Open Thread: Dingo and Hyena Rescues

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 06:00 PM | Comments (62) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Bears: A National Concern Open Thread

Very good boy backs down a menacing bear.

Baby bear nibbles on the boot of a wildlife photographer. Out of control.

This bear was out of control, but then put himself back in control by whacking himself in the fuzzy nuts.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 04:50 PM | Comments (132) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Macro Photography Open Thread

Below, some videos from an account called "Macrofying," showing extreme close-ups of tiny things.

He says these are all real, but I don't believe a camera can move so precisely to get these shots. I can believe that most of this is real, but surely the transitions between shots must be some kind of CGI morphing. Right?

Anyway, some cool stuff.

Zooming into a cup of coffee.

Zooming into a leaf.

Close-up of a 3D resin printer's head.

A tattoo needle.

A falling grain of salt.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 03:40 PM | Comments (104) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Open Thread: "Thief Busters" Hurt More Would-Be Thieves

I said last time that I'm not sure this is real, because the stupid legal system we live under would probably punish these guys as serious criminals for rigging a bike to electrify a thief. No punishment for the thief, but the guy putting out a bait bike: Maximum penalties.

Still, this all looks very real.

Setting up a Bait Truck to lure thieves into, before taking them on a rough ride:

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:30 PM | Comments (122) | Trackbacks (Suck)

A Head for Heights Open Thread

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 01:20 PM | Comments (186) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Open Thread: Were the Eighties the Last Good Decade?

John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte
@NolteNC

What made the 80s special was that almost NO ONE -- except some teachers who still thought it was the 60s -- was uptight.

Everyone was cool. Everyone could take a joke. You never had to walk on eggshells. The girls were cool. Race relations were cool. We all had part-time jobs. We all had beater cars. We all drank beer, smoked cigs, went to the movies, watched MTV, and only wanted to have fun, not prove we were good people.

You had to be there.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:10 PM | Comments (243) | Trackbacks (Suck)

THE MORNING RANT: There’s A Lot of Great News as We Start the Homestretch to the Midterm Elections

Labor Day is the unofficial start of the campaign season for the November mid-term elections. The primaries are over, the phony summer push-polls are in the rearview mirror, and we’re about to be flooded with campaign ads. We have every reason to be excited to go to the polls to ensure an ongoing Congressional Republican majority, and to keep the DSA-influenced Democrats away from any levers of power.

The 20 months since President Trump’s inauguration in early 2025 have had the most significant conservative victories of my lifetime, far exceeding President Reagan’s accomplishments. Here are just a few of the things President Trump and his team have done:

• Closed the border to illegal invaders.

• Deported hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, and caused millions more to self-deport.

• Slashed the federal workforce.

• Eliminated DEI and wokeness from the military and federal agencies.

• Eliminated EV mandates and green energy subsidies.

• Effectively terminated corporate average fuel economy requirements for auto manufacturers.

• Engaged the military to eliminate narco-terrorists.

• Engaged the DOJ to target corporations engaged in illegal racial discrimination in hiring.

There are so many more milestone accomplishments beyond those.

For decades the conservative base has clamored for the above victories. President Trump finally delivered. Amidst all this, there are many “conservative” influencers who are promoting doom. For many of them, that is their job - being paid to blackpill conservative voters to stay home, so as to elect a Democrat Congress. The resumption of Democrat lawfare against the Trump administration is their goal.

High prices are a problem, and are very frustrating to Americans, because there is an unrealistic expectation that prices will come down from the crazy inflation of the Biden years. At one point inflation exceeded 9% annually according to government record keepers. (We all know it was much higher, and that it compounded year over year.) Inflation is back down to 3%, but even if it falls to 0%, the runup in prices during the Biden years aren’t going away. Wage growth is the answer to this problem, and that is now happening thanks to Trump’s policies.

