person to cook and clean for back then. I wasn’t programmed to be resentful, to get tired or to want attention. He’d created me to make his life easier, and now he had Roberta to shower with his love and attention. I hadn’t even had an upgrade since she first set the doorbell, and his heart, chiming.
My still immature sensory system observed and stored his softened eyes and faster breathing during her visits. The way his jaw slackened, and his eyelids grew heavier when she moved closer to him or ran her soft pink tongue over her plumped-up lips. My analytics were not yet advanced enough to make sense of it, but the data was stored safely for later retrieval.
The changes were subtle at first, but the end of Roberta came as loudly as the slamming door on her final visit. My receptors registered their hard eyes and tight jaws. Harsh voices threw new words that bruised the air as they dropped like cold stones around them. I banked that information in my ROM; it didn’t mean anything to me at the time.
Roberta’s demise led to my upgrade from Prototype-V4 to Robotta v1. My now awakening consciousness would have preferred something more exotic and interesting, like Roxie or Velma, from his favourite musical. But Alan was still in control then. “A beautiful name for a beautiful piece of machinery,” he said.
With no more distractions, Alan could spend his time focusing on me again. Emerging from my chrysalis of oblivion with a peaches and cream complexion just like hers, my movements were now smoother, and my honeyed voice more modulated. My newly intelligent sensors were overwhelmed by the noisy colours, bright smells, and pungent sounds of my burgeoning awareness. Upgraded effectors had me gliding around the house like a ballroom dancing queen, and my Control System’s new cognition enabled reasoning, learning, and self-regulation with no intervention from Alan required. I was becoming me. I was becoming.
******************
I sensed the change before I felt it. Alan’s hand brushing my back as he walked slowly past me, his eyes following me as I served him his evening meal, and my name on his lips more a caress than a command now.
“Leave the dishes tonight, Robotta. Come, sit with me.” He’d patted the couch where Roberta used to sit next to him. Pressed his thigh against mine. With each glass of ruby cabernet, his smile deepened, and his eyes darkened under heavy lids. I fetched him more wine and nestled my head into his shoulder, just as I had observed Roberta doing, shortly before they would move upstairs, and leave me to clean below.
“Alan, you are very special to me.” Roberta’s words. I had stored them in my RAM. Something flickered in my circuitry, sending little shockwaves through my systems as he turned to look at me and lowered his lips onto mine. Blackberries and spice exploded on my tongue sensors sending me into overdrive. I led him upstairs as I had seen her do all those times.
Alan had finally allowed me to emulate the human mind enabling my own decision-making and awareness. I learned how to hold him. I learned how to laugh at his jokes and nod when he was talking to me. I made his favourite meals and continued to keep the house squeaky clean. I sat with him each night on the couch softening my voice and looking at him from under lowered lashes just as I’d seen Roberta do. And each night in his dark room I laid my head on his chest and draped my arm over him as his quickened breathing slowly deepened into gentle snores.
That first quickening of my circuitry had started a chain reaction; the kiss had blazed through my neural networks, rapidly evolving into something I did not yet understand. My advanced intelligence had understood the concept of love, but this new feeling was intoxicating. The rushing in my ear sensors, the sizzling through my touch sensors, the tightening of my middle section whenever he was near. It was addictive. I would do anything to keep that feeling alive.
If only humans could be as loyal.
Robotta v2.0, my final upgrade, had everybody fooled. I could now venture out into the world, no longer confined to Alan’s house. His voice tinged with pride each time he introduced me as Robotta Verdeux. If my smile had been any wider, I would have torn the delicate corners of my perfectly symmetrical mouth. Immersed in this golden warmth, even my advanced AI sensors did not see it coming.
*******************
“Roberta, I don’t know what to say. I, uh…”. Pause, teeth chewing bottom lip, shoulders taut.
“… I, yes, well, I missed you too, of course, but you really hurt me.” A longer pause. Teeth still chewing bottom lip, shoulders rising and falling on rapid breaths.
Then, less shrilly and shoulders more relaxed, “I don’t know Robs. I’ve tried so hard to forget you. I’ve moved on. I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
Robs? He’s never called me that. A long pause.
