Man Shot By Dog

I'm not poking fun at this story, even though I kind of am with the image. If this happened to me, I'd have no problem with anyone doing a similar image. The man lived, although one of his legs was amputated. I truly feel for the guy. If I could, I would've taken the bullet for him. I'd do that for anyone. I would.

Stuff NZ: Man lucky to be alive after hunting accident.

An American hunter has lost a leg after being shot by a dog while on a hunting trip. That's according to a close friend and hunting companion of Matt Branch who warned others to be "the utmost careful when it comes to gun safety."
[.]
Branch was struck by a shotgun blast when a dog who was with his group jumped into the back of their Ford Ranger and stepped on the weapon's safety, setting it to fire mode, while also managing to pull the trigger.

The story contains a GoFundMe link to help with medical expenses. If you can help, please consider doing so.

Yeah, "the utmost care when it comes to gun safety." Wonder why they ignored that? You can't ignore it, not even for one second. And when you're hunting and have a dog or dogs with you, the intensity of "utmost gun safety" becomes magnified even more. There always exists the unpredictability of what could happen with a person handling a loaded weapon. Deer hunters have suffered heart attacks and fallen from their stands. Their rifle has sometimes fallen along with them and discharged, other times, not. The unpredictability factor of what dogs might do during hunting is a complete "unknown". Even the best trained hunting dog can do something unexpected and unanticipated.

There are only two places where a loaded gun can be when it comes to utmost gun safety. A loaded gun is either being held or holstered by the person in possession of it. OR, it is inside a locked gun safe. That's it. Some may argue the second option I listed is inappropriate. My reply would be, yes, you make a STRONG ARGUMENT to unload the gun before placing it the safe.

The primary, never-ever-EVER rule to overlook, not even for a split second, is leaving a loaded gun unattended. You can't do it. I've hunted, shot at the range, sat around with other experienced gun handlers and every time, without fail, if a gun is being passed around for others to look at, every single person does the same thing: they check to make sure it is NOT LOADED. Even though they know it's unloaded and was checked by the person before them. And the really smart ones check it twice and three times. THAT is what you must do. One cannot check an unloaded gun too frequently.

Many of us, including myself, have been hunting and ya gotta take a whizz. Yes, I've set my rifle or shotgun down, usually as close to the ground as possible - depending on if the ground is leaves, wet or snow. Yes, I've left it loaded but with the safety on. Did I violate the number one primary rule I stated above? Technically, yep, I sure did. And I'm lucky, in retrospect, that no freak accident occurred. One could have, and I would have been pissed that I'd not adhered to the primary rule.

I hope Mr. Branch recovers fully. The loss of his leg is so tragic. His life is forever changed. The aftermath, a result of a split-second moment in thinking a loaded gun could be left unattended. Responsible gun owners know not to do this. From the story, Mr. Branch and his hunting party certainly seem to be just that; responsible gun owners. But that one, momentary lapse - that one "it's only for X time" - of leaving a loaded gun unattended, is a momentary lapse that we can't ever allow happen.

Never leave a loaded gun in the pick-up bed, or car trunk, or back seat even if you're driving six feet down the road. Make sure you've emptied it. If you're out in the boonies, and feel like leaving it out of the case for that six-foot trip, I'm not going to harsh on that - just make sure it's not loaded.

I, and those I've hunted and shot with, have been 1) exceedingly careful and 2) very fortunate, as none of us have experienced an errant shot, an unintended discharge, a shot fired in error. I attribute that to being well-schooled with guns. Gun safety was part of Boy Scouts. I hunted with my dad, brothers, uncles and cousins. Every single one had gun safety strongly and indelibly drilled into our heads. Instead of "hands-on" gun safety starting at an early age, and continuing it into teens and young adulthood, has society changed into a "fear guns" mentality? Is this why there seems to be an uptick in reports of "accidental shootings"? Readers, gun owners...please pitch in an leave a comment.

Small Boat vs Huge Crusie Ship

BBC: Watch below or hit this link for a video clip of an inflatable boat that came way too close for comfort with a cruise liner.

Mystery radio waves from far outside galaxy.

VOA News: Astronomers in Canada have detected a mysterious volley of radio waves from far outside our galaxy.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) flash only for a micro-instant, but can emit as much energy as the sun does in 10,000 years.

Exactly what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum remains the subject of intense debate.
[.]
“FRBs, it seems, are likely generated in dense, turbulent regions of host galaxies,” [said] Shriharsh Tendulkar, a corresponding author for both studies and an astronomer at McGill University.

Maybe in space, your screams are heard.

World News

SMH: Girl sneaks 394 MDMA pills into music festival.

Tina Phan, 18, plead guilty on Thursday at Burwood Local Court to internally secreting hundreds of pills to sneak into the Knockout Games of Destiny Festival in Homebush in December.
[.]
Phan was attending the all-night dance party when a friend of a friend offered her money to internally secrete the hundreds of MDMA pills into the festival[.]

- - -
ABC Net: Saudi teen girl hoping for asylum in Australia.

The United Nations refugee agency has referred Rahaf Alqunun's case to Australia for consideration.

But it comes as Thai immigration officials have spoken on behalf of the 18-year-old's father who says he wants his daughter back.

- - -
World News:  Debris found of French Air Force fighter jet.

...local residents reported hearing a large explosion and reported that some debris, including a map and a parachute, have been found on a tree. The report is yet to be confirmed by French officials.

