The unimportant news thread

[Todd]

From Time: 'I Haven't Ruled Out Anything.' U.S. General Doesn't Eliminate Aliens As UFOs Mount

[Karl Henning]

Trolls can sign up to be Wikipedia editors

[Karl Henning]

'I'll call an Uber or 911': Why Gen Z doesn't want to drive

[Florestan]

If extraterrestrials agreed to help Ukraine, Russia would be in big, big trouble.

And perhaps NATO oountries could collectively apply for membership of the NMWTO (North MiIlky Way Treaty Organization). That would solve the tensions between Turkey and Sweden.

I say, bring the green little men in asap!

[Wendell_E]

What an impressive trick from Verdi, to have written three of his "major works" after he composed his last opera. 

Also interesting that the middle-period trio of Rigoletto/Trovatore/Traviata and the final three operas (Aida/Otello/Falstaff) don't qualify as "major".

[drogulus]

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she will not seek reelection in 2024

     

[Florestan]

Also interesting that the middle-period trio of Rigoletto/Trovatore/Traviata and the final three operas (Aida/Otello/Falstaff) don't qualify as "major".

I noticed that.

The article is truly bizarre. I checked the entries on a few other composers and they are accurate. Why Verdi gets such a bad treatment is beyond me.

[Karl Henning]

"The End of Empathy: Why White Protestants Stopped Loving Their Neighbors"

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

"The End of Empathy: Why White Protestants Stopped Loving Their Neighbors"

Interesting. I will check the book. As the urban areas became more and more liberal and rural, white-majority areas became more conservative on social, economic and racial policy, I imagine churches in rural areas had to adopt conservative policy in order to maintain the members and their financial contributions. Also, Republican party and candidates in rural areas may have had an effective strategy to influence many social organizations, including churches, and Democrats less so.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Marie Kondo, declutter movement icon, in effect dumps her declutter ideology.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230210-why-being-messy-is-good-for-you

I saw that article!  Well, to be fair, she now has three children and unless you want to hire a full-time nanny and/or housecleaner, etc., I would imagine that it's hard to keep up!  And it sounded like she appreciates spending time with them in a less-than-perfect environment.  I suspect though that she still makes an effort to move things along that she no longer needs nor the kids and partner need. 

PD

[Karl Henning]

Boston breaks high temperature record with 62 degrees

The unseasonably warm weather came on the heels of a record-breaking January, extending a long-range trend.

Between 1896 and 2021, winters in Massachusetts have warmed by 4.5 degrees, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — faster than the national average.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Boston breaks high temperature record with 62 degrees

It's rather disconcerting (to say the least) to see the way(s) that the weather has been changing.

Some of my bulbs are coming up much earlier than usual (though I suspect that temps will return to more normal fairly soon).

PD

[Karl Henning]

Why cancel culture scares the rich and powerful so much

The Boston Tea Party was a "cancellation."

[Karl Henning]

It's rather disconcerting (to say the least) to see the way(s) that the weather has been changing.

Some of my bulbs are coming up much earlier than usual (though I suspect that temps will return to more normal fairly soon).

PD

We can yet be wallopped with snow, of course ....

[Pohjolas Daughter]

We can yet be wallopped with snow, of course ....

...the dangers of life in the colder climes for those who live there....though not just there, people everywhere have been experiencing strange weather.  Ask the growers in places like Florida for instance.  I saw one news story about a grapefruit grower who between hurricanes and flooding lost most of his crop...not just that, but huge damage to his trees (for years to come). 

PD

[Karl Henning]

...the dangers of life in the colder climes for those who live there....though not just there, people everywhere have been experiencing strange weather.  Ask the growers in places like Florida for instance.  I saw one news story about a grapefruit grower who between hurricanes and flooding lost most of his crop...not just that, but huge damage to his trees (for years to come). 

PD

Oof!

[Todd]

From WaPo: Microsoft's AI chatbot is going off the rails






All this will be sorted when Skynet is made public.

[Spotted Horses]

Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64670521

This is the same condition which is now thought to have affected Ravel in his final years.

[Todd]

OLCC chairman resigns amid bourbon hoarding controversy

A local scandal.  The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (formerly the Oregon Liquor Control Commission) has seen multiple execs shown the door after it came to light that they diverted high end bourbon for their purchase and consumption and deprived the public of ready access to the Nectar of the Gods.  The egregiousness and perfidy of these crimes cannot possibly be overstated.  They were not scooping up Blanton's, which has been absent from store shelves since before the pandemic, so other nefarious ne'er-do-wells have also been up to no good.  The evildoers must be tracked down and forced to henceforth drink only PBR. 

[greg]

Child genius gets advice from astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBPumrQlN58


Kid graduated high school at 9 years old lol. I wanted to hear the rest of his theory about the big bang, but they didn't have enough time.