IT  WAS CUTE WHEN ALICIA SILVERSTONE DID IT: Clueless US State Department employee tweets, then deletes, that what Afghani women and girls really need is a “Black Girl Magic” type movement or narrative thingy. Because that will surely change the Taliban’s mind about the place of women in Afghan society.

MEDICAL DISCOVERY MAY ONE DAY ELIMINATE GLIBS: Scientists ‘switch off’ autism symptoms using $3 epilepsy drug:…
Researchers believe they have found the first possible cure for autism spectrum disorder symptoms. But what about people who don’t want to be “cured?”

ANOTHER RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL DIES BY PRECIPITATION: Top Putin war official plunges 160 feet to her death from high-rise building.

SO, ABOUT THOSE TRAIN DERAILMENTS: Our old friend Gordilocks resurfaces with this explainer. Bonus point for use of Catty Wampus (sometimes spelled Cattywumpus).

SHE’S NOT ALL WRONG, YOU KNOW: Former SC governor Nikki Haley declares her run for presidency, calls for ‘mental competency tests’ for politicians over 75. I agree in principal that this is a good thing, but also know it will be expanded and abused. But we need this not just for older politicians (*cough* Fetterman *cough*), but also for federal judges who are often shielded by their clerks and other court staff long after they should be off the bench.

THE CASE FOR CHIPPED TOOLS: Recently there was some justified concern here about manufacturers chipping their tools so that they’d only work if activated at the time of purchase by the store. But if the chips were at least partially opened to the public so the legitimate owner could lock the tools out if not within range of a wireless device it would prevent situations like this.

POSTED WITHOUT COMMENT: I don’t know what to make of this article. AI chatbots are kinda creepy, and I’ve read enough Sci-Fi, particularly that of Ron Goulart, to be rightly suspicious of them.

NASA ROVER TAKES DUMP ON RED PLANET: Mars rover Perseverance drops first cache of samples on surface of the red planet. Apparently dumping them on the ground offers better odds for future retrieval than holding them onboard and transferring them later. The samples are scheduled to be retrieved by a future mission which will load them onto a rocket which will return them to Earth for study.