Innocent Bystanders

From the “I Tried Not to Click” Headlines Department September 29, 2020

. . . but I am weak and imperfect.

Escaping through a predator’s butt is a common strategy for prey

Living the Dream September 28, 2020

Sadly, we missed our big chance. A chance for what?

A chance to buy a home with the interior completely covered in Budweiser cans:

To my dismay, the 815 square foot Florida condo sold for $100K earlier this month. I guess I’ll just have to hope that something similar comes up on the market from someone who loves Tab.

Plenty more pics of the subtle and tasteful beer can treatment at the link.

The Dems Set Religious Tolerance Back 60 Years September 26, 2020

The Left’s hysteria over Amy Coney Barrett’s “extreme” Catholicism reminds me of the anti-Catholicism that plagues presidential candidates back in the 50’s and 60’s. Y’all may recall JFK’s troubles with being Catholic:

John Kennedy’s Catholicism, perhaps more than any specific legislative or policy issue, dominated the early days of his campaign.

…

Many Americans were fearful that a Catholic in the White House would be under the direction of the Vatican, and the Pope, and that the constitutional separation of church and state would be compromised.

The Dems wanted everybody to be more open-minded back then, and they were right – so far as I’m aware, JFK’s Catholicism didn’t influence the execution of his presidential duties.

The Dems have forgotten their roots and are wallowing in the bigotry they previously rejected.

Mecha Arrives (a Little) September 22, 2020

Since Sobek has practically entered the field of anime, I thought I’d inspire him by showing recent (sped-up) footage of the 60-foot tall Gundam robot being built in Japan. For those of you who don’t know, the Gundam giant robot (mecha) oeuvre started in 1979 and has been going strong with TV series, movies, and plastic models ever since. This robot is part of a Gundam theme park that would have opened this year, but for the evil scrunge that plagues the world.

But the heck with that – what it really comes down to is: Giant Robots Are Way Cool.

Maybe 2020 will be remembered more fondly than I thought.

Terror Slithers Towards Us September 13, 2020

Sad to think that government regulation of toilet technology has brought us the much-loathed low-flush toilet, when what we really, really, really need is:

Snake-Proof Toilets

Because even though this story happened in Thailand, I’m thinking I’ll no longer be able to completely relax on the john.

A Thai teen lived out every man’s worst nightmare after a snake sunk its fangs into his penis while he was on the john.

…

Masukarat recalls watching smartphone videos on the toilet when all of sudden he felt a searing pain in his nether region. The university student looked down to discover a nightmarish sight — a 4-foot python with its jaws clamped around the tip of his penis.

I’ve heard other “snake in the toilet” stories over the years, so the threat is real and consistent, and at least as pressing as dealing with the North Korean missile situation.

Yet I don’t see this issue on any of the political parties’ agendas.

Faux Hysteria Over South Dakota (Again) September 13, 2020

The press is starting to dump on South Dakota (and North Dakota) again:

Dakotas lead US in virus growth as both reject mask rules

 

Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned debates over masks and personal freedom after months in which the two states avoided the worst of the pandemic.

Doesn’t take much acumen to see that cases have been declining for the last week and a half, after a brief peak in late August (Sturgis?).

I don’t think South Dakota has much to worry about.

Pepper September 12, 2020

This is Pepper:

I have no pets. Mrs. S made it clear when we were dating that she is not a pet person, and I loved her more than pets so I was willing to marry her and accept that we would not have pets. I’m confident that I made the right choice, but I do love pets, so I play with other people’s pets whenever I can.

Also, I like to read the Ace of Spades pet thread and give the animals there virtual hugs. This week, Theresa in Ft. Worth submitted a pic of her puppy Pepper. I am officially in love with Pepper. I would definitely scratch Pepper behind the ears, if given the opportunity.

NPR Stumbles Upon the Awful Truth About Plastics September 12, 2020

Probably comes as no surprise to you, as it didn’t to me, but NPR of all people just published an “exposé” of the myth of plastics recycling. I, like everybody else, faithfully toss all my plastic containers into the recycling bin every week. But I never had much confidence in the notion that it was doing the environment any good.

And it’s not:

Here’s the basic problem: All used plastic can be turned into new things, but picking it up, sorting it out and melting it down is expensive. Plastic also degrades each time it is reused, meaning it can’t be reused more than once or twice.

On the other hand, new plastic is cheap. It’s made from oil and gas, and it’s almost always less expensive and of better quality to just start fresh.

All of these problems have existed for decades, no matter what new recycling technology or expensive machinery has been developed. In all that time, less than 10 percent of plastic has ever been recycled. But the public has known little about these difficulties.

But since our sense of self-satisfaction and moral superiority was amply fed by our empty gesture, I guess we shouldn’t be too critical.

COVID-19 Update: Through 9/11/2020 September 12, 2020

We’re sitting at around 760 official deaths/day at this point. Here’s the graph, courtesy of Worldometer.com.

At the peak we were at 2256, and at the low in July we were at 519.