So, Away From Home Today….

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

I was a good girl. I brought my laptop before I set off on an adventure. I even verified that my computer could sign onto my associates account.

What did I forget? Oh, yeah, the dongle.

I’m sorry, I’m so unused to spur of the moment jaunts these days. When I travel these days it’s plotted days or months ahead. This suddenly picking up and going off is a big problem. It’s outright unnatural, I tell you.

I’ll be back on tomorrow morning and do a promo post. Look on the bright side, this gives you the opportunity to send me something to promote if you’ve forgotten.

Again, I’m sorry. I’ll go finish stuff and head home in a couple of hours. I’ll be back on tomorrow.

224 thoughts on “So, Away From Home Today….”

  1. Please, adventure away!

    In fact, instead of recounting your adventures, perhaps have your readers make their own fantasy description of Sarah’s jaunt into the unknown.

    Without a dongle.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Sarah is visiting the secret lair of the ultra-bottom-feeder meme lord mastermind, where she will be instilled with the secrets of conspiracy and insanity, in which to now she has only dibbled. :)

    She will be returned to us well marinated but still incapable of spewing word salads in the fashion of our political betters.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. This would explain the reports of her recent emergence from a known passage to the hollow earth, bearing sn unknown manuscript dated 1803, author listed only as “by a lady”…

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    1. Some security features on phones or computers require adapters to other gizmos. (IT boss at Day Job has one for when he has to get into [redacted] academic [redacted].)

      Liked by 3 people

      1. I wonder if she’s referring to the dongle that enhances the microelectronic cerebral cortex enhancers recently implanted to speed certain mental processes and telepathic functions.

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      2. I can neither confirm or deny that I may need external hardware to access “corporate resources”.

        Very similar to the phrase I had to use while in the military about weapons and such.

        I’ve considered adding additional security to my personal Linux devices like a Yubikey or a card, but if someone can’t defeat the system encryption, they can always beat me with a tool.

        Could use a Maxim 1-Wire token. Cool device, used them and helped make them back in the day when I was at Dallas Semiconductor. Don’t know if you can get the really fun stuff anymore, but technology has evolved since then.

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    2. I suppose the receiver for a wireless mouse could also qualify as a dongle. Trackpads and I do not get along, so wireless-less would be a royal PITA.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hubby is the same way, he hates trackpads. Me? Mouse or trackball trigger the tendinitis, badly. Has for decades. I love trackpads.

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        1. Part of it is the difficulty scrolling with a pad, and I’ve had trouble where a finger hit the pad and moved my cursor to elsewhere in the text.

          I used to have a really nice mouse that let me keep a natural wrist angle. ‘Twas a balled mouse, and when it died, I couldn’t find a duplicate. I try to keep mouse usage below the level of causing pain. Went down the carpal tunnel route, though never needed surgery, but have little desire to trigger a flare. There’s a gel pack in the freezer just in case.

          The big help for me is the MS “natural” split keyboard. I use one of the laptops when I’m traveling, but a straight keyboard is not good for me. I do more reading (or watching a movie on the laptop) more than typing when I’m on the road. Depends a lot on the kind of trip. Medical trips put my eyes down for reading for a while. Dilation effects last 8 hours, but the first four are the worst.

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          1. Working I used a split keyboard. Laptop, my small Surface keyboard is fine. Hubby and son’s not so much. When the tendinitis started I feared carpal tunnel. Wasn’t that. Hubby has had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists. Not keyboard or factory work caused. Repetitive pounding damage from stabbing green logs checking anomalies for unseen rot, and constant holding of first a clipboard thing, later with two different type of handheld computers, and tape measure, for 30+ years (I only did that for 3 years, never used the handheld computers).

            Liked by 1 person

  11. Your adventuring companions look less … rephrase. They look lower mileage than my trouble buddies. (“Old enough to know better, young enough to try it anyway, experienced enough to do it with stealth.”)

    Liked by 1 person

        1. “The MU casts sleep.”

          “I sneak around for a backstab.”

          “Fling axe!”

          “any chips left?”

          “People! This is Traveller!”

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            2. Trying for the “free” scout ship, right?

              Or just rolling for all “alphabet” and none of theose pesky numbers.

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  12. Sarah, what have we told you about leaving the house?

    Being reported today that somebody tried to whack #TheDonald -again-, this time with an “AK” in the bushes at the golf course. #InvincibleDonald is ok, perp reported caught, all very up in the air right now.