- - -
News NY 1: Video of police officers beating man with batons in Manhattan.

"What the video doesn't show is that these perps — one of whom has been previously arrested for assaulting a police officer — threw a haymaker at the cops once they got above ground, necessitating the use of force to bring them into custody," said Pat Lynch, the president of the union, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

- - -
NY Daily News: Almost 100,000 people watched Stormy Daniels fold laundry during Trump speech.

Stormy Daniels folded clothes on Instagram Live Tuesday night while President Trump went on live television[.]
[.]
Daniels, who [streamed] the skit in her underwear, played Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall" while doing her chores. She said she attracted 100,000 viewers.

Well, from now on when I hear "Another Brick in The Wall" my visual imagery will be different from what it was.
- - -
Canoe: Death threats to Canadian cop who ran over deer.

A Lethbridge police officer who allegedly used a truck to euthanize a deer has received death threats[.]
[.]
“The police officer responded and killed the deer in an incident that was partially recorded by a bystander on cellphone video,” the news release states.

The video shows a police truck repeatedly running over a wounded deer on a city street.

I can't imagine anyone driving over an injured animal in order to euthanize it. I'll keep an eye out for future news on this story. The compassionate thing to do, as terrible as some may find this, is shooting the injured animal in its head.
- - -
Courthouse News Service: Appeals Court tosses climate change suit.

Oregon has no duty to protect natural resources as part of a public trust, according to a state appeals court Wednesday, tossing claims that the state hasn’t done enough to stop climate change.

Two teenage girls sued the state in 2011, in one of the first of flush of suits using a novel legal approach to challenge government inaction over climate change[.]

GOOD! Hope to see a lot more rulings like it.
- - -
Red Orbit (...AHEM...): What to do, ladies, when you have an ingrown hair... (you know. There).

Ingrown pubic hair is among the most common problems a woman can experience. Usually, it is completely harmless, though it can be painful and hard to get rid of in some cases.

Okay, then.

How many Dems will condemn Tim Cook's earnings?

Answer to post title: None.

This Is Money: Apple boss Tim Cook's BIGGEST BONUS EVER.

Apple boss Tim Cook collected his biggest ever bonus just weeks before the iPhone maker cut production due to poor sales.

The 58-year-old trousered £12.3million in 2018, including a £2.4million salary and a £9.4million bonus.

It was a 22 per cent pay rise for a year that saw Apple post record revenue and profit.

But it came just weeks before it dropped a bombshell, saying demand for its latest iPhones failed to meet expectations.

I have no problem with any CEO making a ton of money. I do have a problem with corporations with business ties in countries that exploit and use forced child labor for mining cobalt and lithium and any other resource. Don't tell me these companies "don't know". Years ago, Apple had to install suicide nets in their China manufacturing facilities because workers preferred leaping to their deaths rather than work at their job.

Green Tech Media: The Hidden Risks of Batteries: Child Labor, Modern Slavery.

Shockingly, 40,000 children are estimated to be employed in artisanal mines in southern DR Congo, including in cobalt extraction. Verisk Maplecroft’s cobalt risk assessment -- part of its commodity risk service -- reveals that human rights abuses are widespread in the sector and can occur within both industrial and artisanal mines.

Bloomberg: 2018: Apple negotiating to buy cobalt direct from miners in DR Congo.

The price of cobalt has more than tripled in the past 18 months to trade above $80,000 a metric ton. Two-thirds of supplies come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there has never been a peaceful transition of power and child labor is still used in parts of the mining industry.

Apple isn't the only maker of electronics that obtains cobalt and lithium from countries and sources that use forced child labor. Conducting business with countries and companies that deliberately look the other way on all types of child labor is appalling and must be stopped. What is Tim Cook going to do about it? What are you/we going to do about it? Yes, there's lithium and cobalt in your, and my, lap top, desk top, IPad, phone and everything else. What degree of responsibility belongs to those of us who use these devices?

While all activity or work contains some degree of risk, (simply being alive carries with it the inherent risk of death), and while we can each rationalize what we do in life and assess various degrees of risk we are willing to take, profit should never come at the expense of human life and health. This is mantra to every reasonable, free-thinking individual. But it is held in absolute holy righteousness by The Left. So, why am I not surprised that The Left maintains a silent vigil on this issue when it comes to Tech?

One could correctly call the cobalt and lithium industry the "new" Exxon or Standard Oil. But The Left never will.

MN Gov Proclaims Diversity Exec Order

KSTP News: MN Gov Tim Walz Canned Ham's Executive Order, Council of Diversity.

Gov. Tim Walz signed his first executive order Wednesday.

The order established the One Minnesota Council on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

It reportedly expands upon a council formed by former governor Mark Dayton in an effort to include individuals from different backgrounds throughout the state.

According to a release from Walz's office, the order he has signed is expected to further the council's mission, "expanding its scope to address geographic diversity as well as important considerations around equity in Minnesota."

Gee. Gov. Canned Ham expanded a program begun by his predecessor Richie Rich Mark Dayton. Walz is just another in a long line of Minnesota Big, Expansive, Government politicians. The elected Dems can't wait to start spending. Canned Ham begins his term with a $ 1.5 BILLION SURPLUS. "Surplus" is a misnomer. The state overcharged everyone again. And they act like it's a surplus. If this were a business or company overcharging customers, the state AG would file suit the moment of hearing one, lonely outcry of unjust financial enrichment.

