Mid-Morning Art Thread

Symphony in White, No. 3
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (323) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 12/8/25

Good morning kids. Early doctor's appointment and a long-ish drive in cold weather so I'm going to have to be brief this morning and likely post a bit early.

This essay from what I gather is a rather young lady, I find quite interesting and perplexing at the same time:

Although most teenagers didn’t realize it at the time, Covid was the event that would radicalize them. American youths watched as their schools, friendships, and routines were ripped away from them under the false pretense of health precautions. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally admitted what many had long suspected — that the Covid vaccines killed American children. At least 10 deaths were directly related to the vaccines that were allegedly going to save their lives, according to an FDA memo. . . Now that we know that the vaccine had deadly effects on children, young people will respond to this in one of two ways. For those who are caught in the legacy media bubble, they will never be exposed to this truth. . . The other response from teenagers will be outrage. . .The young people who experienced this gross misuse of power will never trust institutions again. . . American teenagers have a fractured relationship with the federal government, one that may never be healed. It is no surprise that there has been a rise in conspiratorial black-pilling on platforms like X.

And yet how does this jibe with the many recent (and I fear accurate) polls, not only from our good friends at the Heartland Institute but elsewhere that show an alarming percentage of the younger generations and even older ones are ready to embrace socialism, probably the most onerous, repressive and abusive governmental system imaginable, with the worst of the lot, the Red Chinese, the one that unleashed COVID on us in the first place, with the eager help of our own Mengele Anthony Fauci fueled by US taxpayer dollars no less.

In any case, as you try and square that circle of black-pilled GenZ embracing socialism — — There is of course a variety of links to discuss on the topics of the day. On top of the heap is the violent crime and fraud centering on the illegal and illegal alien elements and their Democrat/Leftist allies both in and out of government.

Have a good day.

And lastly, a quick shout-out and thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
• Immigration Gone Wild: A border abandoned and laws ignored have turned public frustration into a sweeping backlash that now threatens even legal immigration.
  Immigration Gone Wild
  

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 06:50 AM | Comments (356) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 8 December 2025

Top Story

• Windows 11 25H2 is entering a broader rollout phase now that 25H2 is just about over. (Hot Hardware)

  The broad rollout of the Windows 11 25H2 update has started, and users who want to fast-track it are being referred to the relevant update options in a new blog post on Microsoft's site. Windows 11 25H2 comes with an assortment of additional Copilot+ related features (exclusive to those with sufficiently-powerful NPUs rated for 40+ TOPS) and improved Wi-Fi 7 support for enterprise users, among other features.

  My latest PC - which looks set to arrive tomorrow - doesn't have an NPU at all.
  
  How... Unfortunate.

  Key improvements for all users include several fixes and additions made to Task Manager, Windows Search, and the Windows UI in general. Task Manager uses fewer resources and properly reads RAM speed in MT/s instead of MHz, for example, while the Windows UI now makes it easier to shrink the size of taskbar buttons. As Windows 11 continues to evolve into an "agentic OS", support for AI features outside of Copilot+ PCs is also being added with Windows 11 25H2, including the ability to use AI features within File Explorer.

  I don't mean to be rude, but have they tried penicillin?
  
  
  
• In completely unrelated news, I just bought a copy of Windows 10 Enterprise IoT LTSC, the version that's supported through to 2032 and contains no AI features of any sort. While the Ryzen 255 processor in this system is nominally new, it's just a rebadged Ryzen 8745H, which is just a Ryzen 7840H with a new sticker, so Windows 10 should run just fine. It doesn't have any efficiency cores either, which are something the Windows 10 scheduler can trip over.
  
  Since Microsoft is strangely cold towards individuals who want to install the IoT edition, I downloaded the ISO from the Internet Archive and verified the hash on another helpful website.
  
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (125) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread - December 7, 2025 [Doof]

Howdy Hordelings! Time for the Sunday ONT. Still plenty of time to get your Christmas tree - if that's a thing you do. If you don't have yours yet, go get it! Then you can get to "drinkorating" (H/T to our 'ette friend DDS for introducing me to that term).

Tree or no tree, step on in and see what awaits!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (355) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: December 7th Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be December 7th? This is the 84th anniversary of the Jap sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, so never forget the 2,403 killed, and the 1,178 injured that day. Here is a link to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and a page on the events of that day.