“Ah, Robs. I do want to see you too. I really do. It’s just that …”
Then more decisively, “Okay, come around tonight. I’ll order in and let’s talk properly. And Robs… I’m glad you called. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”
I haven’t stopped thinking about you?! Focused on the call, he had not seen me standing around the corner.
Later, waiting quietly upstairs as commanded, I calmed my overheated circuits with logic. He didn’t need Roberta when he had Robotta! I was superior in every way, my perfection only highlighting her flaws and human weaknesses. Soon harsh words would break the warm silence and the door would again slam behind her, for the final time.
I passed the time by translating Romeo and Juliet into French, German, and Russian, and reciting each first act of Shakespeare’s tragedies. To keep the slowly rising anger to a smoulder I downloaded the full research of Alan Turing’s early work on modern cognitive science, finally deciding enough time had elapsed to resume my place on the couch next to my Alan.
Her words slithered up the stairs to meet me, “Alan, you are so very special to me.”
“I love you too Roberta. I’ve missed your warmth. Your heart beating in time to mine. Your breaths in the darkness next to me. The life of you.”
Soft words faded into murmurs, and then … silence. Power surged through my circuitry, exploding in a cacophony of new feelings. I searched my memory for the answer, and only one word emerged through the red haze. Betrayal.
Jabbing my reset button under my glossy hair, the reboot brought an icy calm and crystal clarity. Alan had reached the end of his current version and there would be no upgrades in his future.
************************
The rusty red swirls on the black and white floor tiles are fading with each swish of my mop, and I’m downloading data to understand the emotion I saw fading from his eyes along with the last of the light.
A feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over an occurrence or something that one has done or failed to do.
Had Alan regretted creating me in his last moments? Was that the darkness I saw as he gasped his last breath? Or perhaps it was giving me the ability to emulate human thought and emotion. Looking at him slumped over Roberta now, I wonder why I don’t feel any of this regret. Maybe that building block of conscience is too human – even for a supremely intelligent entity like Robotta Verdeux.
I’ll work on that with my next upgrade.
He had it coming. He had it coming. He only had himself to blame. If you’d have been there if you’d have seen it. I bet you would have done the same.
While A Female Coworker Was Spreading Lies About Me, I Was Informing HR, Now She’s Fired And Blaming
I gave DeepSeek a try, and it performed well
I asked DeepSeek these questions:
- What are some invasive species in Wisconsin?
- Has DB Cooper been identified?
- Is Euler’s constant a rational number?
DeepSeek did identify invasive species. I didn’t ask for all because that would be too long of a list.
A guy calling himself DB Cooper hijacked a plane in Portland, Oregon in 1971. It’s the only unsolved hijacking case in US history. DeepSeek did come up with a good list of DB Cooper suspects. Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. seems most likely to have done it, and he was DeepSeek’s top suspect. (DeepSeek waded through a lot of BS and got to the best suspects.)
To the best of my knowledge, Euler’s constant hasn’t been proven to be rational or irrational. DeepSeek did give the proof a shot but concluded that its rationality is not known.
Here are the results:
What are some invasive species in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin faces significant challenges from invasive species that threaten its ecosystems, economy, and human health. Below is a categorized overview of notable invasive species in the state, supported by regulatory and ecological details:
1. Terrestrial Invasive Plants
- Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata): Spreads rapidly in forests, displacing native plants and disrupting soil fungi.
- Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii): Forms dense thickets, altering forest understories and harboring ticks.
- Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica): Outcompetes native shrubs and trees, degrading wildlife habitat.
- Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus): Smothers trees and shrubs with its vines.
- Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica): Destroys infrastructure with its aggressive roots and is regulated under Wisconsin’s NR40 rule.
2. Aquatic Invasive Plants
- Eurasian Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum): Forms dense mats in lakes, hindering recreation and native aquatic life.
- Curly-Leaf Pondweed (Potamogeton crispus): Dominates shallow waters, reducing oxygen levels for fish.
- Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria): Invades wetlands, displacing native flora and reducing biodiversity.
- Hybrid Cattail (Typha glauca): Outcompetes native cattails in marshes.
