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Bacon!
A (very) small number of Soylentils may remember my Rag dog. A couple of the kids had spent the day working on their old POS vehicles. That evening, they came into the house, one of them holding a mostly dirty rag, and wiping his hands on that rag. It still had a couple white corners showing, the rest was a mottled brown and black. Kid asks me if I want a puppy. "No, I don't need a puppy, I'm not going to spend time house breaking and training a puppy, thank you very much." Asshole hands me that damned dirty rag. It wasn't a rag, it was the puppy he was trying to give away. He proceeds to brag up the Australian sheep dog, telling me how great they are, how smart they are, and how loyal, blah blah blah.
Needless to say, I ended up keeping the puppy, and named her Rags. She's a sweet dog. Very quiet, most of the time. She didn't bark for months - literally. It shocked me when she finally let out a deep throated bark at something in the yard, I didn't think she had it in her.
The thing about puppies is, they grow up. Just like kids, they grow up. Rags got out, met some guy she liked, and made some puppies of her own.
So recently, she's been pregnant, then finally had a litter of little rags. And, she's not been eating much. When she does eat, she prefers to snitch some cat food, rather than eat dog food. Or, she sits and begs while we are cooking or eating.
More recently, I've "inherited" a pack of dogs that are basically abandoned. I've sort of shopped for less expensive dog food. I'm not a Wal-Mart shopper, but I've even gone into Wal-Mart to see how expensive their dog food is.
Well, they had a fifty pound bag of Ol' Roy bacon flavored dog food for twenty bucks. Not a super great price, but not bad. I grabbed one. Brought it home, opened it up, and shared some out for all the dogs. Here comes Rags - she's escaped the yard, and run all the way up to where I have the other dogs penned up. And, she bulls her way in to the pack, scarfing up that Ol' Roy bacon flavored dog food.
I'm questioning - does she really like that dog food, or is she just socializing, dog style, and competing for the food like dogs do?
Brought some of that bacon flavor stuff back to the house, put it down for her, and she's still gobbling it up! Yes, the little Mama actually likes the Ol' Roy! She walked around the cat's bowl, and went to her own bowl, to eat it.
Her fat little puppies need lots of milk, so she needs to eat. Looks like I'll be buying WalMart brand dog food from now on.
Bacon. Everything is better with bacon!
Unlike some other brands of dog food, Wal-Mart branded dog food doesn't have a lot of nutritional information. The best analysis available seems to be here: https://www.dogfoodinsider.com/ol-roy-dog-food-review/ Rather low quality food, but if the silly dog eats it, then it's better than high dollar food that she won't eat!
And - BACON!
Independents Outnumber Republicans in California
California Republicans hit rock bottom
The state that spawned the "Reagan Revolution’’ and Richard M. Nixon just experienced a watershed moment — the California Republican Party was officially relegated to third-party status.
In the culmination of the withered state GOP’s long slide toward near-political irrelevance here, new voter registration data released this week show the once-robust party trails behind both Democrats and “no party preference” in the nation's most populous state. The California Republican Party is now outnumbered by independent voters by 73,000, according to Political Data Inc., which tabulates voter file data from county registrars.
Kobo Clara HD E-Reader
It's About Time to Drink Cockroach Milk
Take a swig of cockroach milk, the next great food trend
Roach crystal juice seems like something the Gates Foundation would promote.
If you want to live in space, you're going to learn to love roaches.
If you want to live on Earth as a non-(m|b|tr)illionaire, you're going to learn to love roaches.
If it's too difficult to extract the milk, you can simply eat the roach whole.
Reparations Happy Hour
At Portland's 'reparations happy hour,' people of color get $10 and a place to meet
‘Reparations Happy Hour:’ Each minority attendee gets $10 from white Portland donors
‘Reparations Happy Hour’ Invites White People to Pay for Drinks
Alcohol is basically poison. So white people are paying to poison black, brown, and indigenous folks!
Harvey Weinstein to Surrender to New York Authorities
Harvey Weinstein will be charged with rape, source says
Harvey Weinstein is expected to turn himself in to the NYPD on Friday morning on charges that he raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex on him, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
The first-degree and third-degree rape charges are from one case and the first-degree sex act charge is from a second case, according to the source.
Harvey Weinstein to surrender, face criminal charges in N.Y. sexual assault case, sources say
Prosecutors in New York and L.A. have been developing cases against Weinstein, but sources have said for weeks that New York authorities were closest to bringing charges. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were not clear on the scope of the case New York prosecutors plan to file.
The charges would mark a major milestone in the #MeToo movement, which has sparked numerous accusations of misconduct by powerful men in the entertainment and other industries — and numerous criminal investigations, but few actual criminal charges.
[...] According to law enforcement sources, detectives believe that case is promising for prosecution because the woman told her story to three people, including a priest, relatively soon after the alleged attack. LAPD detectives also have obtained bills showing that the woman was a guest at the Beverly Hills hotel where she claims Weinstein attacked her, the sources said. The case does have flaws, they added. Detectives found little physical evidence of an attack and have been unable to secure proof that Weinstein was at the hotel when the woman says the rape occurred.