    No comment from the Secret Service at this time, they had to wake up whatever DEI hire they have running Florida right now I guess.

    Liked by 2 people

          1. And of course the morning of the attempt, the Democrats were doing their usual talk-show circuit declaring Trump to be literally Hitler and anyone who votes for him to be a literal Nazi. They clearly are inciting the attempts to murder Trump, and knowingly doing so.

            Liked by 3 people

        4. That story is, as typical of early reporting, confused, written both as the shots fired were USSS when they spotted the guy and that they returned fire.

          And I like this para in the Newsmax story:

          A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation said officials were trying to determine whether the shots were fired near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course or on the grounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

          Translation: The AP called some schlub in the FBI or ATF or some other random Fed LE agency that they have in their contacts list as a known leaker, and that schlub knew not one thing other than what’s in the media including where things happened, so the oh so ethical j-skool grads at the AP put that not-knowing-anything out as a “news” item. Heh.

          Liked by 1 person

        5. Sounds like the SS guy on the next hole spotted the shooter, and started firing at him, with the shooter attempting to fire back, and then fleeing. IDK. Like we say, wait 72 hours before we know anything for real.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Erick Woods, who is a serious, I-don’t-like-Trump but Imhate what I see from the Ds more sort, says early reports say the wannabe is a progressive nut-job. He also thinks the Party is inciting violence.

            Liked by 1 person

          2. Dweeb is an optimist. Scope on an AK, kinda an oxymoron in most cases. 500 meter attempt with an AK is … humorous.

            (assumes “scope” is the precision/sniper type, not a red dot)

            Just dumb.

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              1. From what I’ve read, the shooter wasn’t planning on firing from 500 meters; more like 200-250. The Secret Service agent engaged early, while Trump was walking to the hole and was 500-600 meters away when the shots started.

                Liked by 1 person

              2. I am told by a SME the gas system is “SKS”, not “AK”. So possibly a franken-gun bubbasmithed.

                Still, highly sub-optimum for the chosen scenario.

                Trump continues to be blessed with idiots.

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        1. I’m blaming you anyway. Because it is fun to have someone to blame. Particularly when she’s not to blame. ~:D

          I know it wasn’t me this time, I did not go for a bike ride today and I cleaned NOTHING. Last time I went out into a peaceful world for a rip on my bike and came back to that picture of #TheDonald with his fist in the air.

          How f-ed is it we’re saying “last time” and “this time” incidentally. Like ”last time I was at the store the ice cream was on sale.” How many swings at the pinata do they get?

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          1. Um…I’ve been on a cleaning spree, AND hitting my writing goals. Could have been me. I’ll need to keep records and see if there’s a pattern.

            Liked by 1 person

    3. The stories seem to be “evolving”, so I’m keeping the 24 Hour Rule in mind, and maybe stretching it to 72. One or two suspicious people, who may or may not have shot, and a Secret Service agent who may or may not have shot. Supposedly one person was arrested on the nearby interstate. There might have been an AK 47 left behind.

      Insty’s take on the SS agent missing the gunman: “kinda par for the course with the Secret Service these days.”

      Liked by 3 people

      1. The stories seem to be “evolving”

        —

        When the Fed supposedly took out Bin Laden in his “compound”, there were stories at the NBC, CNN, Reuters, BBC, etc. web sites.

        The stories were various that it was the USAF, the Navy, a joint CIA/Pakistani security team, and some others. The attack was variously with rockets, tanks, ground assault, or air cavalry.

        Over a few hours they merged into the now-accepted narrative. All the old pages went away, and even the next day, almost nobody even remembered them. We had always been at war with eastasia.

        I had always had doubts about some news stories, but that was the point where I realized that they will simply staight-out lie. The average attention span is so short they mostly get away with it.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. If the agent was responding with an issue 9mm sidearm, against a suspect behind a fence over 100 meters away and possibly as much as 200m, weeds, and two ballistic plates hung on the fence, the agent was essentially trying to “plunge fire” on the shooter. A hit under the circumstances would have been near-miraculous absent significant prior practice at such range.

        Assuming he had a great estimate of range, and assuming it was over 100m to target, what would his “holdover” have been with an issue 9mm sidearm? 2 or 3 feet? Most LEOs don’t train with a handgun at 100+ meters.