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (299) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: Pork Pie... Hat Or Food? You Be The Judge.

A plain old pork pie. It's on most pub menus, and for whatever deeply disturbed and perverse reason, they serve them cold. We have all read passages in Dickens or other 19th century writers in which the protagonist grabs a pork pie and shoves it in his coat pocket before rushing out the door to do whatever they did in 1843.

But it's 2025, and I want my pie nice and hot, or at least warm so that the fat in the crust isn't congealed.

To be fair, it was pleasant, and the cask ale I drank with it was delicious. That dish of stuff is some sort of chutney, which was weird, but it wasn't bad!

But still, how backward and archaic do we have to be in the interest of authenticity?

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (251) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First World Problems...

Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT?

In fact, this is a double-barrelled crisis, because not only do those screw slots point in chaotic directions, some of them have worn enough to be visibly different colors!

Fire...obviously. But will it be enough? Will it be hot enough?

The struggle is real...

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (184) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The United Kingdom's Existential Crisis

[Hyde Park, December 2025]

I spent a pleasant Friday evening at a restaurant in Canary Wharf, in the Docklands of London. Yes, those famous docks that were Hitler's particular target. The area has been built up into a financial center that has become quite an impressive place. It's far from the center of London, but the recent opening of another underground line has been a game changer for the area. In addition to the many banks and financial services companies that call it home, there are dozens of restaurants and shops and markets that serve the increasing numbers of people who not only work there, but live in the apartment buildings springing up everywhere.

But back to dinner! Next to us sat three 20-something men, busily drinking their lagers and flirting with women on their phones (but not in person). We struck up a conversation with them, and I was struck by how pessimistic they were about their future prospects. These gentlemen despaired of meeting and marrying and building a middle class existence. Even the one who was in the trades (an electrician) wasn't optimistic about what would be the normal progression in America: Learn, work, strike out on your own and build a small company.

One in particular complained about how England is changing into a place that doesn't seem like it welcomes him. Yet when I asked for whom he voted in the last election, his answer was: Labor!

All three were interested in America, and in fact two had visited, albeit briefly. But they were also woefully ignorant of the differences between the two countries. I had to explain the 1st Amendment! Their opinions about President Trump were partly typical...driven by the incessant drumbeat of leftist media in the UK, but they were not as reflexively critical as I had expected.

What I took away from the conversation was that they saw their future prospects as dismal, and that there was no reasonable alternative available to them on the horizon. They saw no Donald Trump or Charlie Kirk who could speak to them about a better way. They saw the country in which they have lived their entire lives being subsumed by a Woke (their word) insanity that denigrated everything they felt was important. And they saw an economic system that was stacked against them, without any way to change it.

Is it any wonder that the UK is rapidly sliding into both irrelevancy and authoritarian control? Is it any wonder that Islam is on the march? After all, they have a plan. They have an alternative. They have a vision of the future. That their vision is evil and destructive means very little to its adherents, because they will reap the benefits of that destruction.

Is this Weimar Germany in the 21st century? Will a Hitler arise in the UK and show these young men a different path? Or will they gradually be gobbled up by encroaching Islam, and forced into dhimmitude, or worse? Will Tommy Robinson, or someone like him be able to galvanize public support for a push against the destruction of what once was the shining beacon of freedom in the world? Will Nigel Farage be able to fight the structural and political impediments to a Reform Party win in the next elections almost four years from now? Will the UK crash so quickly that the Labor Party has to call an election before that?

I have no crystal ball, but if I were a betting man I would bet against Britain ever becoming Great again.

Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (279) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Morning Book Thread - 12-07-2025 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(HT: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing)
(Click image for larger view.)

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (sonic screwdriver not included). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, pour yourself a nice cup of eggnog (with a dash of cinnamon and vanilla), and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (377) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 7 December 2025

Top Story

• That mini-PC I just bought increased in price by 25% the next day. In fact, the 32GB model now costs more than I paid for the 64GB model.
  
  Which is not a huge surprise - it was markedly cheaper in Australia than on the British Minisforum store, and a key reason I bought it in the first place was because the price was so low compared to the current cost of RAM.
  
  I'll post a quick review once I get it - or at least, next weekend once I have a chance to set it up. But if you're impatient Notebook Check just covered it in detail.
  
  
  
• Speaking of which are the Chinas set to rescue the world from its folly?
  
