DYSPEPSIA GENERATION

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Archive for the 'Is this a great country, or what?' Category

Google’s AI Can Make You a Custom Video Game

28th February 2024

Read it.

If, of course, that’s what you want to do.

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Trump ‘Never Surrender’ High-Tops Sell Out in Hours

18th February 2024

Read it.

Former President Donald Trump’s high-top sneakers sold out hours after their launch on Saturday.

Only 1,000 pairs of the gold sneakers were available, according to the official website. Trump autographed at least 10 randomly selected pairs.

Called “The Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker,” each pair sold for $399.

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Judge Orders Wind Farm Dismantled In Win For Tribal Sovereignty

20th January 2024

Read it.

Capping a legal battle that had raged for over a decade, a federal judge in late December handed the Osage Nation a major victory by ordering wind farm developers to dismantle dozens of turbines they had erected on tribal land in northeastern Oklahoma.

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9 Hilarious Pranks to Pull on the FBI Agents Tapped Into Your Phone Line

8th January 2024

Babylon Bee.

Chances are, if you’re reading The Babylon Bee, you’re already on a watch list of some type. But now that the FBI listens in on all of your phone calls, you can at least come up with some creative ways to mess with them.

If, of course, that’s what you want to do.

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Gothic Portal Chapter Hous

6th December 2023

Watch it.

The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming carve and install the Gothic Portal of their Chapter House.

Apparently these are Carmelite Friars of the great mendicant order, but a local religion community in this particular diocese.

We have the technology.

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The Periodic Table of Tools

26th November 2023

Check it out.

I haven’t looked at it enough to tell whether this is actually a ‘periodic table’, i.e. stuff organized by resemblances, but just seeing all of these tools in one place is gratifying.

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Thinking About Rome—The Rap Version

25th November 2023

Read it. And for God’s sake watch the video.

Apparently there is some comedy retrovirus that still survives in the Saturday Night Live genome, resisting all attempt to swamp it with Wokeness.

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Thought for the Day

21st November 2023

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New Zealand Family Go To Walmart For The First Time!

16th November 2023

Watch it.

Most frequent word heard: “Whoa….”

Next time some proglodyte complains about how much the U.S. sucks, remember this.

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Arkansas Man Receives World’s First Eye Transplant

10th November 2023

Read it.

We have the technology.

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Family Recipes That Live On in Cemeteries

2nd November 2023

Read it.

 

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Dishwasher Salmon

7th October 2023

Read it.

Pieces of salmon are spiced and wrapped tightly in at least two layers of aluminum foil and put in a dishwasher. The dishwasher is set to perform a full regular cycle, possibly with the addition of a heated dry cycle. The salmon is broiled, steamed, and baked. An advantage of the method is that cooking is odorless. There is nothing preventing one from washing the dishes at the same time, provided that the package is tight enough.

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Ron Patrick’s Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle

5th October 2023

Read it.

We have the technology.

Takes care of the tailgater problem.

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The Gate of Heck

3rd October 2023

Steve Graham has an Adventure in Modern America.

In the past, you could call the UPS number and yell “AGENT!” over and over until the phone tree wilted and gave you a person. Now you go to the site, get a bunch of prompts that don’t apply to your situation, and then receive instructions to get lost. If you call and yell “AGENT!”, the system tells you you can’t have one, and it hangs up.

None of the web prompts matched my problem, and that was deliberate on the part of UPS. I had a driver who would not put boxes where they were supposed to be, and probably three million people had the same problem today, so obviously, they do not want people with poorly-placed boxes calling them. They would be inundated.

You can’t just go to the local UPS hub and ask for help, because they will shoot you when you try to scale the fence. UPS doesn’t like riff raff any more than I do. Okay, perhaps they won’t shoot you, but you can’t complain in person. That’s my point.

I tried to use the site in spite of the lack of relevant options. I picked a prompt which was not very appropriate, figuring some human being might read it and decide to do something even though I had responded to the wrong prompt. Unbelievably, UPS contacted me. A guy named Bill at the local hub seemed to be very upset that my boxes were being rained on, and I think he really tried to help.

He thought I hadn’t entered my code on their site. I told him I had. He said he couldn’t see it, and that meant his drivers couldn’t see it. He was convinced this was the issue. He gave me a number for UPS tech support.

I called and got one of the Indian guys.

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Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates. Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

23rd September 2023

Medium.