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        1. Agent could be using a 5.7 x 28mm firearm. Is used by some security details for handguns and other configurations.

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        2. Happily, the blob/deep state/left is too frakking incompetent at this point to pull a Parallax View on Kamala and turn national sentiment against MAGA. They fat-fingered the cover-up on the first try on Trump, and this one looks like the shooter was given inside info, which dollars to donuts will be traceable back to DOJ, if not higher, if somebody competent investigates.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. if somebody competent investigates.

            Yeah, the Cult of Ron is all a-flutter because he’s announced the State of FL is going to conduct its’ own investigation.

            Bitch, please. You do any actual thing and Merrick will have you arrested for obstructing a federal investigation.

            Liked by 1 person

            3. Any number of Florida laws were broken in that fiasco. Quite correct for state, county, and local investigations. Lots of chew toys to go around.

              Looks like the USSS fired into/across the roadway behind the chain-link fence. Although at the likely range it was more like plunging fire as 9mm doesn’t have a very good trajectory, even out of a carbine. I wonder if any vehicles have odd looking “rock hits”.

              -Lots- of potential pots to stir….

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            4. I’m tired of the, “Cult of Ron,” crap. I strongly suspect someone or someones with Ds in their backgrounds are helping gin up animosity between Trump and DeSantis supporters. Some of it’s native, but someone is helping it along. Keeping your enemy divided and so forth.

              Liked by 1 person

                1. I refer to it as the Cult of Ron because their answer to every issue is “OrangeManBad, DeSantis would be better on every issue because the same structural problems that OrangeManBad was too stupid to get past (or was lying about trying) would just melt away in the face of the awesomeness that is DeSantis.”

                  No.

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                1. Agree.

                  Correct response is:

                  “Sure. Uh huh.

                  Because Ronny could do any better with 3 against 1? Please …”

                  While rolling eyes, hoping the eyes don’t roll under the couch again.

                  Liked by 1 person

                2. If Ron were the nominee, the debate probably would have been more fact-oriented and set my policy-wonk-heart aflutter. No one would remember a damn thing about it the next day, though.

                  I don’t like Trump. I think DeSantis is better on policy and on getting a legislature and adminstrative agencies to work for him instead of against him. But no one can fire up a crowd or make comments go viral like he does. Which is why he will be president again, and DeSantis will stay in Florida for the next four years.

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                  1. No. This is a fantasy. No. Yes, if Ron were debating with himself, maybe.
                    But by now they would have started several crazy accusations against DeStantis the he’d have to defend himself from in debate. And be fact checked on.

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                3. The moderators would have been just as bad for Ron, with lots of, “Don’t Say Gay, ” nonsense. Assuming a Biden-DeSantis debate had the same result.

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                  1. The Reader believe you are right about a DeSantis – Harris debate. And the DeSantis – Biden debate would have had the same outcome. The purpose of that debate was to provide the public pretext to drive Biden out of the race. That is the only reason the CNN ‘moderators’ were so ‘evenhanded’. The Reader does wonder how the Democrats would have done it without that debate. Opportunity for speculative political fiction.

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                    1. I have a different impression of the July debate. It was not so much a pretext as a proving ground, a test of whether Biden could plausibly hold up even as a Potemkin candidate. As we know, he pulled the equivalent of missing his own name on the SATs.

                      The moderators were probably fully willing to be as impartial as ABC’s were [ahem], but when he showed right out of the gate that he was a cognitive wreck, they mostly let things be, aside from pulling him out of a verbal cul-de-sac or two. (Really, does anyone believe Dana Bash wouldn’t have been partisan to the hilt if she’d thought there was a chance it would do any good?) I don’t say they were in on the use of the debate as a go/no-go decision point … but would it really surprise us if we learned they had been?

                      Republica restituendae, et, Hamas delenda est.

                      Liked by 1 person

                  3. Look what they did to the squish, Romney. ANY Republican, no matter how much of a RINO they are, while actively running against a Democrat, will be given the “literally the next Hitler” treatment, until the point that they lose, in which case they will referenced as “more Republicans need to be like ‘insert name of losing Republican here'”.

                    They particularly hate Trump because he calls out their BS and fights back, and doesn’t simply take it. They loathe that he refuses to be Charlie Brown to their Lucy.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    2. They hate anyone who isn’t them or even appears to oppose them.

