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More nutritious, better tasting, non-GMO ‘orange corn’ launches in US markets

But where is my goddamn 50 lb sack of Golden Rice?

We have a lady at work. Apparently a caucasian, with a little something extra thrown in, on the paternal side. She was always told that the something extra was "Native American". Not a bad looking lady, fairly smart, a little annoying sometimes, in that she's a dedicated "company man". Likeable, but not overly likeable. Typical sort of redneck woman, with a public school education.

The fact that this woman is married to a black man is relevant here. And, the fact that her daddy disapproved of the marriage is very relevant. White girls just DON'T marry black men in the south, of course.

She and her sisters wanted to find out more about their ancestry, so they sent off DNA samples to learn more about their ancestry. I guess one sister sent her sample to one company, another sister sent her sample to another, and the third sister used yet another service. Kind of a quality control check, there.

Results come back, and there is no hint that there is any Native American ancestry. However, there is a list of half dozen or more east African and central African tribes. Maybe an error? Possibly, but if so, why would all three sisters get same (actually, very similar, the lists of tribes weren't precisely the same) results from three different companies?

Sisters approach Daddy, and inform him of what they've learned. Daddy's reply, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I note that Daddy didn't outright deny the results, instead pleading ignorance. Funny, I think. Sounds like Daddy might have heard from Great Granny about some family scandal or something, but isn't ready to admit it.

No, I didn't inquire about the family's history during the slave days. I don't want to know the details, nor do I especially want to encourage a friendship with this woman. She is a rather annoying woman, remember. But, I find it amusing that a fine, upstanding member of the redneck community (the father, not the daughter who married a black man) has been found out as being part African. Gotta wonder if Daddy and/or any of his male relatives have been members of the KKK.

I also didn't inquire as to Daddy's relationship with his grandchildren. Can a bigoted redneck admit that he has half (or more than half) black grandchildren?

The woman in question can't exactly be avoided at work. I'm certain to hear more details in the coming weeks and months, whether I want to hear them or not.

Which suggests a question: How many Americans who claim to be "part Native American" are really "part former slave"? How about those who claim to be "part Hispanic"? How 'bout Pocahontas Warren?

It's annoying when you must hear only one side of someone's cell phone call. If they were courteous, they would put it on speaker so everyone around them could hear.

Further, when you can only hear one side, you cannot really understand what is going on.

For example . . .

Ring ring

Hello?

No! I'm not driving.

Well, yes I am in the car. But I'm stuck in traffic. Thus not driving. The car is in park right now.

No, I left the car seats at home.

Calm down, I don't need them. I don't have the kids with me.

No! No. Of course, I did not leave the kids alone. I left them safely with the dog.

Yes, I know it's my weekend.

They'll be alright. They're very smart for their age -- after all, I am their father. And the oldest is almost 7.

I just needed a break. That's all.

No. Don't worry. I am not going to the strip club. Not while this traffic is stuck.

You don't seem to understand. How can I be drinking and driving when I'm stuck in traffic, car in park, not driving? I know better than to drink and drive at the same time.

No, I'm not with my drinking buddies.

What do you mean "then where are they"? I swear, they are not in the car!

Look, they jumped out of the car because we could see a liquor store on the next block. And traffic isn't moving. I'm not with them because they haven't returned yet with more drinks for us. And we're taking turns driving, so it's okay.

Chill out. Nobody is drinking when it is their turn to drive.

What are you so upset about? I can't understand what you are saying.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson suggests Donald Trump plans to doom his own reelection chances

Even if he loses, he wins!

Bezos Post paywall is more aggressive than ever, so I switched to this article.

Media Advisory: Press Conference on First Result from the Event Horizon Telescope

ESO will be Announcing the First Black Hole Picture on April 10

Event Horizon Telescope

Today, I'm writing a journal entry about my first job - Burger King.

It was an early summer day and I was out looking for a job. I was only 14 years old but was about to turn 15 (the legal minimum working age) in a couple weeks. I had taken the bus up to a large shopping centre with a stack of resumes. I applied at all the fast food places except for McDonalds. Wendy's, Burger King, KFC, Dairy Queen, Cineplex, Blockbuster. They all got my scantly filled resume.

The first callback was from KFC. I showed up for the interview but ultimately didn't get the job (possibly because I wasn't quite 15 yet). Burger King was second and offered me a position. I accepted their generous offer of $4.50cdn/hour. They gave me a shirt and pair of pants that were probably 8" too large around the waist, and I awaited my first shift.

I was nervous for the first shift, but it went well. I watched training videos for most of it, then started working the broiler. It was actually a pretty neat piece of kit. Frozen burgers and buns would go in one side, and cooked patties and nicely toasted buns came out the other. After a couple weeks, my first paycheque arrived - $50. I remember spending most of it by going to a movie. I really liked having my own money to spend though.

I would end up working there all through high school. I would master the broiler, sandwich prep, counter & drive through. Eventually I would pick up the odd night shift where we would work all night and clean the fryers and broiler while goofing around and smoking cigs in the dining room.

After high school, I decided that I was done with school. I went full time at Burger King and switched locations (I can't remember why). I was now working five 8 hour days per week at Burger King. I was lucky that I worked with some pretty great people, but after a couple months, I couldn't take the boredom and constantly smelling like burger. I reconsidered by position on not liking school and applied for a Computer Engineering Technology course at the local trades college.

Burger king was a pretty good first job, really. I worked with some really cool people and we would have quite a bit of fun. The pay was terrible -- of course -- the work was mind numbing, but it taught me a very, very important lesson: I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life.

Burger King gave me the motivation to go back to school and the money to pay for the first semester. I also met some great people there. It was a great shit job.

What was your first job? What was your starting pay?

You cannot have your Pork and eat/fly It too.

If the SLS flies, it will be so expensive that it will quickly implode the program.

In order to keep the program, the SLS must perpetually be in a state of delay, which will cancel the program.

Everyone knows pork does not fly.

NVIDIA Project R.O.N Leaked – Google Home Like AI + Hologram Device

Nvidia employee takes a train, nosy nerd lands a scoop.

What will Nvidia call its Alexa?

AMD Navi 20 GPU Allegedly Supports Ray Tracing and Enhanced GCN Graphics Architecture – May End Up Being Much Faster Than RTX 2080 Ti

(for ray tracing, and a GPU that will be released long after the RTX 2000-series came out)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 Series Receives Price Drop By Major UK Based Retailer – Custom RTX 2060 Down To £299, RTX 2070 For £419 and RTX 2080 for £599

Valve’s long-rumored VR headset is finally real: the Valve Index, coming in May

Valve just surprise revealed its own VR headset called the Valve Index