This scenario is a familiar in the world of business folklore: an unknown entrepreneur who, through sheer determination, transforms their uniquely innovative idea into a triumphant tale of success. This narrative is typically interwoven with various challenges, often of a financial nature, that our protagonist must conquer to reach the pinnacle. The enduring message remains consistent: if you possess the desire, you have the capability. If they could achieve it by surmounting numerous obstacles, perhaps you can too. At the very least, give it a shot.

Numerous instances abound, with a particularly frequent one being the story of Jeff Bezos, now one of the wealthiest individuals on Earth. Stepping into Amazon’s corporate headquarters two decades ago was akin to entering a realm of dimly lit and dispiriting offices, documents haphazardly pinned to the walls, a handcrafted logo, and a prevailing sense that little of real productivity could emanate from such surroundings. At that time, Bezos remained relatively obscure in the world of technology. It was only through extraordinary dedication and hard work that he attained his current stature.

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Shines the Name, Shines the Name of Rick Rescorla

11th September 2023

Sarah Hoyt.

The first time I heard of Rick Rescorla, was on 9/11. I was an Austen fan group at the time, and was on the chat board. One of the women on the board was one of Rescorla’s co-workers, and he’d just saved her.

Since then, I’ve tried to remember him on 9/11.

And 22 years, on, I remember 9/11. while our “leadership” tries to leave us wide open to be hurt and destroyed by anyone who decides they don’t like us, it’s important to remember 9/11, and most of all the heroes of 9/11.

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Scientists Discover a Gel That Whitens Teeth and Kills 94% of Bacteria

21st August 2023

Freethink.

Fortunately, a recent study in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces reports a new nanoparticles treatment that whitens teeth without damaging them, and also protects them by removing cavity-forming bacteria.

By the time you can buy it without a prescription and doctor supervision, you won’t have any teeth left. Enjoy.

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Thought for the Day

21st August 2023

Wizard of Id Comic Strip for August 17, 2023

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Thought for the Day

18th August 2023

A pearl of great price.

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Family Rescued From Wildfires in Maui Thanks to iPhone’s Emergency SOS Via Satellite

10th August 2023

Read it.

We have the technology.

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Thought for the Day: Life in Texas

13th July 2023

 

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Air Fry Bacon-Wrapped Watermelon for an Intriguing Salad

7th July 2023

Lifehacker.

I am not making this up.

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Happy Insurrection Day!

4th July 2023

Think about it.

Free Range Comic Strip for July 04, 2023

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Thought for the Day

4th July 2023

If the choice is between Alice and solitaire….

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People Hire Phone Bots to Torture Telemarketers

1st July 2023

Wall Street Journal.

We have the technology.

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Cooklang – Recipe Markup Language

27th June 2023

Read it.

Cooklang and the tools we’ve built to use it, you can:

  • simplify your personal recipe management;
  • streamline your shopping routine;
  • make cooking more fun.

Here’s how the Cooklang ecosystem makes that happen:

  • All recipes are human-readable text files.

  • Everything is a file. No databases. And you have complete control over your information.

  • All the tools are simple, focused, and efficient; the UNIX way.

I am not making this up.

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Why Beef-Loving Brazil Is So Obsessed With an American Steakhouse Chain

24th June 2023

Washington Post.

Deep in the urban sprawl of the Western Hemisphere’s largest city, nestled within a thicket of highways, there is a low-slung shopping mall that boasts an attraction not rivaled anywhere in the United States.
The giant Outback Steakhouse.
Named the world’s largest Outback in 2018 — and the world’s most lucrative before that — its dimensions and legend since then have only grown. The restaurant is now nearly twice the size of the biggest Outbacks in the United States, where the faux-Australian chain was founded.
But even then, it’s not big enough. Not for Brazil, and not on a recent Monday.
Hostess Kalany Nunes, 19, surveys the line for lunch, several dozens deep.
“This is Outback,” she explains. “It’s very chic.”

Americans can do fake foreign better than anybody else in the world. USA! USA!

(I hace to admit that their waitresses are much better looking than American ones.)

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AirTag Fulfills Destiny, Helps Locate Giant Bull Statue Stolen From Taco Restaurant

22nd June 2023

9to5Mac.

When Apple set out to create an item tracker with deep iPhone integration, you just know the company aspired to make something that would change lives.

That’s exactly what happened with an recently for a recently opened taco restaurant located in San Antonia, Texas.

