Shortages are a policy choice. Hopefully we won't choose that route but it seems to be the most popular one when supply or demand shocks occur.

Is this COVID affecting the brain and sensory perception of aromas and taste, or is it a direct impact on the taste buds and nasal sensors? It sounds like the former.

Encourage Filipinos and Indonesians to immigrate.

I don't think you do. You may not get 100% compliance, but I think by having some districts leading by example, coupled with some budgetary sugar plums, will produce the desired results.

@doctor-phibes said in If 'twere only real...: @mik said in If 'twere only real...: I don't know. The Creatures movies were pretty dull. No investment in the characters. Yes, you're right. I think what sucked me into the Harry Potter books was the fact that the first one reminded me so much of books I read as a kid - old fashioned children's fiction. The series changed from this as time went on, and became more "modern", but for me that was the hook. I think it lost a lot of its charm when it became a franchise. Well, even Rowling admitted she screwed up Deathly Hallows. Harry and Hermione should have been together, not Ron and Hermione. The greatest witch of her age belonged with the greatest warlock of his age.

With a small change in the task it should be possible to construct it in such a way that the average number of flips is infinite.

Is there no American volunteer? Isn’t there a NATO article they can invoke?

@mik said in Hey, Mik.: I have a feeling herbs were not meant to grow in potting soil. I've had good luck outdoors with many herbs in pots of potting soil. They seem to need lots of root space, so a larger pot helps them thrive. Regularly timed watering also helps. They hate being too wet or too dry. I even grow basil here on kiddo's balcony in pots. Got three of them going right now. It helps that Oregon weather provides nice natural watering on a regular basis. If it doesn't rain for a spell, I fill in with some tap water.

@jolly said in Mr. Garland has a problem.: Cocaine Mitch adds to the pressure... https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mcconnell-presses-for-actual-consequences-in-disclosure-of-tax-data/ar-AAL4DRH?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531 Yeah... The floor speech comes after McConnell, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to the DOJ and the FBI urging them to investigate the disclosure and prosecute whoever was behind it. The important word is "urging." What power does McConnell really have, other than putting these comments into the public record where they will die an obscure death.

Wow. Thanks. I found "Greyhound" a nice story, but very, very predictable, and for all the good CGI, I never felt the horror that these guys must've endured.

@loki said in The Great Resignation: A counter argument to work from home. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/admit-it-you-miss-your-commute/619007/ I was BURNING through books on my commute. Now I do other stuff with that time. All good. My "commute" now is FAR longer than before, and I'll still do it here and there. Just not every dayr even close to it.

@mik said in $2,545,454 per minute: @klaus said in $2,545,454 per minute: @george-k said in $2,545,454 per minute: The mission is estimated to last about 11 minutes. That works out to $2.545 million per minute. Or $42,424 per second. That's more than I pay for an hour of her time. Luckily I don't need 11 minutes. You put an extra 1 in there, Klaus. What's the old joke? He said he'd give her ten inches and make it hurt...So they had sex three times and he hit her in the head with a hammer...

@loki said in Vaccine Rollout: The people imvolved speak for themselves and one quickly realizes these people are about as uneducated to reality as it gets but somehow have tapped into the reptilian brain of a subset of people…almost schizophrenia…where people see and hear things that are clinically insane. Plenty of those uneducated types where I live: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-vaccination-rates-education-correlation-1.6063373

I'm not sure, but I think this was after Argerich and Dutoit had divorced. The ability to collaborate on this afterward is beyond my understanding.

@mik said in Off to Asheville: Home again. great trip. Sounds like an excellent trip!!!

@axtremus said in China snaps best Mars selfie: It's the "China National Space Administration" (CNSA) logo, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_National_Space_Administration . Doesn't mean they did not rip it off from some one else, of course. Steal intellectual property? Get outa here! China would never do something like that, amirite?

For me, I unfortunately dont have enough good taste to notice a big difference between a USD$25 dinner and a USD$250 dinner, (or maybe even a USD$1.5 chicken and rice dish from a street stall). Part of it I am sure is the atmosphere, service, freshness of the food, memories, skill of the cookers, and location, etc. I would expect it to be "top notch". Plus, I would assume that most of the kitchen staff are the top league of cooking, so probably make more money than average kitchen staff. (Kind of like a top level sports team vs. a minor level sports team) (I remember reading an article about a waiter at (I think) a San Franciso top restaurant. He was pouring wine for a customer and the customer was sitting by a wall. So, he poured the wine over the incorrect shoulder. He was immediately fired. Not sure what he could have done to do it correctly, but the restaurant manager fired him. LOL)