                      They -fear- Trump. He -terrifies- them, because he is -effective- at out gaming them often enough to make it look not only possible, not only easy, but -fun-.

                      The Dude occasionally outplays them at the humiliation game. Thus, britches-(poop)in terrified.

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                    3. Worse. They thought Trump was in THEIR pocket, because NY businessman democrat. Except he wasn’t. I doubt he ever was. But had no reason to appose them directly. Until, he did.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    4. Sheesh, McCain was practically one of them on key issues and look at the vitriol directed his way when he was an opponent.

                      I still see the occasional faded “(deleted)/Palin” clipped campaign sticker on older cars. The shock was seeing a fresh one on a brand new SUV. Someone is carrying a grudge that’s been to a taxidermist.

                      Liked by 1 person

            1. Crazies can get lucky. We have a long history of them. Look at the conga-line line of lunacy that tried to pop Ford.

              Then again, “Trump is in town” + “Trump has a local golf course” + “Wow, just a chain link fence, and the brush is thin in this one place….” adds up to “opportunity for the patient”.

              Keep in mind, candidates and ex-presidents do -not- get the Presidential treatment by USSS. Folks might be shocked at how those differ.

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              1. “candidates and ex-presidents do -not- get the Presidential treatment by USSS. Folks might be shocked at how those differ.”

                ……………

                Fox News has been pointing this out repeatably, again, and again, and …. you get the message. That because of this, rather than DJT being complicate in the latest assassination attempt, the administration is multiply so, at minimum: The rhetoric. The lack of adequate security coverage.

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                1. Presstitutes, broadcasting endlessly: “Hey! Everybody! Trump has inadequate security! SomeDood might get lucky! …. I -said- inadequate! SomeDood might get lucky!

                  Yeah, totally meant to be helpful…..

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            2. He didn’t have to. He knew that Trump is an avid golfer, and that when he’s at Maralago he uses his own course.

              Trump’s schedule isn’t exactly secret. For all we know, he could have been hiding in those bushes every day for the last two months.

              Obsession gets interesting that way.

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              1. The golfing was apparently a late add-on to his agenda for the day, while the would-be-assassin was apparently in his blind for 12 hours. He was clearly tipped, and given that he was active in working to recruit fighters for Ukraine, and did interviews with Democratic Party outlets including the NY Times, he as all the hallmarks of being a CIA operative. Fortunately the level of people the CIA uses tends towards incompetence.

                Liked by 1 person

                  1. Right off the bat -garbage article.

                    They call the rifle an AR-15. Plenty of folks misidentify it as an AK type, which it resembled, when it was actually a “bubba-ed” SKS. But in no way is it an “AR-15” other than both are rifle-format mag-fed repeating pew-pews.

                    If they can’t even get on the right continent for the gun, no need to bother much with the other details they didn’t even cursory check.

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                2. Examine the “sniper hide” and it shpuld be fairly easy to determine how long and how often occupied.

                  For example, Florida is tropical. Even in September, one must consume much water to make up the inevitable sweat. Even running “dehydrated”, he had to relieve himself. He either contained it or didn’t. Both provide a decent time-sign. Likewise litter from food, damage vegetation from coming and going. Any needed dumps. Cigarette butts, cellphone hits, etc. Local security cams might provide his cycle times, etc.

                  “Loon gets lucky” is always the default safe bet in the USA. It’s a proven thing. “Bodyguard Treachery” is the global #1 with “lucky loon” at #2.

                  But I think someone should have asked some SF types to walk the fence and identify potential sniper hides, and either clear-cut them or load them up with “bayonet palms” and other noxious area-denial vegetation. Plus eatablish regular checks for stationary or recurring “hobos”.

                  The Loon made some very basic mistakes in fieldcraft and camouflage. No doubt several folks here see them.

                  Ditto the mustakes by the surveillance/ counter-surveillance team.

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                3. if this was not just a lucky Loon, I suspect that any handler provided a dud gun, and the intent was “minions succeed. look good.”

                  Materials and outcome strongly suggest a “showboat”.

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                  1. Wondering about the “unusually helpful” witness that facilitated capture.

                    The Loon has a huge online footprint, bonkers left and TDS. Maybe he was supposed to be “chased off” and “lost in traffic”, later to get the discreet dead mouse disposal. Enter Mister Busybody who fills in enough blanks for local po-po to bag loon.

