Ranxerox

In fairness to DC what the MCU accomplished over a 10 year arc was something so amazing I can't believe they pulled it off.  I'm watching the movies from the beginning again and there are significant bits that get incorporated all the way to the end.
 
MCU has set a stupidly high bar.  One I don't expect to get surpassed in my lifetime.

I've longed to figure out a way to get a week off at least during this. But, it seems I am hampered my own work honor code about not making things unnecessarily hard on my co,workers.
 
Curse you, Code vs Slacking

300000 test results, not cases.  At California's 6% average test positivity that's still 18000 new cases, maybe three days' worth.  The backlog has already been caught up.
 
Kind of a refreshing change to see someone get removed for putting up the wrong numbers for once...

It was all planned and arranged; we had a big farewell party raring to go for those of the New Samaritans that were going to depart to Port Cascade. A huge ass cake shaped like that city's skyline had been made, big enough that everyone would get at least one piece, and the various beverages were chilled. Decorations were slapped up.
 
In less than an hour, it was going to be quite a party. 
 
"Looks good, Mabel," I said, for Mabel had done most of the work. Her database might have been put in a shapely single unit instead of the base itself, but she still had plenty of recipes in her head.It was taking her time to adjust to doing things with her new hands, rather than waldos and other extensions of the headquarters. Every once in a while I caught her cheating, remotely using a waldo as a third (or fourth, or fifth arm) but she gave a warning look daring me to say anything about it, so I didn't.
First of all, because I'm a Southern Gentleman and I show respect to women in my life. Secondly? She was one of the few people in the city who had a chance of putting me through a wall, literally! And she might even feel guilty about it, after all, an hour in the tub and I'd recover from it fine, right?
For all the admiration her form inspired, upon reflection I had to give serious respect to the work done on Mabel's face, and it's capacity for expressions. Her lips, eyes, and even nose gave those tell tale expressions that were as much a part of human communication as words. And never having had a face before, she was betraying her mood more than she knew.
 
She was nervous, possibly scared. But about what?
 
Well, I couldn't claim to relate to having a brand new body, but I could relate to some other things. Maybe it would help.
 
"It's okay to be nervous about a big move, you know," I said, " I was, when I came here. Well, I was also excited, but, you know, despite the fact North Carolina actually does have cities and I get snippy about the 'hayseed' jokes,  Costa Sagrado was still a whole new world for me. I had hopes and dreams about this city and showing folks here what I could contribute, but that made the worries about falling on my face all the more tense. When you're a hero, people rely on you. But you've got what I did, support from a great team, and they are going to help you out and cheer you on, Mabel. You'll be great."
She looked startled, as if wondering where I got telepathic powers from, then gave as close to a blush as possible given her surface tone didn't change color, "I swear I will get the hang of having a face instead of just a display image and a voice. Gave myself away, huh?"
"Enough clues that I felt comfortable guessing," I admitted, "Nothing to be ashamed of. You've always been a part of the team, you know? You even saved my ass more than once by remote piloting."
 
"But there's nothing remote about it now," Brazen nodded, miming taking a breath, "I'm putting this beautiful body into the thick of it, and it's all me, baby. That is a bit intimidating. I would be lying to say I wasn't scared, both of screwing up, and by experiencing real pain. Maybe I'm a wimp and don't know it?"
 
"Ffftt," I scoffed, "You've faced dangers before, intruders that would have tried to dismantle you, threats to the city that you were in, and more. I've got faith in you. Besides, you want this. Like I did. I think that drive is stronger than your fear."
"You know," She said with a fond look, "You're not bad at pep talks. Might serve you well in this co-Captain thing."
"Thanks," I said, flattered, "I hope so."
"And I really think it was nice how you shared your own feelings about coming here. I can just imagine you, coming to  Costa Sagrado for the first time, full of excitement, and hope, wishing you could be... part of our world."
I grinned at the memory, "Yeah, it was something and I-" I caught on and groaned, "Really?  Little Mermaid jokes after I opened up to you?"
Mabel gave a giggle, "Well, you were trying to make me feel better, think of this as helping because I do feel better?" 
I rolled my eyes, "Sure, sure, I'll take it as a win," then I looked her over, "Glad it does."
"Thanks. This new body is already like a big move, now another one is coming up, there are so many things I want to do, I barely know where to start. Not just heroing, though that's a part of it," She said handing me a cold beer, "Things having a feeling body can offer."
"Sun on your face, wind in your hair," I raised the beer in a toast to that, "A nice soak in a hot tub, oh yeah, it's very nice," I started to drink.
"And Sex," Brazen said, "I'm really curious about sex. I've been studying."
I can breathe water, not beer. So I choked as the local brewer's best went down the wrong pipe.
 