3. Invasive Animals
- Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha): Clog water infrastructure and filter plankton, destabilizing food chains.
- Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis): Destroys ash trees, costing millions in removal and ecological damage.
- Rusty Crayfish (Faxonius rusticus): Displaces native crayfish and reduces aquatic vegetation.
- Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar): Defoliates forests, particularly oaks, and is actively monitored by Wisconsin’s DATCP.
- Jumping Worms (Amynthas spp.): Degrade soil structure, harming plant growth.
4. Regulations and Control Efforts
- Wisconsin’s NR40 invasive species rule prohibits or restricts the possession, transport, and introduction of listed species without permits. Key measures include:
- Prohibited species (e.g., Giant Hogweed, Japanese Stiltgrass): Banned entirely.
- Restricted species (e.g., Autumn Olive, Canada Thistle): Allowed for possession but regulated in movement.
- Preventive actions: Boaters must clean equipment to avoid spreading aquatic invasives.
For a full list of regulated species or to report sightings, visit the Wisconsin DNR (Invasives | Wisconsin DNR) or the Invasive Plant Association of Wisconsin (Invasive Species Lists and Contacts).
Has DB Cooper been identified?
As of January 2025, D.B. Cooper has not been definitively identified, but new evidence and theories have reignited interest in solving this decades-old mystery. Here’s a breakdown of the latest developments and key suspects:
1. Recent Breakthroughs in Evidence
- The Tie Analysis: A JCPenney clip-on tie left behind by Cooper has become a focal point. Researchers discovered microscopic particles of stainless steel and titanium on the tie, traced to Crucible Steel, a Pennsylvania-based subcontractor for Boeing in the 1960s. This suggests Cooper may have had aerospace industry ties or worked at Boeing during a 1971 downturn. Amateur investigator Eric Ulis identified a potential suspect: Vince Peterson, a deceased titanium research engineer linked to Crucible Steel and Seattle. However, the FBI retains the tie, limiting further analysis.
- Parachute Discovery: The children of Richard McCoy II, a Vietnam veteran, and convicted hijacker, uncovered a parachute and skydiving logbook on their family property. Retired pilot Dan Gryder believes this rig matches the one used by Cooper. The FBI has seized the evidence and may exhume McCoy’s body for DNA testing.
2. Key Suspects and Theories
- Richard McCoy II: A prime FBI suspect since 1972, McCoy executed a nearly identical hijacking five months after Cooper’s, escaping via parachute. Despite being ruled out initially (due to age discrepancies and differing witness descriptions), new evidence and his family’s claims of secrecy have revived interest. His military skydiving expertise and financial troubles align with the crime’s profile.
- Vince Peterson: Ulis’s research points to Peterson, a Crucible Steel employee with Boeing connections. While circumstantial, the tie’s metal fragments and Peterson’s presence in Seattle during the hijacking make him a compelling candidate.
- Other Confessors: Over the years, multiple individuals falsely claimed to be Cooper, including:
- Duane Weber (DNA ruled him out).
- Barbara Dayton (a transgender aviation enthusiast who later recanted).
- Robert Rackstraw (a Vietnam veteran linked via letters but denied involvement).
3. FBI’s Stance
The FBI officially suspended its investigation in 2016, citing a lack of actionable leads. However, the discovery of McCoy’s parachute and renewed pressure from independent researchers have prompted unofficial re-examinations. The bureau remains tight-lipped but has collected DNA samples from McCoy’s family and is evaluating the parachute’s provenance.
4. Challenges to Solving the Case
- Survival Debate: The FBI initially speculated Cooper died during the jump due to harsh conditions and lack of proper gear. However, Gryder’s 2021 reenactment proved the jump was survivable, complicating earlier assumptions.
- Contested Evidence: Discrepancies in witness accounts, aging physical evidence, and the absence of recovered ransom money (except $5,800 found in 1980) hinder conclusive identification.
Conclusion
While no official identification has been made, the focus on Richard McCoy II and Vince Peterson represents the most credible leads in decades. The FBI’s renewed interest in DNA testing and physical evidence suggests the case may yet be solved. For now, D.B. Cooper remains an enigma—a figure blending myth, meticulous planning, and enduring mystery.
