Me, at work today.
For various reasons, I am unhappy with my Swiss Masters today. May their fondue dry and congeal! I am glad I can retire in 5-6 years. I’m getting too old for this @#$%
On the bright side, the world is a complete shitshow, which makes for some interesting links…
- Hollywood, hypocrites? You don’t say!
- Did you know there is a KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board ?
- Wall? Nah, they are trying a trench!
- I wonder if this has any relation to the EU yelling at Switzerland to take more “refugees”?
Music – in honor of me digging us out from a snowdrift across the top half of the driveway and a sheet of ice on the bottom half.
Comments are all yours.
Good afternoon, Swiss. I too am unhappy with my non-Swiss masters these days. But like a kidney stone, all things will pass.
As I said Thursday or Friday (whenever we were discussing AI impacts a bit)… I just hope to hang on long enough to retire and not be cashiered en masse because of what CxOs think AI can do.
My current job is figuring out how to use AI to replace someone else’s job.
From almost personal experience, that is incorrect. Sometimes it requires medical intervention to break up the stone so it’s small enough to pass. Or worse case, surgical entry to pull it out. In the latter, you’ll be a cartoon character when you drink fluids until the wound closes.
I had an odd irritation in my innards about a year ago and actually went to a hospital to check it out. Turns out I had a 5mm stone wrigglin’ ’round. I was told 6mm required surgical intervention. I’ve 5’7″ and ~130lb, so I imagine this was humongous considering my frame.
They gave me pain pills and I was awaiting the dreadful ~4hr endeavor to pass it, and… and… Nothing happened. The wrigglin’ stopped, and I certainly didn’t ‘pass’ anything. Just *poof* apparently. Maybe my body dissolved in all the acid I drink? (Think lemon, not sulfuric.)
On other days I reckon it just found another sexy stone, possibly named Sly, and eloped in some little nook someplace. I’m thrilled I didn’t (yet?) have to experience that. Dad says sprained ankles are the second worst pain, and that only lasts ~ten minutes or so before it’s manageable, but stones are hands down the worst. And apparently they’re like four HOURS long!
I’m gonna give my balls a little love tap for magically, somehow, manning up for that one. (A *different* sort of love tap. Maybe more of a handshake. Uh.. I may not be helping myself, here.)
My dad had a 27mm stone in his bladder about 15 years ago.
Hey Swissy, I put up a new post for your reading enjoyment if you wish
In their open letter, the scientists noted that the risk of shark encounter was already low, due to the “population declines of most of the shark species in the area”.
Huh. Turns out that “kill ’em all, and there won’t be a problem with them anymore” is a policy that works. I wonder what else we could apply that to in South Africa?
Better yet, tell me who thought it was a good idea to build a 100-million Euro resort in South Africa?
(No comment on whether the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board’s proposed regulations should have any teeth)
I think they got the point, no need to hammer it into their heads.
You should feel gilled over that pun, Shpip.
I think he’s done enough for today. Fin.
I’m definitely a conservationist. “Kill ‘em all” is not a viable direction. But that’s not why there are fewer sharks either way. You can’t actively hunt/kill white sharks there since the 80s or early 90s. SÁ removes (kills) about 20 white sharks a year as part of a broader conservation program to keep the population from getting too large. Another 20-30 are killed per year as bycatch. Orcas have also had a huge dent.
You need top predators for a healthy ecosystem. If there are viable ways to keep people safe we should do that, but there are limits as well. At some point, risk is inevitable.
I’m going to go all David Brin and say that we need squads of GM dolphins to patrol swimming areas and either alert humans to shark presence, or take out the sharks. Apparently, if a dolphin hits a shark with its snout at full speed at a certain place on the belly the dolphin can kill the shark. I’m okay with equipping them with weapons, too.
Orcas. You want orcas.
Or he wants the STEVE SMITHs of the sea to take over… rapey, rapey dolphins.
Are you sure you want Orcas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQXaewSnaf8
You don’t want Orcas – they’re worse than the sharks.
It also would help if shark attacks such that there is serious injury or death were common. They just…aren’t.
Last year there were 12 deaths from shark attack. Worldwide.
That’s not indicative of any sort of problem. Shark attack deaths are a statistical blip.