  Taiwanese memory maker Nanya has seen revenues soar 300% in the past year - and 30% in just the past month - as it scrambles to fill the gap left open by the Big Three.* (Taipei Times)
  
  Nanya mostly produces older DDR4 memory but about 10% of their sales are already DDR5, and they've had an opportunity handed to them gift-wrapped.
  
  Meanwhile West Taiwan's leading memory maker CXMT has entered mass production of DDR5 and LPDDR5X chips itself. (Trendforce)
  
  CXMT was previously accused of dumping DDR4 RAM on the market at lower prices than even second-hand products. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Oh, how the turns have tabled. CXMT can only produce 16Gb chips, not the latest 32Gb models - so 32GB modules and 64GB dual-channel kits - but 64GB of memory you can buy is a lot better than 128GB you can't.
  
  There may only be three big memory manufacturers, but that doesn't mean there aren't little ones looking to get big.
  
  * Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, formerly Hyundai Semiconductor.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (264) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Night "Club ONT" December 6, 2025 [The 3 Ds]

Welcome to Club ONT. A collaboration the 3D's - The Disco, The Dino, and The Doggo. We are officially in the "Turkey-to-Tinsel Gap" portion of the holiday season. People are pretending to work, and many are in the early stages of convincing themselves they will "begin eating healthy tomorrow" - which means Monday, or later. The Club does not endorse such ideas of slimming and trimming over the holiday season.

The 3D's are here to help you slide into a bit of mischief, joy, and lighthearted fun. The doorman? We don't think the doorman is coming back from vacation. Please see yourselves in.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (487) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Evening Movie Thread [moviegique]: Rental Family

If he hadn't had his career derailed by a series of mishaps and downright evil, Brendan Fraser would be alongside Tom Hanks in terms of being the modern equivalent of a Golden Age actor like Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda. The difference between the two is that I will go see a movie just because Brendan Fraser is in it, which is not at all true of Hanks.

The excesses of The Whale aside—and its director, Darren Aronofsky, whom Ken Russell calls from the grave to say "Settle down"—Fraser was terrific. A well-earned Oscar.

This is probably a double-edged sword in that we probably permit a character played by Fraser to get away with things he really shouldn't. In fact, despite the very strong marks for Rental Family, all I could see as the movie started rolling, was all the many, many ways this movie could go bad.

Gaijin on the train.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:30 PM | Comments (287) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hobby Thread - December 6, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. A spin of the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) landed on scavenging and scrounging.

Are you thinking "I'm not into scavenging and scrounging and I really don't know what that means, but I am eager to learn more. I can't wait to get into the content!" I knew it. Enjoy.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (175) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ace of Spaces Pet Thread, December 6

Courtesy Jack Jackson

* * *

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

* * *

Posted by: K.T. at 03:31 PM | Comments (72) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, Dec. 6

Not a lot happening hee in the chilly DMV but I do have two spots of color. My Encore Azalea has not disappointed. Not a lot of blossoms but it's been in the thirties and I am still getting new buds and blossoms.
My Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter cactus is also in blossom. I will literally have flowers til Spring.
Sharon(willow's apprentice)

Posted by: K.T. at 01:34 PM | Comments (39) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Why THIS Story NOW?

Ken Burns' Egregious Omission

This week, I have been thinking about how issues which have been in the background for a considerable amount of time suddenly become part of "The Narrative".

First up today, Ken Burns' new series on The American Revolution.

Timing: just before Christmas.

Questions:

Why does this series seem different from, say, his Civil War epic?

It's not long now until the 250th anniversary of the country. Has anything else about the Founding of the Country made the news lately? Why is Ken Burns introducing the subject?

Burns’ latest PBS six-episode documentary, The American Revolution, explores the founding of the United States and the subsequent war with the British Empire. It could have been an excellent start to the upcoming celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of the founding, but sadly, it steers away from celebration and emphasizes both explicit and implicit criticism of the Founders.

Within the first five minutes of the first episode, we are told that the Founders (specifically Benjamin Franklin) used the Iroquois “flourishing democracy” as a blueprint for the United States Constitution. The evidence, however, is sparse, if non-existent, in the documentary.