Cue the inevitable rage when he "gets off".
Updates:
Harvey Weinstein charged with rape following New York arrest
Rose McGowan and Other Harvey Weinstein Accusers React: ‘We Got You’
Harvey Weinstein's arrest is cathartic. But real victory won't be in court
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is actually kinda depressing. No one seems to know what it's about.
Today, as I was leaving work, HR came waddling up to me.
"Are you coming to our Memorial Day picnic?" I have a number of reasons why I don't attend company picnics, among them, the fact that I am an asocial asshole.
Me:"No, I'm not going to be there."
HR: "Oh, but we're honoring all of our veterans! You should come!" Welllll - first off, I'm not her veteran, nor the company's veteran. None of us served the fat broad, nor her board of directors. And, second, I resent every time the company collects all the veterans they can, snap a photo, then publish it in the local papers to capitalize on our service.
Me: "Naaahhh, it's to much bother to drive home from work, get a shower, get dressed, then drive another hour to come back for a picnic."
What I SHOULD HAVE SAID, "Memorial Day isn't about those of us who came home. Memorial Day is about our buddies who didn't come home. Memorial Day is about all of my dad's buddies who didn't come home. Memorial Day is about the MILLIONS of people who laid down their lives, so that the rest of us can get on with our lives."
So very, very, VERY few seem to "get it". We veterans already have a day, called "Veteran's Day". On that day, it is appropriate to have a picnic for your favorite veteran(s). Shake their hands, make sure they get a piece of cake, and say "Thank you for your service". That sort of thing is entirely appropriate on Veteran's Day.
On Memorial Day - I like to sit around the house, and reflect. I think about shipmates who are still on patrol. I think about all those sailors, Seabees, and Marines of my dad's generation, all of them still on patrol. I think about the men and women who have served this country since our nation's Declaration of Independence. People who fought the British - twice. People who fought the Indians, many times, rightly and wrongly. Our ancestors who fought the Mexicans, the Spanish, North Koreans, Russians, and more recently, Vietnamese, Iraqis, and Afghans.
So very many never came home.
And, HR wants me to attend a picnic, so that she can "honor" me? WTF? I ain't dead. Someone tried to kill me a few times, sure, but that doesn't count.
Maybe we didn't suffer enough in our wars. Some other countries understand Memorial Day better than we do. Both China and Russia seem to have better observances than we do. Maybe it's because both countries have survived wars in which literally millions of civilians were killed. Much of Europe lost far more than we did, because both the first and second world wars were fought right there. In their town squares, in their schoolyards, in their backyards. Us? All we did was to send a bunch of men and material overseas. Our town halls weren't blown into splinters. Our churches weren't bombed. Our hospitals weren't firebombed. Our women and children didn't watch brigades of foreign troops trying to butcher each other in the streets.
Memorial day. To me, it's just not a time to party. Let us honor our fallen, instead. Even if it might mean a little discomfort for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARtqpGMkhN4
Maybe - just maybe - I can persuade a few among you to visit a cemetery. Walk around, and find some of the veteran's tomb stones. Many are easily identifiable. Take a few flags with you - some of those little 9 inch flags, on little wooden sticks. Plant those flags beside the tomb stones. Spend a few minutes, and think. And, tell the man beneath that stone, "Thank you for your sacrifice, Sir."
That done, may you enjoy your picnic. And, tell me whether the food tastes even better, for having taken the time and trouble to honor those who deserve honor.
Nvidia GTX 1050 3 GB
Sick Cannes Endorsement
Lars von Trier's 'gross' and 'torturous' film prompts walkout
Provocateur Lars von Trier is under fire again after a screening of his film, The House That Jack Built, prompted dozens to walk out.
Starring Matt Dillon as a serial killer, one reporter, Roger Friedman said it was a "vile movie. Should not have been made. Actors also culpable". Another tweeted: "Gross. Pretentious. Vomitive. Torturous. Pathetic."
Dillon plays an architect who kills several women and children in gruesome fashion. Uma Thurman also stars.
Von Trier had been banned from the festival for seven years for comments he made in a press conference for his sci-fi film Melancholia. The Danish film-maker pushed organisers too far when he said (as a joke it was later assumed) he was a Nazi.
Now, with The House That Jack Built, the offence has gone further - into the throng of the gathered press. In one scene, as the killer Jack mutilates a girlfriend, he says: "Why is it always the man's fault... If you are born male you are born to be guilty. Think of the injustice of that."
IMDB. Film is 2h35m. It doesn't appear to have been widely released, so streaming/downloading it isn't possible yet.
Space Octopus Retrovirus Clickbait
No, Octopuses Don't Come From Outer Space
Disputed study:
Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic? (open, DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.03.004) (DX)