Below are results from a basic image on Tim Walz. See if you can spot all the diversity among his supporters and friends.

I generally and deliberately blur faces of kids under the adult legal age of 18, so that's why some of the pics are that way. Other than that, the pics are, like I said, from a general image search on Tim(my) Walz. The Liberal Illusion of Diversity is what matters.

Dark Over Lord Hackers release more 9/11 documents.

As part of the recent hack relating to Germany, a second drop of info was released regarding September 11. RT:

The Dark Overlord hacker group has released decryption keys for a second batch of 9/11 documents, totalling [sic] over 7,500 files. Additional document leaks containing “more secrets” and “more truth” have been promised, for a price.
[.]
...the documents build up a picture of insurance litigators brainstorming to see who they could sue for damages in the wake of the attacks. In emails, the lawyers discuss targeting the airlines, airplane manufacturers, the Federal Aviation Authority, the terrorists themselves, and foreign entities.
[.]
Along the way, the litigators discuss whether then-President George W. Bush had advance knowledge of the attacks, or whether the Saudi Royal family was responsible, but this discussion is speculative and no damning new information is revealed.

While the encryption key for the first batch of documents has been scrubbed from Reddit, Pastebin and Twitter, it remained available for several days on Steemit. Dark Overlord’s account was banned from the platform on Wednesday, however, but the documents can be accessed on Busy.org, a website that runs on the same blockchain as Steemit.

Cyberscoop: Dark Over Lord was seeking new hires.

“Do YOU want to get Rich? Come work for us!,” The Dark Overlord wrote in a Nov. 14, 2018, thread on KickAss Forum, a cybercriminal marketplace on the dark web that charges for entry.

See. The economy under President Trump is even good for hiring, hacking and extortion!

Cluck and Nancy Propose Secure Border Red Velvet Rope

Encounters with Ed Buck, White Wealthy Dem Donor

Ed Buckmelter

Daily Mail: Man reveals encounters with Ed Buck.

Jermaine Gagnon, 28, told DailyMailTV how he narrowly escaped death when Edward Buck injected him with crystal meth at his sex-toy filled apartment .
[.]
Buck offered him $200 to spend the evening with him at his apartment, he said.
[.]
Buck is now under investigation over the deaths of a black man in his 50s at his apartment in the early hours of Monday morning this week, and a second investigation into the death of Gemmel Moore 18 months ago has been reopened, after being closed for lack of evidence.

Previous incidents of deaths at home of Ed Buck.

Why, at the very least, hasn't Buck been officially designated as a person of interest?

Freeway sign falls on car during traffic in Australia.

ABC Action News: Freeway sign falls, hits car in Melbourne.

The story reports the driver suffered only minor injuries.

Ex-Mrs. Bezos Just Became the Richest Woman in World. (Unless there's a Prenup).

BBC: Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie to divorce.

"After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," the couple said in the statement.

The news even made it into the Jeff Bezos Peoples' Republic.

Bezos: Successful Alien-Human Hybrid

Ten Men Accused of sexually abusing two 14-year old girls

DESIblitz: Ten men appeared at Bradford Crown Court accused of sexually abusing two vulnerable girls when they were in care and both 14 years old.

The prosecutor, Kama Melly QC, told the court that the men accused all used the girls for their “sexual fulfilment” with the sexual abuse and exploitation allegedly starting about 10 years ago when the girls were 14 years old.

The ten men, nine of which are Asian and of Pakistani descent, used “cynical and manipulative behaviour” to exploit the girls and some of them used violence, force and threatening behaviour against the girls. Others gave the teenage girls alcohol and drugs for sex.
[,]
As reported by the Telegraph and Argus, the men standing trial are as follows.

Basharat Khaliq, aged 38, from Allerton, is charged with five counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

Saeed Akhtar, aged 55, from Girlington, is accused of two counts of causing/inciting child prostitution and one of rape.

Izar Hussain, aged 32, from Girlington, faces three counts of rape and one of attempted rape.

Naveed Akhtar, aged 43, from Manningham, is accused of three counts of rape.

Parvaze Ahmed, aged 36, from Heaton, is charged with three counts of rape.

Kieran Harris, aged 28, from Dewsbury, is charged with two counts of rape.

Mohammed Usman, aged 31, from Bradford, is accused of two charges of rape.

Yasar Majid, aged 37, from Milton Keynes, is charged with one count of rape.

Zeeshan Ali, 3aged 2, from Girlington, is accused of one charge of sexual assault.

Fahim Iqbal, aged 27, is accused of a charge of aiding and abetting rape.

All of the men deny the charges against them.

Man Spends 3 hours licking doorbells.

Image: ring.com/Sylvia Dungan - Sky News

Police are looking for man who licked doorbells for three hours then urinated in a garden. This occurred in...

...wait for it...

...

...

...yeah you knew. 

California. Sky News:

Roberto Daniel Arroyo, 33, was captured taking part in the bizarre act on the Dungan's home CCTV in Salinas, California, on Saturday morning.

The clear footage shows the man leaning his head against the intercom outside their front door and licking the doorbell from several different angles.

He carried on licking for three hours.
[.]
...he appeared to "relieve himself" in the Dungan's garden and entered several other neighbours' yards.

For a moment, Flakka crossed my mind. But the doorbell licker is too...composed...for Flakka effects. Well...ya know...hobbies?

"Alexa, flush." Alexa: "Flushing process begun." Flushing is hard.