There is abundant great news on the economic front:

• Wages: The combination of industrial growth and elimination of off-the-books foreign labor is creating demand for employees and pushing up wages. Per the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, wage growth is outpacing inflation, especially for those changing jobs, as employers are now having to compete for employees.

• Industrial Activity: As I frequently write about, there is an explosion of industrial growth and economic activity in this country. The re-shoring of industry thanks to Trump’s tariffs and his America-first agenda is one of the drivers.

• Job Creation: The most recent jobs report revealed job creation that was triple the expectation of “experts.” In addition, the number of job openings is surging. More than 1,000,000 new private sector jobs, filled by American citizens, have been created since Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

Here are just a few recent headlines that we can celebrate:

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM | Comments (157) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Mid-Morning Art Thread

Motherhood
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (125) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report — 9/ 7 /26

Good morning kids. And so today (a week late by my estimation) it is per the calendar actually Labor Day. I hope your holiday weekend so far has been enjoyable and relaxing. That said, there's lots of things going on so let's dive right in. The big news was that an Amazon jet overshot the runway in Miami yesterday and crashed.

Miami firefighters were seen climbing into the cockpit of the Amazon cargo jet that crashed, killing five – moments after being heard on dispatch shouting “The plane is on fire” as they raced to the scene. The jumbo Boeing 767 freighter, which left Puerto Rico just before 11:45 a.m. local time Sunday, eventually came to a stop after overshooting the runway at Miami International Airport, striking several cars and killing five people.  Miami Dade Fire and Rescue crews raced to the scene – with the first units arriving within 30 seconds of the call being placed.

Prayers for the victims, their loved ones and all those who are negatively and seriously impacted by this tragedy. Moving on from the serious we go to the truly ridiculous and idiotic. In the immediate aftermath of President Trump wasting time and political capital by renaming, or attempting to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America he's made this his next big gambit:

President Donald Trump suggested Sunday that New Mexico could be next on his list of geographic rebrands, sharing a state map on Truth Social with “Mexico” struck through in red and “America” written beneath it — an unofficial stab at “New America.”

Call me stupid or clueless (as many have for most of my life!) but given everything going on in the world and right here at home, what is the purpose of all of this? Is it merely his way of tweaking his political opponents because as much as I am a huge fan of this President and his real achievements since descending the golden Trump Tower escalator eleven years ago all this does is provide fodder for his enemies. Now, if he really intends geographic name changes to highlight serious issues, changing Michigan to Michganistan or warning that that is what can and will happen unless and until we get a handle on the metastasis of Islam here in North America as clearly is in evidence across much of Europe, now that would be something I would cheer.

And here we are scant days away from the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and even Titty-Caca Ocasio-Cortez's constituents (not sure if this is part of her district) or fellow Latinos are up in arms,

Muslim settler colonialism has spun out of control in the Bronx borough of New York City. The scandal went national when the Mamdani regime decided to list ‘immigrant neighborhoods’ heavily slanted towards Muslims while ignoring Little Italy and Irish and Jewish areas in the city. Basically a few Muslims open some bodegas in a neighborhood, a mosque pops up to service them and suddenly a community with a lot of history gets dubbed ‘Little Yemen’ whether or not its residents agree. And the residents, in this case, are Latino, and they’re outraged at being colonized and replaced by Mamdani’s boys. . . Mamdani’s ‘endorsements’ has meant Muslim politicians displacing black and Latino ones and people are starting to notice what’s going on.

Elsewhere the saga of this Lindsay Clancy fiend continues

Right-leaning commentators—men and women—reacted in turn to the fervency of Clancy’s supporters. Murder is murder, they insisted. Moreover, the evidence suggested premeditation, not a psychotic break. Of course, what really bothered those on the right, Clancy’s detractors, was the very existence of those on the left, Clancy’s supporters. The fact that there exists an organized, animated, and sizable contingent of people who would consciously choose to lionize a child-murderer and to lend her their political, spiritual, and financial support served as proof that there is something profoundly wrong in our society, something ugly, something monstrous.