UCS — you need to really watch out for when they’re cooperating with sea birds in late night feeding pods.
The ever popular Orca-Kestral Maneuvers in the Dark.
There has never been a recorded orca attack on humans in the wild.
If that’s your only criteria…
Sharks might get a case of mistaken identity and take a bite of a person in the water, but the sadist mega-dolphins give off real serial killer vibes in the way they torture other animals for their own amusement.
Even if you want to go by total attacks and not deaths, there were only 105 reported. Worldwide.
Still a statistical blip so small you can’t see it on a chart.
I think you’re missing my point. It’s the mens rea not the number. The orcas know you’re not food but attack anyway just to see you bleed.
Yea Willy can stay the fuck away from me. I’ve seen what orcas do to sea lions.
Who’s “you?”
There has never been a recorded orca attack in the wild.
Lots of animals torture their food. Ever seen a cat?
And? “Other known evil creatures exist” is not a rebuttal to “you don’t want this particular evil creature around”
Your anthropomorphizing whale behavior is, uh, we’ll generously call it hilarious.
Can we skip to Saffron Burrows in a bikini?
So what you’re saying is you A: have no respect for cetatean intelligence, and B: have no argument other than absense of records.
You know what’s also dangerous? S̵w̵i̵m̵m̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵i̵n̵ The ocean.
Even take away hurricanes, etc, the ocean ‘itself’ kills several orders of magnitude more than sharks. It’s harrowing, enemy territory and every sentient organism knows this.
“They bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let ’em c̵r̵a̵s̵h̵ drown.”
Silliness aside, it’s like skiing or rock climbing. Or jazz or hockey or anything. Master the rules before you break ’em.
Don’t start in the ocean.
So, they aren’t really afraid of Great Whitey coming back?
I believe killer whales are a big contributor to the decline of sharks near southern Africa. They seem to really enjoy shark livers.
They definitely are a factor. But not the only one. Shady fishing practices with obviously bogus reporting habits are a major culprit as well.
There also seems to be some mechanism in Great Whites that causes them to vamoose from an area when the local Orcas start feeding on them. I saw something where GWs traveled thousands of kilometers away after an initial attack by Orcas was recorded.
I don’t know if they figured out what causes the sharks to flee, but apparently it has happened in a number of places.
I think it’s the pheromones that are released when the shark dies.
Mythbusters tested it and as soon as they released the scent, all the sharks around them vanished.
Yep. Many SA sharks up and left….
6000 miles to Australia.
Talk about White Flight.
You know a shark is in love when you hear him singing “That’s ramoray”
When you’re under the sea and an eel bites your knee, that’s a moray.
when the skates blot out the sky, that’s a more ray
My wife is convinced that there is a shark breeding and protection racket going on based on how expensive sea food is. And plenty of swarms of sharks in the sea videos.
When all need to eat more shark. And wolf.
The initiative, known as “Escudo Fronterizo,” or Border Shield, seeks to curb irregular migration and combat transnational crime by strengthening border controls, a campaign pledge Kast made.
The Moat in God’s Eye, so to speak.
That’s what happens when the rest of South America has such abundant fossil fuel deposits… they’re trapped within the Coal Sack.
I think there’s an envoy named Murcheson who wants to help keep an eye on the situation.
“Rich people leaving their dirt for poor people, as always,” an angry commenter wrote.
“Poor” ppl whining about having jobs. How nice. It’s not like they are rounding up street people and forcing them to clean up the auditorium.
But they do have a point about the disposable, non-recyclable individually packaged dishes wrt the “sustainability” championed by the limousine liberals. Yes, cardboard boxes are theoretically recyclable but not if it has food residue, particularly oil. Plus, those boxes are coated on the inside with a thin layer of plastic so the grease doesn’t soak through.
Poor working people are poor people too Tonio!
Actually, I did know about the shark board.
A local company makes shark shaped cutting boards with “Shark Cootchie Board” lasered into the wood.
Is the company owned by Shpip?
Calm down, John McAfee.
At least it was about “the environment” and not their usual bullshit politics.
Fucking xenophobic racist nazi fascists.
Well it is South America.
Must be for show – nobody seeks a better life in a wing-nut hellscape, do they?!