                    Oops. Loon is “surprisingly” connected!

                    Is the helpful person a random gadfly, or another webbed up player?

                    Possible intent was to alter Trump behavior and “show fear”, maybe moderate his game plans.

                    Or just a really, really crude try by a known Loon lucky amateur.

                    Either way, still stupid.

                    No luck required to spot Trump on a course he us known to play, where the press have published lots of pics online that imply “in range”. All severally needed was a good “Trump on Nth hole” pic, a layout of the course, and to walk the perimeter to find where the Presstitute had to have stood. No luck needed when it is common knowledge that security is lax.

                    Example: walk around the target. Any signs of patrolling? Random and enthusiastic or on-schedule rote walkaround with no energy? Do they poke, prod, and question, or just amble?

                    Luck is manufactured by cunning and more so by determination. And lunatics often have both.

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              1. “Trump is there” is public.

                The course has observable points is public

                the layout is public.

                Trump will play is odds on favorite bet. Thus public.

                Trump’s security has issues: public.

                Loon needed no inside info or help to produce the event. None.

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            4. Reading the conspiracy blog (ie, two weeks* before reality), he’s figuring that there’s a leak in Homeland Insecurity and the details are going to a certain three-letter agency with a tendency to support wannabe terrorists. Sometimes, they’ll even stop the wannabes before the deed is done, others, notsomuch.

              ((*)) This one might take longer than two weeks, but the results (rather, lack thereof) of the July assassination “investigation” seem instructive.

              I’m pretty sure it was a weasel, and not a cat.

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              1. Given that the White House in its press briefing effectively endorsed the efforts to kill Trump by doubling down on declaring that he is a “threat to democracy”, it is very believable that they are playing an active role in facilitating efforts to murder Trump:

                https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/09/17/watch-white-house-says-doocys-question-about-the-word-threat-is-incredibly-dangerous/

                Needless to say questioning the White House is deemed to be “dangerous”.

                They have made it clear that they intend to prevent Trump from being President again “by any means necessary” up to and including murdering him. Period.

                Liked by 1 person

            5. Day ending in Y when Trump is in town and has a course there. Routinely checks them by playing the game he loves.

              A serious error of predictability. He better effin delegate more of that crap until 2030.

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          3. I looked up Wikipedia on that film. Thank God I never saw it.

            Although it did occur to me that the whole premise falls apart of the super-secret evil corporation had the basic sense NOT to kill all the potential witnesses. But it’s a nightmare disguised as a story.

            Liked by 2 people

            2. Never saw it either, but the company going after so many presidential timber people and witnesses is a bit over the top. Didn’t see any names from Midsomer Murders, and the body count is excessive for even that show.

              Three Days of the Condor was a very tiny more believable, though going to the NYT to blow the conspiracy is gobsmackingly naive, nowadays.

              At least it wasn’t such a downer as TPV. (Saw Three days in a double feature with All The President’s Men. More fantasy disguised as Truecrime.)

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          2. ‘Somebody’ in the Georgia state government is reinstating fraudulent voter registrations faster than they can be removed.

            Every one of which is going to ‘vote’ for Kackling Kamela.

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                    2. Challenge accepted. :)

                      Marketing proposal for swag T-shirt.

                      “I’ve been killed by Sarah Hoyt! Film at 11.”

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        2. There’s a reason Jesus’ prayer on the crucifixion was, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

          These guys don’t know either, even when they think they do. Especially when they think they do.

          Liked by 1 person

        5. (To the Leftroids in that novel….)

          “This is not your dream.”

          “It won’t be over soon.”

          “You won’t enjoy it.”

          (kzin grin)

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    6. Thus demonstrating the need for common-sense leftist control. I feel the need to make to put forth A Modest Proposal to those ends. Key aspects should be requiring background checks, registration of leftists, limiting capacity of leftist institutions (nobody needs a high-capacity leftist institution!), and waiting periods between obtaining more leftist stupidity.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. There was that “alternate Superman” animated (Justice League?), where Lex Luthor goads Supes one too many times that “You cannot kill me, but I can kill -them- if you don’t surrender….” Supes decides He Has Had Enough of Luthor’s Shit, and laser-gaze lobotomizes Luthor. (!!!) Batman quips “I am good with that.” Later, a rogues gallery of laser-lobotomized supervillans go about their harmless if grumpy routines. Lobotomized-Joker gardening in Arkham, etc. All have an odd dark blemish on their foreheads and mild dispositions. There rest of the folks, the normals, are in abject terror of seeming aggressive in the slightest.