CNBC: The Kohler $7 Grand Toilet:

Kohler unveiled an "intelligent toilet" called the Numi 2.0 at the Consumer Electronic Show[.]
[.]
It also has Amazon Alexa voice controls built in so you can check the weather, listen to news and order more toilet paper all while sitting on the loo.

Technology provides us, if we choose it, to bypass the physically strenuous act of dialing a phone to order a pizza. Instead, if we choose, we can order said pizza by a few keystrokes on an app. When the pizza arrives, we can if we choose to engage technology, answer and open the door for said pizza, thereby avoiding having to get up off our ass to obtain said pizza. Payment and tip concluded long ago via the app.

Then the task of actually having to feed ourselves is upon us. Will someone break out in a sweat lifting those slices? Pull a humerus or ulna muscle? The act of chewing? Strenuous, pain-inducing torture. Anyone wanna wager that future members of The Seated App Generation will see increases in heart and circulatory-related health problems?

Go ahead, Have a slice. You know you want it!

The Cluck and Nancy Show

What a crock of pure manure.

More Cluck and Nancy Show Bullshittery...

...at CNN, the story being updated every few minutes.

...at BBC, a synopsis of the issue, President Trump's address and Cluck and Nancy's Bullshittery.

...at CNBC, you can view (maybe a second time, but why would you do that?) the Cluck and Nancy Show. Or not.

And a bit strange, considering how sanctimonious Cluck and Nancy sounded in tonight's rebuttal, that in such a spirit of bipartisanship, the Dems filibustered bipartisan foreign policy yesterday, instead, demanding a vote to reopen the government.

These two. Who votes for them? I don't understand it. I really don't.

France Surrenders Gets Tough on Yellow Vests

Evening Standard: New legislation to punish Yellow Vests.

France plans to introduce new legislation to punish protesters after seven weeks of violent “yellow vest” demonstrations.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe spoke after rioters torched motorbikes and set barricades on fire on Paris's upmarket Boulevard Saint-Germain on Saturday.

Morning Star: Wearing masks will be banned.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who compared the protesters to “football hooligans,” said new legislation would ban so-called troublemakers from demonstrations and ban the wearing of masks.
[.]
[The Yellow Vests] are demanding the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron whose hard-line response to the protest movement appears to have backfired with no sign of the demonstrations ending.

Concessions offered by Mr Macron, including pausing the unpopular fuel tax, have been rejected as anger grows over poverty and unemployment.

Last week saw the arrest of prominent gilets jaunes activist Eric Drouet, a truck driver from Paris, who was charged with “organising an undeclared demonstration.”

And former professional boxer Christophe Dettinger was arrested yesterday after video footage in which he appeared to be punching a police riot officer went viral.

Heh...Hooligans. Such a great, yet underused, word. BTW, 'Ze vee-dee-o ov ze box-ar paan-ching ze po-leez ovvizer iz here.

Banning the wearing of masks obviously brings the question of how will they specifically define what is, and isn't, a mask? Clown masks? Crazy Clown masks? What about a Head-Face ski mask for warmth? A Neck-scarf? I suppose these will be outlawed. What about Purdahs?

More importantly...what about Mort from Bazooka Joe? Would France deny entry to Mort for refusing to lower his turtle neck shirt?

Mort

New Tech at the Consumer Electronics Show

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is under way.

What's new at the CES?

Journal Sentinel: Five Cool Tech Items.

Air Bags for cyclists: A French company called Helite makes air bags for motorcyclists and horse riders. And now it has produced air bags for those of you on bicycles. This "smart" bag, selling for $650 when it comes out in March, has built-in sensors that promise to detect when to inflate the bag – meaning, not when you ride over over bumps, but rather when you are in an actual accident.

Hit the link for the other four items.

The Walking Car. AutoExpress:

Hyundai has announced its plan for a robotic concept car at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Called the “Elevate,” it would be capable of walking over rough terrain, spanning gaps up to five-feet across and scaling obstacles up to five feet tall; all while maintaining a perfectly level passenger compartment.

Hyundai's Walking Car

More on the walking car from Hyundai:

Wheels with robotic legs allow users to drive, walk or even climb over the most treacherous terrain.
[.]
The legs also fold up into a stowed drive-mode, where power to the joints is cut, and the use of an integrated passive suspension system maximizes battery efficiency. This allows Elevate to drive at highway speeds just like any other vehicle. But no other can climb a five foot wall, step over a five foot gap, walk over diverse terrain, and achieve a 15 foot wide track width, all while keeping its body and passengers completely level.

Watch the Elevate here.

More gadgets at IFL Science, including: Intelligent Toilets, the LG ExoSuit, Foldable Smartphones.

A self-driving Tesla ran over and "killed" an autonomous robot. Daily Mail:

In what many are speculating was an over-the-top PR stunt, Promobot revealed one of its model v4 robots was ‘killed’ by a Tesla Model S on a Las Vegas street ahead of CES.

Rosie The Robot; unharmed at CES

Design Boom: LG's rollable OLED TV.

Clean Technia: Harey-Davidson's Electric Motorcycle.

Digital Trends: The latest Mobile Accessories at CES.

PC Mag: Rokit's high-tech cell and smart phones.

The Biden Buzz. Hey Joe, what's the website number?

Joe "The Great, Legendary, Acclaimed Plagiarist" Biden and his possible run for the White House is generating buzz.

WTVR - Biden will announce 2020 presidential run "soon."

