Exactly.A willingness to overlook massive fraud to retain votes reinforces my perception that the Democrat party's main strength is buying votes with taxpayer money.

Ilia is one of those athletes who’d be even more famous if they had a more marketable name.

@LuFins-Dad said in Any Dark Beer Fans on here?: @Axtremus said in Any Dark Beer Fans on here?: I also like Founders Breakfast Stout. Thanks for the reference to Kirkland's Vintage Ale. Will see if I can find it at the local Costco here. Along the same line, if I feel like something more chocolaty, I may go for Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I don’t know how to feel about Ax liking the same beers that I do… This may make me have to reconsider many things… Ax has been consistent in his love for good brew. And pianos. Eats pretty good stuff too.

Lol

@Mik said in Did something new today…: BMW? I thought you bought a Genesis? Yeah, the Genesis is a temporary solution…

Gotta give Trump credit for one thing at least. Somalia is indeed a shithole country. Approximately 39–41% of Somali households have access to basic or improved toilets (sanitation facilities), according to recent data. • The Somali Health and Demographic Survey (SHDS) 2020 — the most comprehensive national household survey — indicates that about 41% of households have improved latrines/toilets (e.g., pit latrines with slabs or better, not shared in a way that disqualifies them as basic). This leaves a significant portion relying on unimproved facilities or open defecation. • A 2024 UNICEF report states that only 39% of the population has access to basic sanitation facilities, noting a slight decline in recent years and highlighting rural areas and displaced communities as particularly underserved. • Open defecation remains common, practiced by around 34–37% of the population (per 2024 humanitarian updates and earlier assessments), underscoring low overall toilet coverage. Access varies widely: higher in urban areas, much lower in rural and nomadic communities. Ongoing conflict, drought, and displacement continue to hinder improvements. For the latest official global estimates, refer to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), though national surveys like SHDS provide the most detailed household-level insights for Somalia.

Interesting read: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/world/europe/russia-putin-aide-dmitri-kozak-ukraine-war.html

Yeah I've read that, and I'm always amazed at the span of Horowitz's career. "Hey listen to what Horowitz did in 1925, oh and check out this recording of him in 1987!"

We'd artificially restrict the supply just like DeBeers does. Lots of value would remain.

Gotta know your way around that place.

Got my free 12 months of Gemini Pro for being a student for which I'm being reimbursed by my company. Nice. Liking Gemini so far. But Mandarin tones remain the final boss of natural language for AIs. Neither ChatGPT nor Gemini can do them when they try to give examples in mixed english and chinese. But when they speak totally in Mandarin without trying to mix in English, it seems they can do the tones. I'm still trying to work out a good way to use them as a study partner.

lol

https://x.com/houmanitarian/status/2001782505125364034?s=46 (He actually bankrupted three casinos, which is a world record)

In three years we really, REALLY have to consider the repercussions of the mess we've gotten ourselves into with these monsters and idiots we keep electing to high office. These people need to go back to the caves and slime pits they came from and we have to elect decent people into public office again. The problem is that Donald J. Trump is exactly the person we deserve to represent us. We need to be be better people in order to get petter people to lead us. I don't quite know if that could ever happen.

@Renauda said in The musical venue formerly known as the Kennedy Center: And still some would deny there being any semblance of a cult of personality around the person. There's certainly a niff of something beginning with c about him. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to ascribe a personality to it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/business/trump-media-tae-technologies-fusion-power-deal.html First it was Twitter-wannabe, then crypto, now on to nuclear fusion! Truth Social Parent to Merge With Nuclear Fusion Firm in $6 Billion Deal

Last I heard he had been pushed out not her.