According to the left, everywhere except liberal strongholds are utterly disdainful and no one wants to live there, which is why the population drift is coming from all of the liberal strongholds to said wing-nut hellscapes.
It is known.
Apparently somebody called Oscar did something or other last night.
But now they’re just being a Grouch about it.
*looks around for the hidden cameras*
My parents are the only ones I know who watched it. But they’re in their 80’s. And I don’t think they’ve been to a movie in decades.
I imagine the wife watched, for the gowns, with the sound off.
I can forgive racism as long as it’s amusing, like this absurd fairy tale:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUk_Q-qawk
Meanwhile, a Nigerian decided to do his own IQ survey. He got about the same results as what pops up on Google.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Z1kUx7M7c
I saw a post-independence propaganda film where it was claimed that a black man named Hannibal invented the wheel and the alphabet, but it was stolen by the crafty white man’s tricknology. The same film claimed black scientists invented the atomic bomb and that white people have smaller brains.
WE WUZ KANGZ AND SHIT!
A depressing number of comments unironically assert that. I guess it’s technically true, though most African kingdoms had about as many people as a small city.
So most of them were the equivalent of mayors, basically.
The king of Eswatini rules over about a million people. That’s the only absolute monarchy left in Africa.
Africa had about as many kingdoms as Ireland
Here’s the propaganda clip:
https://youtu.be/_Fm464VmtPc?si=Iuo-NgjQ9JhJCM2d&t=623
Propaganda is a hell of a drug.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cubas-national-electric-grid-collapses-says-grid-operator-2026-03-16/
HAVANA, March 16 (Reuters) – Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the country’s grid operator said, leaving around 10 million people without power amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island’s already obsolete generation system.
Grid operator UNE said on social media it is investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that this weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run country.
Trump’s fault no doubt.
In this case it actually is.
That’s bad news for Cubans. No electricity means you can’t pump water. No electricity means no refrigeration. Both of those make living in a tropical climate tough.
Un chico de campo puede sobrevivir.
If they lost power, how were they able to post on social media?
Grid operator UNE said on social media it is investigating the causes of the blackout
Did they check the
thermostatfuse box?They’ve already turned it iff
Have they tried turning it on again?
Are you sure you want Orcas?
Haven’t orcas been sinking boats in the Mediterranean?
One particular group has, but in the Atlantic of of Spain, not the Med.
There are several subgroups of orcas worldwide with enough physiological and “culture” differences that many have claimed there are likely several species of orcas. Most of them are pretty chill.
The territorial pods are apparently relatively mellow, but the transient pods can be pretty vicious. They are the Mongols of the sea.
Yeah. Resident pods are great. Mostly feed on local fish. The transients though are ruthless hunters of pretty much anything they can kill from seals to humpback (and likely even larger) whales.
Where they overlap, like in SE Alaska, the 2 groups never mix.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum and all, but this fucking guy…
Here’s Smithsonian (of all mags) kicking the guy while he was still alive.
Question for the peanut gallery: who caused more misery, willingly or not — Simon, or Rachel Carson?
No wonder he was such an asshole.
I read his book about 50 years ago. I was sort of caught up in it. Seemed like a possibility until he got shredded later. At the time I was rudderless, looking, looking for answers.
I never believed Carson.
I was first exposed to Ehrlich in an environmental science class in college. Even 20 years after he was shown to be an idiot he still had acolytes.
That class experience was one of my first exposures to The Science.
Born in Philly, raised in Maplewood, NJ. Father sold shirts, mother was public school teacher.
Anyone else have this in their younger days: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-john-pitre-1972-print-1728725823
JFC, no.
People believe what they want to believe. Ehrlich and Carson only influenced people insofar as they gave them ready excuses for their exusting desire to wreck other people’s lives. Neither one really matters at all.
Saw three bald eagles the other day soaring over fields while driving to town. Sorry, not sorry. Murica, fuck yeah!
who caused more misery, willingly or not — Simon, or Rachel Carson?
Neil Simon was a monster.
Paul and me but I was in line at the record store.
You’re still crazy after all these years, Fourscore.
Paul Simon was nothing without Garfunkle.
↑↑↑
This guy gets it.
I liked his cameo in Chevy Chase’s music video.