Biden’s silence has raised questions among some Democratic donors and activists about whether he is ambivalent about running and uncertain about plunging his family into a bruising campaign, despite friends saying Biden has repeatedly argued he is the party’s strongest candidate to defeat President Donald Trump.
[.]
[Said Biden], “I wouldn’t announce even if I were going to run that early. It’d be too early to get started.” [Timing] “would depend on the circumstances in the field and a whole lot of things.”

Ohhh...Ahhh...."circumstances in the field and a whole lot of things." He sounds so scientific and impressive. A deep thinker. He inspires confidence, doesn't he?

The Jeff Bezos Peoples' Republic examines what they call "a problem with Biden's rationale" for a 2020 run:

Other possible contenders and their supporters naturally would take issue with Biden’s assessment, citing his age, his goofiness and his identity as a Washington insider as liabilities. They’d argue that he’s too moderate to satisfy the progressive base. In addition, it’s far from clear that the Democratic Party wants a 70-something white guy as its standard-bearer.

Hey, hey, hey - stop right there. Let's not be slacky on the "70-something" age of Biden. The Left made John McCain's age an issue on his presidential run. Biden will be turning 78 on November 20, 2020. We're safe in rounding that up to 80.

Let's not forget Biden's "A-Game" Classic Moment in February 2009, when he asked, "Do you know the website number?"  LA Times Blogs:

While discussing Recovery.gov, the taxpayer's stimulus guide The Ticket wrote about this morning, on the CBS Early Show today, Biden was asked what the address for the website was.

His clueless response undoubtedly put a smile on the faces of tech savvy viewers.

"You know, I'm embarrassed," Biden said. Turning to someone off screen, he asked, "Do you know the website number?"

Bloggers and Twitter users scoffed at the phrase "website number" over the course of the day. Such a misnomer wouldn't be a shock coming from most 66-year-olds, but the Obama administration has emitted an air of tech savvy up until now. "Website number" sounds like something we'd hear from Sen. John McCain.

Joe considers himself the best Dem candidate. MSN:

In one of his calls over the holidays, Mr. Biden repeated a variation of a line he has used publicly: “If you can persuade me there is somebody better who can win, I’m happy not to do it,” he said[.]
[.]
But then Mr. Biden said something he has not stated so bluntly in public: “But I don’t see the candidate who can clearly do what has to be done to win.”

The Week: "Joe doesn't 'get it'."  Most of us concluded this a long time ago.

We know Biden thinks dividing up geographical areas - like countries - is a great solution for intra-geographical - like countries - problems.

Iraq? NBC News:  Joe says, split it up into three.

Israel? VOA News: Joe says, split it in two.

Maybe Joe is the One who, if elected president, could successfully split the USA into two entities; Red State - Blue State. We'd all be happy with that, right? We should probably give another look at supporting Joe, for this reason alone. 'Ya think?

Run, Joe, run! You too Hillary! And Bernie, God love him; run Bernie, run! I'm looking forward to the Clown Show.

Scientists Lament Unable To Contribute To Climate Change

Thousands of scientists unable to attend the "Super Bowl of Astronomy" due to government shut down. Phys.org:

The world's largest airborne observatory was supposed to be parked in Seattle this week, so thousands of scientists attending the "Super Bowl of Astronomy" could behold this marvel: a Boeing 747 outfitted with a massive telescope used to study the fundamental mysteries of the universe.

But conference-goers will not be able to see NASA's space-exploring plane. Its visit to the 233rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society was canceled, one of a growing list of scientific casualties of the partial government shutdown now stretching into its third week.
[.]
...the shutdown's impact on science stretches well beyond the empty chairs at this week's conferences, said Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society. It means some of the nation's smartest scientific minds are sitting at home, not doing science, for weeks, with no clear end in sight.

"That's difficult to recover from," said Seitter. "We'll be seeing ripple effects from this for a long time."

Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

"...sitting at home, not doing science..." and yadda, yadda, yadda. Tragic.

"...rippling effects from this for a long time." Oh! Teh Fucking Draa-mah!

They "can't see the NASA plane." Yes, the world awaits the invention of Virtual Reality or some kind of device that allows you to view places, people and things without having to be physically present.

It's a shame they have no viable methods to communicate with each other during the government shut down. Alone, sitting in silence, with Chester Cheetah Cheetos. All those equations and algorithms popping in their heads and no one to bounce it off of. Somebody should really do something about this. Clearly, the government shut down must end.

In a related issue, president of the World Bank resigns early. 9 News:

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has unexpectedly resigned, more than three years before his term ends in 2022, amid differences with the Trump administration over climate change and the need for more development resources.

Kim, nominated by former US President Barack Obama for two five-year terms, had pushed financing for green energy projects and largely dropped support for coal power investments, but had avoided public clashes with the Trump administration, which has made reviving the US coal sector a priority.

Unseen Terror of The Bird Box Unveiled

Daily Mail - Bird Box nightmare creature unveiled.

Fans who have seen Netflix's hit horror film Birdbox will be aware that you never actually see the nightmare creature which has plunged Earth into apocalyptic times.

But now the special effects sculptor tasked with crafting the nightmarish creature has finally revealed it, sharing pictures of the models he created for the movie.

Andy Bergholtz posted the images of the creature, which was used in a scene later cut from the movie, to Instagram.