UPDATE: Fiberglass cattle rustler foiled by a strategically placed AirTag

 

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Father’s Day

18th June 2023

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Watch: Florida Woman Drives Up Ramp of Tow Truck, Rockets 120 Feet Down Highway

1st June 2023

Tampa Bay Times.

Tell the truth: We’ve all wanted to do that.

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Scientists Find Way to Make Energy From Air Using Nearly Any Material

27th May 2023

Washington Post.

The research, published in a paper in Advanced Materials, builds on 2020 work that first showed energy could be pulled from the moisture in the air using material harvested from bacteria. The new study shows nearly any material can be used, like wood or silicon, as long as it can be smashed into small particles and remade with microscopic pores. But there are many questions about how to scale the product.
“What we have invented, you can imagine it’s like a small-scale, man-made cloud,” said Jun Yao, a professor of engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and senior author of the study. “This is really a very easily accessible, enormous source of continuous clean electricity. Imagine having clean electricity available wherever you go.”
That could include a forest, while hiking on a mountain, in a desert, in a rural village or on the road.

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Guess Who Stood For The National Anthem?

15th May 2023

Read it.

Guess who stood for the national anthem? Starting in 2020, WNBA start Brittney Griner said she and her teammates would protest the national anthem. Previously, “During a game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks, the two teams walked off the court while the National Anthem played. Interestingly enough, Griner mentioned that this will not be the last time she would walk off the court.”

Fast-forward to her return to freedom in the United States and her first competitive game since her release, in a preseason Phoenix Mercury against the Los Angeles Sparks game, which took place Friday…

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Who’s Up for Bacon-Wrapped Bacon?

13th May 2023

Steve Graham.

When I moved here, I got myself a little Pit Boss stainless portable gas grill. I paid around $100. It was great for what it was, but it didn’t burn hot enough. I replaced the pathetic gas regulator with one for a big turkey fryer, and now I get huge flames hot enough to produce acceptable burgers. It’s probably dangerous, but a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

 

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Thought for the Day

13th May 2023

Posted in Is this a great country, or what? | 1 Comment »

Inductive Charging Highway Section to Be Built in Florida

8th May 2023

Electriv.com

The Norwegian company ENRX wants to inductively charge electric vehicles with 200 kW while driving on a section of highway in Florida. A one-mile section of a four-lane highway near Orlando is to be electrified.

ENRX was founded in March this year, as a merger of EFD Induction, a provider of induction heating solutions, and IPT Technology, an expert in wireless power transmission. ENRX has teamed up with the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and the Aspire Engineering Research Center for an initiative to build a 1.6-kilometre section on a four-lane highway near Orlando that will inductively charge the batteries of moving electric vehicles at 200 kW.

The principle is clear: the electric vehicle batteries are fitted with a special receiver pad and charged as they drive over the coils embedded in the road. In the process, the energy is transferred from these coils to the receiver pad mounted on the vehicle floor, which according to ENRX should provide “a safe, wireless power supply” even at motorway speeds.

Not in California. Not in New York. Not in Bernie Sanders’ state. Not in Elizabeth Warren’s state. In Florida–Ron DeSantis’ state.

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Quotation of the Day

6th May 2023

“I don’t think there is anything less important than bicycle racing.”  — Scott Adams

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AirTag Foils $1.1 Million Armed Robbery of an Armored Truck

5th May 2023

Read it.

According to a report from Chicago’s WGN9, a hidden AirTag led to the arrest of two men who stole $1.1 million from an armored Brink truck. The device was hidden in one of the plastic money bins, likely placed there by the asset owner.

The men removed seven plastic bins containing about $100,000 each and ten deposit bags worth $50,000 each. After transporting the stolen money across town and through a few hiding spots, the money and the AirTag arrived at the suspect’s hideout.

They don’t make hideouts like they used to.

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Tucker Carlson Gets $100 Million Offer As MSNBC Dominates Fox In His Absence

3rd May 2023

ZeroHedge.

Following Tucker Carlson’s ouster from Fox News, the network has experienced a precipitous decline in ratings, while Carlson has been receiving offers left and right from other networks.

For starters, Patrick Bet-David, CEO of online content company Valuetainment, offered former Fox News host Tucker Carlson a $100 million deal over five years, plus a board seat at the company, in a high-profile courting attempt on Tuesday.