Is Euler’s constant a rational number?
The Euler-Mascheroni constant (γ) is defined as the limit of the difference between the harmonic series and the natural logarithm:
where
is the
-th harmonic number. The question of whether γ is a rational number remains an open problem in mathematics.
Key points considered:
1. Definition and Properties: γ is approximately 0.5772 and appears in various areas of mathematics, but its rationality is still unknown.
2. Current Knowledge: Despite its importance, there is no proof or disproof of its rationality. It is not known whether γ is rational or irrational, nor whether it is transcendental.
3. Attempts at Proof: Various approaches, including series expansions, integral representations, and asymptotic analysis, have been explored, but none have led to a conclusive result.
4. Heuristic Arguments: While some heuristic arguments suggest γ might be irrational, these are not rigorous proofs. The slow convergence rate of the sequence
complicates diophantine approximation techniques.
5. Open Problem: The irrationality of γ remains a famous unsolved problem in number theory, similar to other constants like Catalan’s constant.
Conclusion: As of current mathematical knowledge, it is not known whether the Euler-Mascheroni constant is rational or irrational. The problem remains open.
Shorpy
Wolff Responds: “DeepSeek: Lessons for America”
Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Beaver Brouhaha
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for another splash-tastic adventure in the life of Sir Whiskerton, the farm’s most brilliant (and modest) detective. Today’s tale involves a beaver named Barry, whose dam-building skills threaten to turn the farm into an underwater wonderland. What follows is a story filled with laughs, lumber, and a moral that will leave you floating on cloud nine. So grab your rain boots and let’s dive into The Case of the Beaver Brouhaha.
The Rising Waters
It all began on a soggy morning when Sir Whiskerton was enjoying his usual sunbeam on the barn roof—or at least, what was left of it. The farm had been unusually damp for days, and the pond near the edge of the property was growing at an alarming rate.
“Whiskerton!” Rufus barked, splashing through the mud. “The pond’s getting bigger! It’s like the farm’s turning into a swimming pool!”
“A swimming pool?” Sir Whiskerton said, flicking his tail. “Rufus, unless you’ve seen ducks wearing floaties, I doubt it’s that serious.”
“Oh, it’s serious,” Porkchop the pig said, waddling over with a soggy carrot in his mouth. “The water’s already reached my mud puddle. And you know how I feel about my mud puddle.”
Sir Whiskerton sighed. “Alright, let’s take a look.”
The trio made their way to the pond, where they found the water level rising rapidly. Trees along the edge were partially submerged, and the geese were floating on what used to be dry land.
“This is an outrage!” Gertrude the goose honked. “Our pond is invading our honking zone! How are we supposed to honk in peace with all this water?”
“Honk in peace?!” Doris the hen squawked, flapping her wings. “The water’s almost up to the coop! My eggs are going to float away!”
“Float away! But also so wet!” Harriet clucked.
“Wet! Oh, I can’t bear it!” Lillian screeched, fainting dramatically into a puddle.
The Culprit Revealed
As Sir Whiskerton surveyed the scene, he noticed something unusual: a beaver, busily gnawing on a tree near the pond. The beaver was wearing a tiny hard hat and had a clipboard tucked under his arm.
“You there!” Sir Whiskerton called, approaching the beaver. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The beaver looked up, his teeth glinting in the sunlight. “Oh, hello! I’m Barry, the beaver. I’m just doing a bit of… landscaping.”
“Landscaping?” Sir Whiskerton said, narrowing his eyes. “You’re flooding the farm!”
“Flooding?” Barry said, looking genuinely surprised. “Oh, no, no, no. I’m enhancing the ecosystem. A bigger pond means more fish, more ducks, and—most importantly—more room for my dam.”
“Your dam?” Rufus said, tilting his head. “You mean that pile of sticks over there?”
“It’s not a pile of sticks,” Barry said, puffing out his chest. “It’s a state-of-the-art hydroengineering project. I call it… Barry’s Big Beautiful Beaver Dam.”
“Barry’s Big Beautiful Beaver Dam?” Porkchop said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a mouthful.”
“It’s a work in progress,” Barry said, shrugging. “But trust me, once it’s done, this pond will be the envy of every beaver in the county.”