"Bird Box" Terror. Image: Andy Bergholtz

I watched "Bird Box". It was okay. Better than the usual fare. A novel idea and concept. But if I experienced a "vision" of the above, no, it wouldn't cause me to kill myself as it did with the characters in the film. "Bird Box" runs about two hours. It could have easily been clipped to ninety minutes and not lost anything. John Malkovich is in it and he always puts in a good performance.

The Daily Mail link has more images of the "creature".

Anyone else watch it? Like? Dislike? Other? Drop a note.

Another Black Man Found Dead in home of Wealthy White Dem Donor Ed Buck

KTLA: Death Reported at West Hollywood Home of Wealthy Political Donor Ed Buck — For the 2nd Time.

For the second time within 18 months, a man has died at the West Hollywood home of wealthy Democratic donor Edward Buck, authorities said Monday.

Paramedics responded to Buck's home in the 1200 block of Laurel Avenue shortly after 1 a.m., where they discovered a victim described only as a black male in his 50s unresponsive, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
[.]
His death comes more than a year after 26-year-old Gemmel Moore was found dead from an apparent overdose at the same home on July 27, 2017. Officials confirmed Buck was present during both incidents and Moore's case is now facing another review.

"It is suspicious that this has happened twice now," L.A. County Sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred told KTLA.

Buck is currently not considered a suspect and not in custody, officials said.
[.]
[Gemmel's mother], Latisha Nixon, has accused 65-year-old Buck of having young black men like her son ingest dangerous amounts of drugs for his own pleasure. She has said other escorts have confirmed the allegations.

"Ed Buck has been soliciting young gay black men," Nixon said weeks after her son's death.

"He has them wear these long white ‘under-johns.’ He takes pictures of them," she said. "He hits them up with meth. The more meth that they smoke and inject, the more money that he gives them."

More: Who Is Ed Buck?, at WEHOville.

Edward Buckmelter

The Advocate:

The name of the person who died in Buck's home in the early hours of Monday has not been released. Wehoville described him as a young African-American man and featured a picture of a body being removed on a gurney.

Community activists like Jasmyne Cannick have accused Los Angeles officials of declining to prosecute Buck in 2017 thanks to his contributions to powerful politicians such as Hillary Clinton, California Gov. Jerry Brown, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, and numerous West Hollywood City Council members. Cannick is organizing a vigil and rally for tonight in front of Buck's home, at 1234 Laurel Ave.

Open Secrets: Buck's political donations. Lots of $$$ to lots of Dems.

Another story to watch play out. How much MSM coverage will this story get? Are Al Sharpton and Reverend Jesse Jackson on their way to Laurel Avenue? Will Jim Acosta ask [fill in the name of any Dem/Lib pol or pundit] about their association with, or political contributions from, Ed Buck?

German Data Hack

Hacked info on German politicians and celebrities has been published on the web. Presumably, the German pols and celebs refused to pay the ransom.

The hacking group behind this is The Dark Over Lord. (DOL). DOL has been posting on Steemit.

This is an interesting event, if there is substance in the data that has been allegedly hacked. Germany's Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, seeks answers on the success of the hack. DW:

The interior minister said he would share everything he finds out with the public by the middle of the next week at the latest.

But it gets more complicated than that. Same link:

German political parties have criticized the country's cyber defense agency, the Federal Office for IT Safety (BSI), for its handling of the data breach.

The BSI clarified that it only became aware  of the full extent of the breach earlier this week on Saturday, a day after BSI chief Arne Schönbohm said the agency had known about isolated breaches in early December.

The Green party's parliamentary leader, Anton Hofreiter, demanded Schönbohm explain himself urgently to an extraordinary parliamentary committee meeting.

The deputy leader of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), Wolfgang Kubicki, suggested that Schönbohm should quit.

"A president who first says he's known about the breach since the beginning of December and then backtracks to say he's only known about it since January 3 must ask himself if he's the right man for the job," he said.

Something is amiss here with BSI. What, I don't know. Or has yet to be discovered and reported.

While the DOL was a Big Hack, the Island Packet states, it doesn't appear to have revealed any major political scandals. (Not even one, lost Hillary email?)

WIRED writes: 

The trove of leaked documents is massive but early assessments indicate that it seems focused less on exposing state secrets than it does on revealing deeply personal information about its targets. The exposed data includes internal political communications, like emails and scans of faxes, along with credit card information, home addresses, phone numbers, personal identification card details, private chat logs, and even voicemails from relatives and children.

Not so fast on the "no scandals/no secrets". At Computer Business Review, the second link of this post, the story states the hack revealed a lot of information that is mirrored (duplicated) at numerous sites and there's a lot of data to comb through.

The leak was made with strenuous effort to ensure that the leaked documents can’t easily be taken down. There there over 70 mirrors of the initial download link alone, while each of the 40 download links has another 3-5 mirrors each.

Each of the tens of thousands of files uploaded appears to have its own or indeed multiple mirrors; something that would have taken a huge amount of manpower.
[.]
“3 percent” of the data had already revealed “cases of corruption and bad political scandals”. 4chan users were already revelling [sic] in some of the scandals today, from sexual proclivities to Wikipedia edits by politicians.

Tru News reports the DOL has begun releasing 9/11 documents.

By themselves, the new documents don’t set off too many alarms, but they do establish that The Dark Overlord certainly had access to sensitive materials.
[.]
[The DOL states], “The United States of America & All Involved Parties,” also added:

“This is a message for the nation-state of the United States of America and the greater deep-state.