Part of this, of course, is the familiar story of the politicization of everything, the incidental but defining characteristic of classical, post-Enlightenment liberalism that turns every issue or disagreement into a competition between factions. A bigger part of it, though, is the direct, intentional politicization of everything having to do with women, which started as a cultural movement in the 1960s and morphed into the creation of an entirely new constitutional order.

It is fitting, in a way, that the conclusion of the Clancy trial took place during the same week in which Gloria Steinem died. Steinem was the most prominent and publicly important figure in the second wave of feminism. Others—like Betty Friedan, Kate Millett, and Germaine Greer—were more important to the movement intellectually. But Steinem was its public face, the engaging, attractive face of a movement that often embraced unattractive ideas.

To date I've given this story short shrift mostly because what really is there to say, what new angle on this could I possible add about the trial of a woman who butchered her children.

Tragically, but given the nature of everything Leftist, this was almost predictable or inevitable...

Illinois Mother Charged With Hanging Toddler Was ‘Very Invested’ in Clancy Trial — According to court documents, Walsh reportedly told authorities “she believed her son was the ‘anti-Christ’ and the ‘devil.'”

. . . I am not a lawyer and make no claim to understand the intricacies of Illinois law, but a defense based on mental illness may be a considerably heavier lift for Walsh than it was for Clancy. In Massachusetts, prosecutors faced a higher burden than they would in most other states: They had to prove Clancy’s criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt. To do so, they had to establish either that she did not suffer from a qualifying mental disease or defect or that, despite such an illness, she retained the substantial capacity both to understand that her conduct was wrong and to control her actions.At any rate, after watching Massachusetts women gleefully celebrate the governor’s signing of a law permitting abortion up to the point of birth—and then learning that the Clancy trial had ended in a mistrial, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) asked an appropriate question: Is Massachusetts a safe place for children?

The Leftists and their home base in and of the Democrat Party is truly the epicenter of evil incarnate in this nation and society.

The upside is that this very un-American malice scares normal voters outside the DSA bastion of New York City, where the “Lulu Lenins,” as Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) describes Mamdani and his trust-fund comrades, have given Democrats a terrible name. The Democratic Party’s frantic efforts to rebrand itself as “normal” for the midterms are hilariously doomed, considering the reality of its policy priorities. Beyond impeaching Trump, Democrats have no agenda to create prosperity and ensure happiness for Americans. It’s all about entrenching their power and making life miserable, whether it’s stacking the Supreme Court, creating two new Democrat states, abolishing the Electoral College, “Medicare for all” illegal migrants, abolishing ICE, defunding the police, and on and on.

While we're on the subject of the "anti-Christ"

From the moment a child is conceived, Democrats and their leftist allies have declared open season . . .This is not hyperbole. This is the documented record. Robby Starbuck’s documentary The War on Children lays it bare: whistleblowers, survivors of childhood medical mutilation, trafficking victims, corporate executives, and figures like Sen. Rand Paul, Riley Gaines, and the creator of Libs of TikTok expose the coordinated campaign to seize control of the next generation’s minds and bodies. Elon Musk called it “worth watching, especially for parents.” Donald Trump Jr. said every parent needs to see it. The film was initially banned from platforms for the crime of telling the truth; Amazon later quietly restored it as the cultural tide turned.
. . .from the womb to adulthood, the left’s war is comprehensive, evil, and existential.

Bingo. Maybe the President should spend some time pondering a name for that? Just a thought.

Have a good day.

ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
• A Boeing 767 flying for Amazon's Prime Air network breached the airport fence and struck multiple vehicles, officials say.
  Amazon Cargo Jet Skids Off Runway, Bursts Into Flames Outside Miami Airport

• Victor Davis Hanson: Yet like the Jacobin movement of old, the new elites of the radicalized Democrat Party rarely felt that they should themselves be subject to the consequences of their own radical ideologies — whether climate-change taboos on personal energy use, open borders, defunding the police, etc.
  Today’s leftists are possessed by the spirit of France’s 18th-century guillotine-loving revolutionaries

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:00 AM | Comments (194) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 7 September 2026

Top Story

• Your Roku TV now offers AI slop for free! (Engadget)
  
  Never mind the quality, feel the width!
  