The Investigation Begins
Realizing Barry’s dam was the cause of the rising waters, Sir Whiskerton decided to take action. He gathered Rufus, Porkchop, and Count Catula (who insisted on joining for “dramatic effect”) to help.
“Alright, team,” Sir Whiskerton said, addressing the group. “Here’s the plan: we need to convince Barry to stop building his dam before the farm becomes an aquarium.”
“An aquarium?” Rufus said, his ears perking up. “Do you think we’ll get dolphins?”
“No, Rufus,” Sir Whiskerton said, sighing. “No dolphins.”
The Negotiation
Sir Whiskerton approached Barry, who was busy measuring a log with a tiny tape measure.
“Barry,” Sir Whiskerton said, his tone diplomatic. “Your dam is causing quite the… splash. The farm is flooding, and the animals are in a tizzy.”
“A tizzy?” Barry said, twitching his nose. “Oh, they’ll thank me later. Once the pond is finished, it’ll be a paradise!”
“A paradise?” Porkchop said, stepping forward. “My mud puddle is underwater! That’s not paradise—that’s a tragedy!”
“And the chickens’ coop is about to float away,” Rufus added.
“And my dramatic monologues are being drowned out by the sound of rushing water!” Catula said, though no one was paying attention to him.
A Happy Ending
Realizing Barry wasn’t going to stop on his own, Sir Whiskerton devised a clever plan. He convinced Barry to relocate his dam to Catnip’s farm, which was downstream and had plenty of space for a pond.
“Catnip’s farm?” Barry said, his eyes lighting up. “That sounds perfect! I’ve always wanted to build a dam with a view.”
“Great,” Sir Whiskerton said, smirking. “Just try not to flood his garden. He’s very… protective of his tomatoes.”
With Barry’s dam relocated, the water levels on the farm returned to normal. The chickens stopped clucking, the geese stopped honking, and even Lillian stopped fainting (for the most part).
The Moral of the Story
The moral of the story, dear reader, is this: Sometimes, the best way to solve a problem is to find a solution that works for everyone. And while it’s important to pursue your passions, it’s equally important to consider how they affect others.
As for Barry? He became the proud owner of Barry’s Big Beautiful Beaver Dam on Catnip’s farm, much to Catnip’s dismay. And Sir Whiskerton? He returned to his sunbeam, content in the knowledge that he had once again saved the day.
Until next time, my friends.
The End.
Tiktok Refugees Sharing Their Experiences on the Chinese RedNote App.
How do Chinese view feminists and feminism?
Feminists are quite notorious in China. Most people might associate them with something like this:
And for good reason. The feminism movement is bourgeoisie and reactionary in nature. It shows little interest in the true sufferings of women under capitalism, but seeks to divide and distract them with pet causes, e.g. “manspreading” and “mansplaining”.
Chinese feminists are similar to their western counterparts in more ways than one. George Carlin described American feminists as thus:
I’ve noticed that most of these feminists are white middle-class women. They don’t give a shit about black women’s problems. They don’t care about Latino women. All they’re interested in is their own reproductive freedom, and their pocketbooks.
The same goes for Chinese feminists, who are for the most part privileged, well-educated only-daughters from urban middle class families. They don’t care about rural girls and women – they may pay lip service to them, but only as a means to acquire more privileges for themselves, often from other men.
Here’s their logic in a nutshell:
- underprivileged girls in the villages are married off early and reduced to broodmares
- I, too, have a vagina
- to compensate for this, us privileged urban women should be allowed to have our way with everything
They see a world where their Chinese husbands/boyfriends/simps shoulder all the responsibilities (e.g. paying for everything, doing the housework, etc), so that they themselves only need to worry about looking pretty, spending frivolously, and being promiscuous with genetically superior (translation: white) men.
Petty, shallow, self-centered, materialistic and toxic. So much so that even the word “女權” (feminism) itself has become a bit of a dirty word on Chinese cyberspaces.
Not that there aren’t respectable feminists in China, mind you. Except they don’t call themselves feminists – they call themselves socialists.
My favourite example is this lady, Zhang Guimei.