“We're going to continue to bend you over a barrel and [expletive] you if our demands are not met. You know the score. Your censorship and fakenews coverups won't silence this organisation or its public support. You were warned. To all the other parties involved (airlines, litigation firms, investigation firms, FBI, TSA, FAA, banks, security companies and more), we're going to burn you down unless you begin to 'play ball'. This entire situation will soon become far more tragick to your survival. Make the right choise.

“We're peeling these layers back like an onion. No one can save you except for us. Pay the [expletive] up.”

The use of English grammar and punctuation, particularly in the ransom demands, strongly suggests the author of both statements is not from the U.S.

Or, grammatically incorrect on purpose? Or, so the Germans would have us believe? I'm not making light of anything here with that last link, who knows what information could have been hacked? We won't know until, or if, it's leaked. The DOL story is not unlike Q, or QAnon, which Phil explained so well.

For me, at times I find it difficult making sense out of the time-lines, and determining what's important and what to disregard, on issues like this at the threads at the Chan sites. This global hack, and issues like it, will reveal themselves over time. I'd imagine any explosive revelation in any forthcoming release from the hack would be headlined everywhere. We'll see. Your thoughts?

MN Governor Switcheroo. Out: Mark Dayton Richie Rich; In: Another Tim"my"

Some might call him Tim.

Considering our last Tim, maybe the Minnesota Legislature can pony up a Bill, signed by the new Tim, decreeing no more governors in MN can have the name Tim. Or Timmy. Or any variation thereof.

"No more Tim-mahs?"

The new Dem Governor Timmy Walz Canned Ham is anxious to raise the gas tax. Time will tell, Timmy.

Gov Canned Ham will take the oath of office January 7, 2019.

Mark Dayton Richie Rich can return to frolicking in the vast Dayton family fortune. Good riddance. Go to the cabin. Fish. Read comic books. Do the Soduko. Sign-up and Volunteer for Meals on Wheels. Promise to steer clear of public office, elected and appointed. Be retired.

This is how real people live.

It's like the Twilight Zone episode.

Newsweek: Billionaire vacations to get back to basics.

Particular attention is given to the families of billionaires hoping to bring kids along for a world-hopping adventure.
[.]
“They want their children to see some real life, but in a safe and secure way,” [said Tom Barber, founder of London-based travel agency Original Travel], so that his clients can show their children “how real people live.”

Must be a tough life.

Puppy No Like Teh Candle

Cake, sure. Candle. Why?

Why dogs don’t need Birthday cake with candles. pic.twitter.com/2eP975PEBr

— Mocha (@Mochaq2k) December 20, 2018

Pelosi Does "Bird Box" Challenge

Be the ball, Nancy. Be the gavel.

Nancy Pelosi takes the "Bird Box" Challenge. 

Not much different from her past vision. Just add blindfold.

Mitt Goes to Washington

Desert News: Mitt Romney's niece sides with Trump.

GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a statement supporting President Donald Trump and challenging her uncle, Utah Sen.-elect Mitt Romney, on Wednesday morning.

McDaniel’s tweet came less than 12 hours after Romney wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post that spoke out against Trump.
[.]
“What is interesting is that [Romney's op/ed] was sent to a national news organization. He was clearly attempting to address the nation and the world in some way. Before his first official day on the job Mitt Romney is already shaping the conversation in Washington,” [said] Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.

Without John McCain and Jeff Flake, someone has to take up the (ahem...) moral compass (cough, cough, hack). Leave it to Mitt.

Tech News

The Technocralypse (Technocracy+Apocalypse) is upon us.

Engineering the end of Capitalism - The Independent:

The new era is characterised by inefficient fossil fuel production and escalating costs of climate change. Conventional capitalist economic thinking can no longer explain, predict or solve the workings of the global economy in this new age.
[.]
British economics journalist Paul Mason's...digital uprising is projected to consume evermore vast quantities of energy (as much as one-fifth of global electricity by 2025), producing 14 per cent of global carbon emissions by 2040.
[.]
... the driving force of the transition to postcapitalism is the end of the age that made endless growth capitalism possible in the first place: the age of abundant, cheap energy.

- - -
Technocracy: The Coming Technocracy.

Here are equivalent concepts: Technocracy, Sustainable Development, Green Economy, Natural Capitalism. All of this is a grand deception[.]
[.]
It is a scam to twist the economic resources of the world out of your hands and give them to the global elite. It is a power grab to take over all means of production while dictating to you what you are allowed to consume. It is a Scientific Dictatorship designed to control you, your thoughts, your behavior, your consumption and your family from cradle to cradle.

- - -
Cyberwar outlook for 2019. ZD Net:

In the US, the September 2018 National Cyber Strategy adopted an aggressive stance, promising to "deter and if necessary punish those who use cyber tools for malicious purposes."
[.]
"The [Trump] Administration recognizes that the United States is engaged in a continuous competition against strategic adversaries, rogue states, and terrorist and criminal networks. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea all use cyberspace as a means to challenge the United States, its allies, and partners, often with a recklessness they would never consider in other domains."

Cybersecurity in 2019. Tech Crunch:

Expect more data leaks and exposures — but not just breaches.

California’s privacy rules will come to a head.

Brexit will hamper U.K. tech, startup growth.

Australia’s draconian encryption laws will begin to hurt.