“Dear Tucker, I’ll get right to the point. We want you to partner with us in what we feel is a noble and necessary effort to define the future of media,” wrote David, who also hosts the Valuetainment brand’s podcast, in the opening of the letter of intent posted on Twitter on May 2 according to the Epoch Times.

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‘Star Trek’ Fans Can Now Virtually Tour Every Starship Enterprise Bridge

2nd May 2023

Read it.

If, of course, that’s what you want to do.

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For Top Luxury Brands, AI is the Backbone of White-Glove Service

28th April 2023

The Observer.

Consider how technology is used at The Boca Raton, a double five-star (Forbes-rated) Michael Dell-owned property and one of the largest luxury resorts in South Florida to deliver recognition and personalized service. According to President and CEO Daniel Hostettler—who was headhunted by Dell’s partnership (MSD Partners) to take on the daunting task of helming the enormous, 950-room property—recognition must rest on a solid technological backbone, or it’s simply not going to happen at scale.

Hostettler’s property uses facial recognition and opt-in technology on guests’ phones. Soon, The Boca Raton will deploy location-based beacons: as guests approach one of the property’s restaurants, the host will be prompted with the guest’s name and other unique information, including whether they’re a first-time or a returning guest—allowing the host to offer a greeting of either, “Welcome, Mr. Solomon,” or “Welcome back, Mr. Solomon.”

Perhaps this seems like a small thing, but, as Hostettler puts it, luxury needs to be “achingly personal and personable; extraordinary, personalized service is truly our unique selling proposition.”

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Report: Apple Developing 32-Inch and 42-Inch External Displays With OLED

22nd April 2023

9to5Mac.

Me want.

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DeSantis Pushes Toughest Immigration Crackdown in the Nation

10th April 2023

New York Times.

The Florida governor is pushing an aggressive proposal to penalize those who aid undocumented immigrants and to track costs for providing them with health care.

I wish Trump weren’t running so we could run this guy.

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LifeCard

7th April 2023

Check it out.

A folding, single-shot .22 caliber pistol that’s no bigger than a stack of credit cards. At .5 inches thin and weighing less than 7 ounces, LifeCard® will be the last gun you’ll leave behind.

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The Christian Liberal-Arts School at the Heart of the Culture Wars

4th April 2023

Read it.

An article by The New Yorker that is more fair than I had any right to expect. If I had kids, I’d want them to go to Hillsdale.

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Tennis Balls Serve as Decent Bicycle Tires That Don’t Easily Puncture

3rd April 2023

Read it.

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A New “Ink” Could Let Maine Turn Its Surplus of Wood Waste Into Affordable Homes.

30th March 2023

Read it.

Researchers in Maine are testing a new approach to 3D printing homes, swapping out the standard concrete “ink” for a 100% recyclable material made of wood waste and bio-resins.

They’ve already built a prototype house out of the material, and if it can withstand the harsh Maine winter, they hope to scale up to printing a new home every two days — helping Maine address its shortage of affordable housing.

3d printing homes

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Dog “Nose Print” App Is 99% Accurate at ID’ing Lost Pets

27th March 2023

Read it.

I wonder whether it works for kids.

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I Am Loving Vivek Ramaswamy

25th March 2023

Read it.

I’ll vote for whomever the Republicans nominate but I have to say, I have yet to find a single thing I disagree with Vivek Ramaswamy over. His mastery of the topics, his quick wit, his deep intellect, and his happy warrior style all suit me just fine.

So much energy! Watch him with Candace the other day. He will be the outsider who does what Trump could not.

I contributed to his campaign. And I urge you all to take a look.

Scott Adams is also a fan.

Posted in Is this a great country, or what? | 2 Comments »

John Wick: Chapter 4

24th March 2023

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Review: Bloody, Beautiful, Bulletproof

Every character in Wick’s world thinks they’re a poet and they’re all mistaken, and yet their clumsy fortune cookie platitudes are a welcome break from the constant self-conscious, faux-witty banter of Marvel movies and Ryan Reynolds vehicles.

REVIEW: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

Wow. Just… wow.

If you haven’t seen the first John Wick movie, the ‘noise complaint’ scene is worth whatever you have to pay to get ahold of it. Assassin Perkins is also very easy on the eyes.

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Libs Are Furious Hot Girl Likes Republicans

21st March 2023

Washington Free Beacon.

Liberals lost their collective mind this weekend after discovering Hollywood starlet Sydney Sweeney enjoys spending time with Republicans.

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