When I lived in Ann Arbor, 1979, a friend told me that the Toledo Zoo had an 8 foot carp. We drove down to Toledo to see it, but the zoo was closed and I never did see it.

@axtremus said in Beijing’s Bigger Honey Trap: Sure, shutdown a few ‘cultural exchange’ programs. Then what? Are you going to shut down Disney’s distribution into China or ban Apple’s manufacturing imports from China? Even the NBA censors itself to appease China. The Transpacific Partnership Program was the one good thing that unites nations around the Pacific rim to counterbalance China. The Obama administration had the good sense to support the TPP, but stupid Trump had to blow it up, pissed off a bunch of allies, and abdicated American leaderships from strategic international institutions in his four years in office. TPP was no counterbalance to China whatsoever. All it did was send American jobs to other countries. It was described as "the final blow to manufacturing in America".

A 5 foot 8 inch tall 135 pound man..... no wonder he was depressed....

@klaus said in Trump iconography: @larry said in Trump iconography: Trump is being "hero worshipped" because he stood up for the people. It may come as a shock to you, but most instances of Trump "hero worshipping" are satirical. And it may come as a surprise to you, but the reason you thimk most of them are satirical is due to your choices of where to look.

Love the Bee...

You do what you have to do. We once created an ICU in less than a day for a storm surge. But...We had a huge advantage. We also got the nurses and the doctors from the hospitals we were assisting. And they brought some supplies. The guys in L.A. don't have that...

RIP.

To be fair, we have lifestyle problems. We have some theft, but it's mostly related to meth-heads. Not enough that I lock stuff up, but some. If the sheriff would look the other way long enough, the community could take care of that problem. Alligators have to eat, too. And, because of lack of zoning, you can have a $400,000 home (and down here, that's a whopper) with their next door neighbors living in a ratty trailer. Poverty does exist, but there is city poor and country poor. Even if you don't have money, your neighbor or family will always plow a garden for you, somebody will give you a pig to raise and fresh fish are a cane pole and some dug up night crawlers away.

I saw an interesting mathematical model on Twitter, but now can’t find the link, What’s better, 50% more infectious or 50% more fatal. Turns out at the current IFR, and R numbers, 50% more infectious leads to many more deaths than having the IFR 50% higher. Chillax

@copper said in Garden path: Remember the formal garden? I finally got around to having a mason put in a garden path in the middle of it. The near end of this section was 8 inches too high. So, I picked it up. The cobblestone is back on the pallet. Next I'll pick up the base and make one end 8 inches lower. The base includes a layer of foam (pictured), sand layer, gravel layer and a stone restraint around the edge. I found out last night that polymeric sand contains a binding agent that forms a solid joint. I thought it was just fine sand. That made removal a chore. Why not have the mason come back and fix it? I like a challenge. Temperature in the 40s with some wind. This could take weeks. A nice hobby for winter.  Copper, I wish you'd asked about the polymeric sand. I'd have given you a heads up about it. It's great for brick mowing edges, but not so much for your project.

I really hate it that a robot has more rhythm than me. Tell me again about white fucking privilege.

@george-k said in Who reads?: I have no idea if this is accurate, but, still, interesting. [image: 1609263698152-screen-shot-2020-12-29-at-11.40.58-am-resized.png] All I see is a picture. Did you write something?

What type of stuff are we talking about? This might sound really snobbish...but lately I just give stuff away. Even this morning we had a tall fan that works fine that I just put “Free, works fine” post-it note on it and left it in my condo trash room. Stuff there goes in like 10 minutes, and I’m happy someone is able to use it. I mean, if I had a bike I’d sell it but these days...and maybe because we are trying to purge a bit before the move, the smaller stuff is easier to just donate or give away.

If only there was a word that could be used to encompass everybody with a vagina...

@george-k said in Visit to the parents: Thanks for the update and the fascinating history, Horace. I love old stories like that. And, I'm glad your dad's doing OK. Same here. I enjoyed the story, and wish your father the best.

Now thats funny right there, i dont care who you are...

@xenon said in $2000, not $600: Like the lead from Momento. Not at all. Lenny knew he had a condition.