"What?" She said, "You're surprised?" 
"No, I guess, it's just-" I coughed again then said, "I had a slightly conservative upbringing."
"You're a prude when it comes to women talking about it?" She raised a brow. Again, amazing expressive capability.
"Yes," I said with a nod, "I am old fashioned and prudish in some very hypocritical areas. Please forgive me, I'm just a man."
"Oh, Caleb," She fussed, "I am so let down. I thought we could talk as peers. You're dating one of my best friends and thus are totally off limits, so I figured we could talk. Maybe you could answer some questions about your own biological experiences?"
I wondered if I could hit our own little version of the trouble alert without Brazen picking up on it. Where the hell were the other women of the team? 
I answered honestly, I was a grown, emotionally mature, adult man, I could do this, "Speaking just for myself, it's great but ultimately, without emotional empathy? It's only half of banquet and you'll never know what you're missing until you find a special someone to-"
Then the Alert did come on. 
There was an emergency.
"Oh thank God," I blurted without thinking.
 

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

As it happens, my brother knows a few Trump fans and yes, at least these few think that way.
 
Dean Shomshak

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

Yesterday, I discovered the Republican Voters Against Trump channel on Youtube.  I binged watched it and found it a balm for my soul.
 
Prior to Trump, I believed that, while Democrats and Republicans argued about many things, they actually agreed on far more than they disagreed.  That while there might be Republican values and Democratic values, there were American values which were greater than both.  Then came Trump.  Trump has no American values or values at all that aren't self serving.  Even after Trump's election, I held out hope for common shared American values.  Maybe they had been just voting against Hillary, who had after all been demonized by right leaning media for decades, or maybe they had simply fallen for Trump's con.  In time they would see through it and turn on him.  Then about two years into Trump's presidency, I learned that Trump enjoyed a same party approval rating of over 80%.  More of his own party approved of his performance than any president in the history of polling at that point in their first term.
 
This was quietly devastating for me.  By this point Trump had shown his true colors so many times, that it seemed inconceivable that by the majority of Republicans would not have seen who he really was.  Yet they loved him.  Damn, the man was out screwing porn stars when his youngest son was 4 months old.  That didn't matter.  Or it did matter in a positive direction.  The average Republican male must be wishing that he had super model wife and was able to screw porn stars on the side as well.  And what was the average Republican woman thinking?  That if they had a billionaire husband who kept them in a gold plated penthouse, he could screw as many other women as he wanted?  I don't know.  Still, they clearly loved Trump.  Perhaps they had been waiting their entire lives for a president that would show them by example that they could be selfish ***holes and that was all right.  I still haven't come to terms with the Trump presidency and the Cult of Trump.
 
Back to Republican Voters Against Trump.  I don't think that I would agree many of their specific political views, but I recognize in them what I used to consider common American values.  In them I see fellow American citizens and worthy political opposition.  After the removal of Trump and his congressional enabler (something they wish is for as badly as I do) it is voters like these that could potentially restore the Republican party to something worth having around.  It is good to know that they are out there.

Very glad to hear that.  However, if you reopen your schools, you will turn back the other way.

My brother-in-law tried to argue to me that there's no such thing as over-population since you could have everyone in the world live in a space the size of Texas if that area was as densely populated as Hong Kong.
 
I started out by asking him if he'd ever been to Hong Kong to see how they lived. Then I went on to talk about water shortages, lack of arable land, fertilizer shortages, pollution from industry which is necessary to support the population, what to do with trash created by people....
 