        Was shocked to see it. -Definitely- not kidvid. Eventually the “real” Justice League put a stop to the Justice Lords, and the world goes back to “normal” of mass murdering supervillains constantly at war with superheros, free of -highly- oppressive pacifying demigods.

        Was supposed to be a slam on the “solve it for good” method, but if it was only dialed up to a three instead of eleven, kinda would cut down on the mayhem…. (grin)

        Just hard to put the Kryptonian back in his bottle, absent a timely Batman synth-kryptonite-bullet “now its your turn”.

        ….

        (Syndrome voice) “That turned rather … dark… “

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        1. There was another one where the Joker and Scarecrow crossed the river into Metropolis, kidnapped Lois Lane and tricked Superman into killing her. After punching a huge hole right through the Joker, Superman turned vigilante along with a few other fed-up members of the Justice League. They’re determined to end crime and war at any cost.

          The cost turns out to be…high.

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  13. Who is this Don Gle?

    Wasn’t he on the TV show Mad Men? Or was that a crime boss in the Sopranos? A side character in Old California, ally of De La Vega? One of the Cossacks near the River? The subject of the Petulah Clark hit? She seems to want him/it, so the Animals’ ‘Don’t bring me Don’ is not right.

    Perhaps Sarah is Gettin’ Don, with visible Gle. It’s the holidays, and she Dons her Gle apparel. She’s visiting Oxford and seeking a happy academic. She rose early and happily saw the sunrise.

    Niagra Falls! Sloooowly I turn …

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  14. Dongle. Now there’s a term I haven’t heard for a long time. A long time. Not since the classical bronze age when tech ads were rude and crude and politically incorrect. Before the dark times.

    Liked by 2 people

            2. As usual, the lowest bidder.

              Been a while since I watched the movies, but I don’t recall scenes where the White Lobsters were using anything like sights on their blasters.

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              1. Since Luke seemed to be able to make pretty good shots with his liberated stormtrooper issue blaster, and Leia and Han were not so bad either, my theory is the stormtrooper helmet integrated sooperdooper sighting assist system, which was contracted to Palpatine’s cousin, Bubba Palpatine, is the source of all the poor-basic-marksmanship-stormtrooper issues.

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                1. Years ago I came up with my own version of the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy rules for (tabletop) RPGs. They have the Delusion disadvantage “I am an excellent shot.” So they fire rapidly without aiming, expecting their Excellent Marksmanship to deal with the penalties without difficulty. Only that Excellent Marksmanship isn’t there, and their accuracy drops through the floor.

                  Against redshirts (orange shirts in Star Wars) the firefights last long enough and produce enough shots that a <1% hit rate actually produces casualties.

                  And against long-range targets, they do take their time to aim, and their accuracy rises back up to good but not great, or at least to better than the average scruffy nerf-herder.

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  15. Trying to bring together some Springfield video posts by locals. If you sift through enough of them, you get a pretty good picture of what’s going on and who’s at fault.

    (A staffing company named First Diversity Staffing. OMG, smarmiest website ever.)

    Annoyingly, one guy had a good video post, and then went on Fox News and basically said the opposite once dressed up in his nice suit. I mean, yes, he’s a politician, but he already posted something different! What the heck, why don’t you stand by your story??

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Anyway, another weeeeird thing is that none of these Haitians seem to be attending any of the Catholic churches in town. Zero. Zip.

      I mean, I guess it’s possible that they’re all Lutherans or Church of the Nazarene or Voudoun-only, but demographically that seems unlikely.

      And there’s a fair amount of Hispanic outreach through at least a couple of the Catholic parishes, including a bilingual church bulletin, but nothing in French. There’s lots of donation to personal hygiene item drives, and to soup kitchens for the homeless and jobless, and to St. Vincent de Paul, but apparently nothing else.

      Apparently the parishes are trying to help a “church-based literacy program” called Festa, that is hosted at the Nazarene church, and which seems to be aimed at Haitians pretty exclusively. But it doesn’t say that outright, so it might be focused on several ethnic groups?

      Honestly, this whole situation seems bizarre. I wonder if the staffing agency is making the Haitians work shifts on Saturdays and Sundays, so that there’s no time for them to go to Mass or church if they wanted to?