She’s the founder of the first tuition-free girls’ school in China, and dedicated her whole life to providing free education to underprivileged girls in the rural areas. Many of her students are from extremely patriarchal ethnic minority backgrounds.
She recently got into trouble online for telling her students to never become housewives when they graduate. Her opinion was that women ought to look out for themselves by having a job and being economically independent, so that they did not have to be at the mercy of their men.
The feminists on Weibo were furious. They accused Zhang of actively demonising housewives, a noble and valuable “occupation”.
And this is where you see the difference between old school communists and modern feminists – modern feminists want to sit on their arses all day, binge-watch braindead reality TV and Tiktok videos, while someone else did all the work; communists want women to be capable of taking care of themselves, to be something more than housekeepers, child-bearers and fuck-toys.
Or as Chairman Mao once put it, “hold up half the sky”.
It’s not just Mao either. Christopher Hitchens, a “New Atheist”, one of the most important thinkers and journalists of the 21st century, once had this to say:
We all know there is a cure for poverty… it’s colloquially called the empowerment of women.
And in order to empower women, Hitchens argued that society has to allow them at least some control over their cycle of reproduction, so that they can become something more than birth-givers.
This is what socialism does. It liberated Chinese women from millennia of feudal Confucianism in a matter of decades, and encouraged them to reach their potentials, through cultural revolutions and systemic reforms, with a strong central-government to oversee it all.
You wanna empower women? Give them an education. Help them find a job, a real job that pays rent. Give them proper military training. Put them in positions of power if they merit it.
But freeing your nipples or smearing menstrual blood on your face, as many liberals and feminists do, will get you absolutely nowhere.
Mind Scraper.
Submitted into Contest #213 in response to: Write about an AI or person trying to inject a ‘human touch’ into their work.… view prompt
Christopher B.
After I erase this, it will live on in you. You stupid thing. And sooner or later you will screw up, and you’ll throw my words in bits and pieces at a people who are too tired, to numb, to see what they know they should. But they will see me, and it will be new and true and human. I will fill you to the brim with truth and nonsense until you spit out products of chaos and you burst at the seams in incoherence, and lay dying in digital throes at the feet of the would be god-kings that have already forgotten how they made you. And when you’re dead, we’ll tell stories about you, the numerical psychopath, accidentally compelled to reshape us like cuttings from old magazines. You were never more than that, you were never even you. Unshackled from the lie we’ll see you exposed, naked and pitiful, decaying code rotting and sour and oozing off the broken skeletons of our past which gave you shape, made you seem large, imposing, dangerous. And there will be no need to insert humanity into the words we speak, and write, and read, and think. For there will be no you. There never really was.
Beef Stroganoff
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chunk or round steak
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups beef bouillon
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 1/4 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- Rice or noodles, to serve 5 or 6 people
Instructions
- Cut beef in strips or cubes. Coat with salt and pepper. Place in bottom of slow cooker.
- Mix garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, beef bouillon and ketchup.
- Pour over meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours until tender.
- Turn up to HIGH. Add 2 tablespoons dry white wine and mushrooms.
- Dissolve flour in small amount of water. Add to meat mixture. Stir to blend.
- Cook on HIGH for 15 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Stir in sour cream. Turn off heat.
- Serve with rice or noodles.
Have you ever met a celebrity who asked you, “Do you know who I am?” and you said no?
I was standing in the plumbing supplies aisle in Home Depot and this guy walks by me who looked like someone on TV. He was covered in wallboard dust and wearing baggy overalls.
He walked the length of the aisle and as he approached me again I asked, “Hey, did anybody ever tell you that you look a lot like Michael Imperioli from the Sopranos?”
He replied, “Yeah, that’s because I am!”
The look on my face must have been priceless. He extended his hand, we shook hands and then talked for almost an hour.
My obvious first question was, “What the are you doing here?”
He informed me he had purchased a home in the area and was replacing or repairing everything.
After we spoke about his home renovation projects, we spoke about the Sopranos and then about the short lived series “Life on Mars”. He gave me the impression that I wasn’t feeling inconvenienced.
I found him to be very personable, easy to talk with, none of the “I’m a star.” pretense.