I appreciate the subtle humor of the comedy duo, Garfunkel & Oates
But nobody did it better than Carly Simon.
She probably thinks this thread is about her.
I pop this site open on my phone while waiting for my burger, read this comment, and guess what’s playing in the bar…
Hope you all had a good start to the week. I’m in a bit of a funk, still battling an illness from this weekend. I did get to watch a few good sled hockey games. And I played around with AI. I downloaded LM Studio on my Linux laptop and ran a few queries. My laptop doesn’t have much memory so it was slow. But it was pretty easy to do, and it doesn’t require a data center.
How is the concussion recovery coming?
I’m done with therapy and doctor visits. I’m still getting a headache at the end of the day sometimes, but that should go away eventually. So quite a bit better.
Meanwhile, I’m at the phase where my lawyer sent me a bunch of questions to answer. There is a lot of info to gather but I’m making good progress. They asked for photos, and boy do I have photos. (Of the accident you perverts).
That’s good, keep improving.
Have you heard the good news about Mammary Monday?
https://archive.is/zUV6X
Hello, sisters!
https://www.betonit.ai/p/my-friend-doherty
Dont know if this has been covered, but Bryan Caplan on Brian Doherty.
My erotic journey from Meijer to Minsk continues nicely! (Minus the erotic part. And Minsk.) Had my onboard meeting and got my tax info sorted with ’em. Some paid training, which I’ve done once before with them, begins April 9 and actual grading will likely begin April 20, though may start earlier, depending on my team’s collective training speed.
I’ve got gas station work this Tues, Thurs, Fri and Sat. Then I’m off except for a ‘maintain bridges’ shift with ’em on Sat, March 28. So things are looking fairly orderly. After June, when we should finish, I’ve (kinda) got a lifeline back to Meijer as I look for something meaningful. T-Minus 5 Shifts til non-grocery-related work, last achieved on Dec. 8 2024 at a plasma center. (Bold experiment, that.)
For now, Mom’s making corned beef for dinner and I’ve got an NHL doubleheader to sate me. As that’s ongoing, I’m working on a piece explaining, commenting and joking about the bizarre world of gas station lottery sales. Cuz. Damn. I did get taken for $30 off a mistake I made, which, hey. That subtracted two hours of gas station earnings and would be 2.5 nice meals for myself. (“Aim small. Eat small.”)
Oooh, I also have a psych appt on Wed, hopefully to score some of that Focus Juice. That’d be a pleasant game change, but we’ll see. Hope y’all are as productive and well with as can be.
I made corned beef, cabbage, taters, and carrots this weekend. I was pretty impressed for something that is braised for 3 hours. Tasty!
Gas is $3.50 in Podunkville, diesel bumping 5 bucks.
Thanks, Donald.
interesting
***
Like humans, “killer whales have culture, the ability to pass on behavior—almost like trends,” Giles said. “They’re incredibly intelligent animals. They are masters of their environment, depending on where they’re from. Their brains are incredibly complex.
“The physiology of these animals suggests that they are smart enough to know that humans are not prey. Now why is that? I think that it comes down to more of a culture question. They learn to eat what their mothers teach them to eat, and humans have never been part of that diet. Humans have never been part of the menu. I think it might be as simple as that,” Giles said.
***
https://www.newsweek.com/there-no-records-orca-ever-killing-humans-wild-why-1734489
Male orcas are often fed by their mothers until they are in their 20s. The males are bigger and slower, so they struggle to catch smaller prey.
*shrug* That seems a fairly reasonable hypothesis. Most orcas, I’m guessing, never see a human. On the off chance one does, confusion reigns and they’re either ‘afraid’ and back off, or they’re hungry enough to give some oddly shaped game a shot for dinner.
I imagine I’m more ‘wiry’ than ‘tasty,’ and not much more than a chicken nugget to large predators. Although a grizzly kinda tried to kill/eat me once, so maybe I am on the menu.
I’d hate to be served and get sent back to the kitchen. (I go best with sour Skittles.)
She has nice teeth.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/sydney-sweeney-puts-busty-display-36875155
There is, for sure, a site issue; I’m getting intermittent certificate issues on my Firefox browser (mobile).
I’ll see if I can catch it when I’m home.
I’d speculate but I don’t really know how the site delivery is configured these days.