      Liked by 3 people

  16. Okay… I poked around some more, and apparently Haitians started out attending Masses at the various Springfield parishes, but nobody really knew enough Creole/French to minister specifically to them. Last year there was a special Mass organized in October, with help from Creole-speaking priests from out of town.

    And so there’s now a Sunday afternoon Mass at St. Raphael’s that said in Haitian Creole, every week, which is nice, but it still highlights how the staffing agency just dropped these people on the town without a thought of how they’d live, other than working their jobs.

    Liked by 3 people

  18. Add that the Commiela said they had given these Hatians protective status, which gives them special privileges, it explains why there’s no move to teach them English. They might learn that they have other options…

    Can’t help wondering which NGO arranged all this, and how much they’re giving the Big Guy.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. can you imagine how bad people smelled in the era of that picture,

    i mean lets be honest, i know after a day of packing about the old construction site i generally am less than fresh and i bathe regularly,

    but back in the days of yore, with maybe a bath a week or so after pillaging and battling the invaders and swilling grog with your crew,

    hee heee,

    ok ok, way off the edge, i know

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      1. There were a lot of cultures where, even if they didn’t bathe regularly, they washed regularly all over.

        One scrubby cloth and a bowl of water will get rid of a lot of dirt, and adding soap or scrapeable oil will remove even more.

        Especially since, if they don’t wash, sweaty adults tend to get serious skin problems, growths, etc.

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        1. A historian tested a Victorian sponge bath and found she could keep herself to modern hygiene standards.

          HOWEVER — there were a lot of serious skin problems in the day. Famously, the hippies brought ’em back and the doctors “were treating diseases no living doctor had ever encountered before, diseases that disappeared so long ago they never even picked up Latin names, diseases such as the mange, the grunge, the itch, the twitch, the thrush, the scruff, the rot.” As Tom Wolfe put it.

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    2. When you have to chop the wood to heat the water, then haul the water, you tend to have a more tolerant nose.

      OTOH, the Elizabethan recommendation was rub yourself all over with a coarse linen cloth, then wear linen against the skin and have both linens washed regularly. A historian tried this by way of experiment and concluded it worked up to modern standards. If, of course, you could get the laundry done. And if you couldn’t, you probably couldn’t afford to bathe, either.

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    3. When they began salvaging Spanish ships from the era of the Armada / treasure fleets, they found hundreds of little glass / ceramic vials with stoppers. No one could figure out what they were for until they happened to get some that still had contents.

      They were perfume to be applied to the gentlemen’s mustaches so they couldn’t smell their surroundings…..

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        1. Don’t forget about pomanders. Leo Frankowski provided a…colorful description of a medieval Polish city in ‘The Cross-Time Engineer’ which concluded with “now cover it all in half a yard of shit and you have the reality.” There was more to the stink than just the people.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. And folks wonder why the Army is so fanatic about cleanliness is next to First Sergeant not smoking your ass….

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          2. Since it is merely Ides of September, and things are already bouncing aroud “bonkers”, really wondering what “October Surprise” may bring us.

            Liked by 1 person

          3. Well, that was Poland.

            In a Roman city, you could trust the water, and there were entire industries using up poop and urine.

            In an early medieval city, you could coast off the Roman system or wooden pipes for fresh water, and you still had industries using up poop and urine.

            In early modern times, or in areas outside the ex-Romansphere, things rapidly went to sh**, so to speak.

            I don’t know why the poop/urine industries were no longer able to handle things. (Except in Paris, where apparently they kept up until the early 20th century.)

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            1. I think it depended on the local market for night soil. If it had value, people collected it and sold it, or used it themselves (fullers, saltpeter makers, tanners, farmers). If there wasn’t a market, it went into the river (maybe) or just piled up.

              My $.02.

              Liked by 1 person

            2. …you could trust the water…

              That right there is pretty much the biggest thing for general cleanliness in cities. Rome also had lots of municipal slaves to clean up all the horse poop in the streets from the nighttime-only deliveries within the city bounds before the populace was up and about.

              Even in what’s generally considered the modern era with reasonable access to clean water, the sheer volume of horse poop on larger city streets was staggering, but it’s usually not mentioned because it was just unavoidable. Things like dead dray horses abandoned on city streets were sometimes mentioned in letters to the editor complaints as a nuisance that the municipal authorities were falling down on dealing with.