- - -
Surveillance of Your Gestures Coming Soon: Soli, by...(who else?) Google. Ivan Poupyrev, Project Soli:

Soli is a new sensing technology that uses miniature radar to detect touchless gesture interactions.

Soli sensor technology works by emitting electromagnetic waves in a broad beam. Objects within the beam scatter this energy, reflecting some portion back towards the radar antenna. Properties of the reflected signal, such as energy, time delay, and frequency shift capture rich information about the object’s characteristics and dynamics, including size, shape, orientation, material, distance, and velocity.

FCC Approves Google Gesture Tracking Soli. The Register:

...Google has received an exemption from the Federal Communication Commission that will allow the ad biz to run the system at higher power levels than regulations currently allow.

Project Soli sensors consist of hardware capable of tracking hand gestures or objects in a specific area of space. 

- - -
UberGizmo - Electric garage door malfunction crunches Jeep.

Image from UberGizmo

According to posters on Reddit, this Jeep Wrangler was crushed when the electric garage malfunctioned due to the control unit getting flooded. This tripped the power which presumably knocked out all of the sensors which would have prevented this to happen. The malfunctioning garage kept raising the lift even as the Jeep struck the roof and was crushed.

- - -
Computer World: Why MS Edge died.

EdgeHTML, in part because of its lackadaisical upgrade cadence, was rarely able to catch up, or if it did, maintain equality, with Chrome in properly rendering pages or rendering them at speed.

- - -
TechSpot: Wi-Fi 6 is Near.

Wi-Fi 6 will have a single-user data rate that is 37% faster than 802.11ac, but what's more significant is that the updated specification will offer four times the throughput per user in crowded environments, as well as better power efficiency which should translate to a boost in device battery life.
[.]
When Wi-Fi 6 is launched in full, the specification will be backward compatible with previous standards, incorporating both 2.4GHz and 5GHz along with eventually expanding that spectrum to include bands in 1GHz and 6GHz when they become available.

- - -
Beta News - Dark Mode Chrome.

An increasing number of apps and websites are gaining dark modes, often simply for the sake of aesthetics, but also because of power-saving considerations.

- - -
ZD Net: USB Type C for increased security.

The USB Type-C Authentication solution will include: a standard protocol of authentication for USB Type-C chargers, devices, cables, and power sources; support for authenticating over either USB data bus or USB power delivery communications channels; [and several other reasons].

- - -
PC World: Tech that Died in 2018.

The yawn-inspiring personal assistant Facebook M stopped working in January after a general launch in April 2017. Lastly, Yahoo Messenger, one of the last remaining classic instant messengers, went away in July. Messenger outlasted its more notable rivals, AOL’s AIM (1997-2017) and MSN/Windows Live Messenger (1999-2012).

Bernie Was Busy...Unaware of 2016 Campaign Sexist Behavior

Bernie was busy. The Guardian:

Senator Bernie Sanders has said he was not aware of allegations of sexism and pay discrimination that occurred during his insurgent campaign for president in 2016[.]
[.]
Asked during an interview on CNN if he was aware of the claims at the time, Sanders replied that he was not.

“I was a little bit busy running around the country trying to make the case,” he said.

Mean Gene Okerlund Dies, Age 76

WWE's Mean Gene Okerlund has died. Daily Star:

WWE legend 'Mean' Gene Okerlund has died aged 76 sparking a flooding of tributes as he was remembered as the voice that defined an era of wrestling.

From MSN:

Okerlund got his start with the American Wrestling Association, where interviewed the likes of Jesse “The Body” Ventura — who gave him his “Mean Gene” moniker — Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and [Hulk] Hogan. Okerlund became a staple on national cable TV after he made the move to the WWE, where he had notable interviews with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior, among many others.

The Denver Post:

He was “a voice and sound track to an entire era of our industry,” WWE’s Triple H tweeted Wednesday morning.
[.]
Okerlund’s career spanned decades, taking him from the American Wrestling Association to the then-World Wrestling Federation to World Championship Wrestling.

Mean Gene; 1942-2019

2019 Generic Predictions Guaranteed Accurate

She's really going out on a limb, here. CBS News NY:

...we asked Psychic Nikki to shed some light on the year ahead. This is what she sees for the the coming year.

"The world will still be a tumultuous place[.]"
[...]
"[T]he stock market is going to be up and down."
[...]
"Extreme weather events will continue...The weather is very mixed up."
[...]
 “People want to be happier.”

Psychic Nikki's site states, "THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NOT EVERYONE CAN LEARN TO DO."

Nikki. PTTS.

I won't, and can't, pretend to have this Six-Sense awareness of Psychic Nikki. Shirley, it takes some kind of keen foresight I don't have.

Some days during 2019 will be more sunny/cloudy/rainy/windy than other days.

Lots of people will continue spending time staring into black mirrors.
 
More, and or less, and or the same, amount of people will visit your site or blog depending on the content and how much time they have.

Summer may prove to be a time of possible increase in vacations or time off from work.

Library hours may vary.

My future NHL predictions will continue to be hazy. 3 to 1. Maybe.

That'll be $250.00.

2019 The Morning After

Picture: Caters

Ah yes, the hangovers, the brawls, the puking. Metro:

Things appear to have got a little bit too out of hand for some people taking part in the world’s biggest party. Spilling out of clubs and parties up and down the country, these pictures show it’s not going to start off as a very Happy New Year.

Hit the link, check out the images. Glad those days are long gone for me. Looooooooong gone.

Hope you awoke headache/hangover-free.