There's a near infinite amount of resources, for all practical purposes, if we were to spend the money to harvest all the resources. Growing food inside cities. Windmills and solar panels on every roof. Tidal power. Thorium reactors. Recycling. Going into space to get resources from asteroids. Financially supporting people in their old age in every country so they don't feel the need to have a huge family in hopes that one of their offspring will be able to support their parents (that's a huge driving force for over-population).
 
On the other hand, we don't have infinite resources if we're exploiting the planet like we're still living in the 1800's.
 
< /rant >

The people didn't break into their property.  They broke into the property of the gated community in which they lived, but not into their personal property.

The people didn't break into their property.  They broke into the property of the gated community in which they lived, but not into their personal property.

To avoid talk of the GOP convention that might be overly political for this thread, jump to 1:13 video to get into the school reopening part.

To avoid talk of the GOP convention that might be overly political for this thread, jump to 1:13 video to get into the school reopening part.

To avoid talk of the GOP convention that might be overly political for this thread, jump to 1:13 video to get into the school reopening part.

Found this on a Delta Rae (indy band I like) playlist:
 
Upload date: 2015 .
 
 

So, I just put in for a week of time off right after the election.  You know, just in case, our democracy depends on 2 to 4 million people showing up in Washington DC and demanding that the vote be honestly reported and it's result honored.  
 
I'm a middle age, middle class, white guy and my student activist 30+ years behind me.  It is bizarre that I would even have to consider the need for such a thing, much less that I have requested time off over 3 months in advance to cover the thing.
 
So hopefully in November, my wife and I will take a short fall vacation and laugh about the silly  reason for the time off request.  Otherwise, if anybody want to carpool to DC, I have an entire country to cross, I can probably arrange my route to pick you up.

Most of the property damage is confined to downtown, particularly that section of it where the city, county, and federal offices live. Life during the day seems to be going on in a state of close to normality -- many of the businesses and restaurants are closed, but many f those would have been closed anyway because of the pandemic. Yes, a lot of statuary has come down, but much of that should have been torn down anyway once it became clear what it represented (though many wonder what crime "The Elk" committed...) Most of the rest is just broken windows and graffiti. There hasn't been much looting to spesk of, and only occasional arson (with suspicion in those few cases of whether there's a "false flag" going on -- it is well-known that officers are capable of infiltrating the protests to cause escalation).
 
After the sun goes down, the protests begin. Whether there is violence will usually depend on who decides to escalate the situation and to what level. There is a clear dividing line in the minds of most people on the ground between the enemy and themselves. And you could accurately say that the more things are escalated the more the federal presence appears justified -- so many times they are doing the escalating themselves, as was the case when they gassed the mayor last night.
 
Now I'm not an objective source, but at the moment I can't think of any source that would be objective. Right now only one thing is in the middle of the road -- and that's roadkill.
 
 

So, I just put in for a week of time off right after the election.  You know, just in case, our democracy depends on 2 to 4 million people showing up in Washington DC and demanding that the vote be honestly reported and it's result honored.  
 
I'm a middle age, middle class, white guy and my student activist 30+ years behind me.  It is bizarre that I would even have to consider the need for such a thing, much less that I have requested time off over 3 months in advance to cover the thing.
 
So hopefully in November, my wife and I will take a short fall vacation and laugh about the silly  reason for the time off request.  Otherwise, if anybody want to carpool to DC, I have an entire country to cross, I can probably arrange my route to pick you up.

So, I just put in for a week of time off right after the election.  You know, just in case, our democracy depends on 2 to 4 million people showing up in Washington DC and demanding that the vote be honestly reported and it's result honored.  
 
I'm a middle age, middle class, white guy and my student activist 30+ years behind me.  It is bizarre that I would even have to consider the need for such a thing, much less that I have requested time off over 3 months in advance to cover the thing.
 
So hopefully in November, my wife and I will take a short fall vacation and laugh about the silly  reason for the time off request.  Otherwise, if anybody want to carpool to DC, I have an entire country to cross, I can probably arrange my route to pick you up.