Franklin frequently commented on the lives of Native Americans, but we have to be careful how we evaluate Franklin’s words on the subject. He was famously satirical, whether he spoke about the British, Americans, or Indians. In a letter to James Parker, dated 20 March 1751, Franklin writes,

It would be a very strange Thing, if six Nations of ignorant Savages should be capable of forming a Scheme for such an Union, and be able to execute it in such a Manner, as that it has subsisted Ages, and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like Union should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must be more advantageous; and who cannot be supposed to want an equal Understanding of their Interests.
Much later, in 1784’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America,” Franklin speaks highly of the “Civility” of Indians in comparison to the Americans. However, he ends up satirically and equally alluding to a hypocrisy of both groups, as well as the human need to praise the group that he or she is part of.

But Burns doesn’t seem to be interested in nuance and leaves out certain complexities of political and philosophical thought. The entire series is devised around an oppressor-oppressed dialectic.

Concerning Benjamin Franklin and satire, I just read somewhere that the Founders didn't allow Franklin to write the Declaration of Independence because they thought he might include a joke in it somewhere.

Concerning Ken Burns, we do not need another oppressor-oppressed dialectic at this time.

Posted by: K.T. at 11:20 AM | Comments (219) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival

*****

The way I drink coffee you think I was from Luxembourg and/or the world's richest man. H/T Helena Handbasket

*****

They told us that Joe Biden was sharp as a tack. So are you going to believe them when it comes to coffee consumption? I think not.

*****

Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Since it is the Christmas Season, classical tunes will be shelved until 2026 or whenever it happens. Before entering the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Minneapolis)

1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice.
3) Running with sharp objects will not be tolerated unless you have a note from a responsible adult.
4) Have a great weekend!

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 08:00 AM | Comments (407) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 6 December 2025

Top Story

• I bought myself a mini-PC for Christmas. Minisforum X1-255.
  
  Not because I particularly need a new system, though this one is a lot better than my two existing Beelink units (twice the speed, memory*, and storage).
  
  Mostly because it comes with 64GB of RAM and only costs $50 more than the RAM alone.
  
  Looks like it's completely sold out in the US already.
  
  Update: Placed the order just four hours ago and it's already shipped. Should have it by Friday.
  
  * The existing units only came with 8GB of RAM, so as shipped the new one has eight times as much. But I already had RAM for those left over from upgrading my laptops, back when that was cheap to do.
  
  
  
• AI gadget makers are chasing problems that don't exist, says the CEO of AI gadget maker Logitech. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  That's a little unfair. Logitech's webcams use discriminative AI to keep you centered in the frame, for example, and to mute background noise. Other companies, though:

  Faber argued that the wave of AI-first gadgets released over the past year remains untethered from a clear purpose. Products such as the Humane AI Pin - acquired by HP in February - and Rabbit R1 launched with the promise of replacing parts of the smartphone experience, only to draw criticism for slow performance, limited features, and subscription-driven pricing.

  The upcoming unnamed product from OpenAI looks to be another screenless phone piece of overpriced junk.

  Their reception has shaped the debate around whether a general-purpose assistant belongs in a dedicated device at all. According to Faber, these early efforts solve little that a phone or PC cannot already handle, which is a view that has gained traction as both devices incorporate larger on-device models and tighter integrations with cloud assistants.

  As annoying as AI is, dedicated AI devices are even worse.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (253) | Trackbacks (Suck)

For Unlawful Carnal ONT

Howdy all! Boy, the left is really in a tizzy about ICE, aren't they?

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (428) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Unconscious Body Surfing Cafe

Sunset photographed from under water, by Dan Legend

Tiger gives some tourists a story to tell their families once they've recovered from their heart attacks.

Re-post: horse racing through sea caves.

Hula Baloo.

What is this thing?

Lazy horse doesn't want to give rides. So any time you approach him to get on him, he flops over and pretends he just died.

Life with huge dogs who still think they're little puppies.

Soulful dog.

Baby and dog play.

A torrid affair that scandalized the barnyard.

Weekend plans.

Steve Inman:

Old pervert gets Instant Justice. If only this guy were around during Biden's political career.

This has to be the sloppiest public brawl ever.

Purse-snatcher learns that not only does crime not pay, but it results in serious and possibly permanent physical injury.

Season's beatings.

Would be carjacker gets jacked by a car.

This better not be AI.

Posted by: Ace at 07:20 PM | Comments (204) | Trackbacks (Suck)