I’ve seen kites that looked more convincing. There are now some real, functional flying cars, although they are still far too expensive to be practical. This is not one of them.

There’s no point in explaining what you do to someone who isn’t going to understand your answer.

The whole Trump administration are operating like terrorists. They don’t necessarily care about the results of any particular offense, the goal is to discourage anyone from standing against them.

I despise Meta, and always have, but the company I hate most is… …the entire health insurance industry. UnitedHealth is the worst, but there isn’t one among them that isn’t ruining lives and killing people on a surprisingly large scale every single day.

We need to start saying “former US allies”. That damage is done.

I love this!

Our version has some white mixed in with the black. I theorize that is Hawking radiation crossing the event horizon.

It is probably worth noting that I am removing the DRM so I can read them on devices that do not have Kindle apps.

Nothing is certain, but it looks like you will still be able to download books into local memory so you can read them. As long as the apps still work that way, it will be possible to access the book files.

You do need a tool that can remove the DRM from the books files the Kindle uses. DeDRM used to do this nicely, but it has not been updated to handle the most recent version of Kindle DRM. It will not works on any books published since early 2024.

There are commercial options that can remove even the latest DRM from Kindle books. I use Epubor Ultimate. It was the first to handle the most recent Kindle DRM, but I’m sure there are others by now.

What sunset? All I see is a magnificent cat.

Not complete, but fairly close. Any background talking makes it difficult.

You have a very patient cat. Most would have shredded your hand at some point in there.

Well, not legally. We need to make that matter again.

I’m still looking for ways to work toward that, short of violence.

Don’t take any wooden nickels.

And give no quarter to your enemies.

:-)

Blazing Saddles (1974) The Yakuza (1974) Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

All three movies are exceptional in their own right and all three broke a lot of new ground by blending cultural and genre conventions in new ways.

Television Announcer: And now, the penguin on top of your television set will explode. {BOOOM!} Watcher: How’d he know that? Television Announcer: It was an inspired guess.

The multiple layers of cognitive dissonance are wonderful.

That is such a thoughtful expression. Also, adorable.

The words “from overheads” do not belong in that sentence. They are slashing billions in biomedical research.

Where’s Rommel?

Even if it’s a symbolic gesture, it’s one that needs to be made.

People complain all that time that the Democrats are just ignoring this mess. Don’t complain too much when a legislator proposes legislation to fix some of it. That is what they’re supposed to do.

Pocan is doing his job. By doing it, he is also bringing public attention to a situation that Musk and Trump would much rather didn’t get any.

USAID is one of the few cases where the President probably can shut it down, because it was created by an executive order. That is not true of most other agencies that are currently being gutted.

Under the Constitution, the Congress passes laws to create agencies and control the budget. The President is responsible for executing those laws, but does not have the power to remove them or change them. Malicious compliance is a violation of the oath of office. Failing to comply at all is just plain illegal. If Congress were doing its job there would be a quick impeachment and removal from office.

The problem we face is not that the Constitution allows most of what’s going on. It is that the checks and balances in the Constitution rely on the majority of Congress and the courts to act in good faith. The founders never imagined a situation where a majority of those people would be so corrupt that they would allow a situation like this.