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  20. Adventures should be fun. I hope yours is.

    I, on the other hand nearly had a heart attack last night watching NDSU get throttled by a rebuilding East Tennessee State team that wasn’t expected to finish in the top half of the their own conference. But somehow the Bison, down by 12 with under 5 minutes to play pulled out a win. I think they might still be the only D-I team with a winning record when trailing in the 4th quarter.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I read that for a second as you having an actual heart attack.

      Between the attempt in Trump, and indirect family issues we learned about today, I feel like crap.

      Liked by 1 person

  21. I hope your weekend without internet was relaxing, fun, and productive… and hope the productive was in snuggles with your husband and progress on relaxing, whether or not any words were written!

    Liked by 1 person

  22. My good medical news is that the LPN approved of how I’d been tending my second degree burn on my arm and prescribed some silver sulfa cream which has really done the trick. Exhaust manifolds get hot quickly, y’all.

    And the Chevy hasn’t overheated since I adjusted the hose leading to the new thermostat housing Monday.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. We interrupt your usual insanity to bring you this new and even more insane insanity, with extra Kray-Kray.

    Someone just detonated 1000+ cellular devices in Lebanon.

    YGBFSM!

    https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/hezbollah-terrorists-war/2024/09/17/id/1180648/

    Someone just opened a whole new can of antipersonnel whoopass, extra terror.

    Shit. If those devices were ordinary, not adulterated with HE or pyro, this is going to be …. Bad, Very bad.

    Because the method has to leak. Just too useful, and the Djinn is out of the lamp.

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    2. If it’s cell phones as well, I guess the people that walk around with them on speaker holding them horizontally in front of their mouth we’ll away from their head have the right idea…

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      2. I do this. Not because of any fear of whatever is suppose to be “bad”. I just don’t like holding the phone to my ear. It is on speaker, or using earbuds (because working out and listening to music), I do not have to hold the phone. Out in public? Well if they are listening to my side, might as well hear the other side (I’m less entertaining). Besides in stores like Costco, or Fred Meyers, or outside, I can’t hear with phone not on speaker because of all the echoing of the wide open spaces. Anyone who knows me, knows I do this. If it is a call that shouldn’t be public, phone id means I let it ring to voice message, and call back.

        My SIL however, has a phone case that she closes to use hold up next to her ear. WTH? Given she partly deaf (doesn’t hear my soft voice, which, granted, is a lousy comparison), how she hears anything? No clue. She said it is to “block” the phone radiation. My response was a simple. “Okay.” Meant “Okaaaaaaaaaay”. But avoided that.

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    4. No mention of deaths, just injuries. But, it sure identified everyone in the network … I could see specific intelligence working to get specific rigged pagers into terrorist networks. Or make it seem like they did. Just because per article not every pager exploded within a specific area, just those in the hands of the terrorists. (OTOH pagers are such old tech, would random people not linked to terrorists actually be using them?)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Likely reaction, shut off or ditch commo devices. Opportunity for someone to then strike in the commo blackout, maybe snatch teams or hit teams.

        Looks like someone decided that they too can play the random terror game. And, in a novel and thus extra scary way.

        Just, wow.

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      2. The Telegraph article mentions 8 deaths. It also mentions that these were supposedly “new” pagers just delivered. Occam sez: someone inside the supply change knew who was getting them and arranged something.

        Apparently Hezzbollah had to ditch cell phones since they are too vulnerable.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Yes. I didn’t see the second article until after I posted.

          “Occam sez: someone inside the supply change knew who was getting them and arranged something.”

          …………

          Yes. That is what was said in the WIkipedia page. Just means not a flaw in the devices themselves. Also means someone was paying attention and on the ball to get to the items in the pipeline to get them rigged. The incident is scary in itself. The planning to get the to the items and then pull this off? Eek!

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    5. It’s probably a bit of C4 or like explosive added inside the case. Featured in previous operations using cell phones, etc, but not on this scale. Probably collateral damage concerns limited widescale use until this point.

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      1. Suggestion is the batteries went off. FWIW.

        The memes are already out and amusing. (Image of a pager screen, with the following message: SHALOM.)

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    6. The current story is Hezbollah decided smartphones were dangerous and reverted to flip phones and pagers. And somebody (Mossad, cough, cough) hacked the pagers. The fertility rate in southern Lebabnon may have just taken a hit…

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