  
  
• Your LG TV is spying on you. (Notebook Check)
  
  For once this is not even overstated.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM | Comments (110) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread - September 6, 2026

Howdy Hordelings! Welcome to the Sunday ONT. Glad you could stop by! Open thread, as always. Fashion and music, as always. What's on YOUR mind tonight?

[Top photo: One more from the Northern Command area before I head back to the Main Command tomorrow. This one is from off the coast of Naushon Island.]

Posted by: Doof at 10:00 PM | Comments (502) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: Eighth Anniversario 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 the Eighth Anniversary Edition? I tell you, the time flies by. Thanks to all of you who make this a regular stop on your internet wanderings. I appreciate it bigly!

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 (269) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: Cutting Edge vs. Classic...

The cutting edge of cooking is usually found at high-end restaurants that have the wherewithal to experiment with new techniques and ingredients, and have an audience that is willing to pay for it. Those kitchens are also always trying new technology, or at least technology that is made accessible to thehier kitchens. I doubt any three star restaurants have SMRs (Small Modular Reactor), but they have liquid nitrogen systems and freeze-drying equipment and aerosolizing machines and all sort of stuff that the home cook or even most other restaurants don't bother with or can't afford.

Is that stuff fun? Sure! Is it something I want in my kitchen? Absolutely not. But some variation of those techniques and equipment eventually trickles down into the typical restaurant kitchen, and then into the home cook's cabinets. Sous Vide equipment is a good example. 20 years ago it was confined to the top restaurants. Now? You can buy a Sous Vide wand for $50.

The dish up top is a great example too. It is a simple dish of tomatoes and mozzarella, with a couple of flourishes that elevate it without making it fussy. It's called: Tartare de Tomate Coeur de Boeuf, Soupe Froide de Tomate - Ananas, Espuma de Mozzarella, Basilic et Olives Taggiasche, which is a mouthful! But the "espuma" part is the kicker. They took a rarified technique from a big fancy kitchen, and toned it down for what they are...an excellent neighborhood restaurant that makes delicious and interesting food.

It's just Mozzarella that has been whipped so it is very light. Nothing like the insanely wispy foams at three-star restaurants that seem to float away from the dish, and that is a good thing, because there is enough substance to it to make it a very pleasing dish without it being a massive and rich first course.

What's the point? Just that the weird molecular gastronomy and experimental stuff coming out of a few kitchens often makes it to neighborhood restaurants, and it improves those kitchens by giving them interesting options without having to break the bank.

Of course my main course was "Blanquette de Veau," a classic dish whose recipe probably hasn't changed in 400 years!

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (183) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First World Problems...

To the extent that I am aware of her, I find Miley Cyrus to be distasteful, for all of the usual reasons: Hollywood pomposity, celebrity promiscuity, tattoos and piercings, aggressive hints of post-modern sexuality...all typical stuff.

But!

This is an absolutely spectacular version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and I have a hard time disliking someone who can do such a good job on this song.

Posted by: CBD at 01:55 PM | Comments (204) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Complete Transection Of The Spinal Cord At T5-T6

Being confined to a wheelchair is a difficult proposition for even the most self-reliant and strong-willed people.

Here is a list of issues that I culled from the internet. They don't seem very pleasant, and leading any semblance of a full life with an injury such as this requires a fair amount of assistance, regular medical care, physical therapy, and undoubtedly psychological support, whether from formal providers or close friends and family.

• Complete paralysis of both legs


• Loss of sensation below approximately the mid-chest


• Normal arm and hand function


• Loss of voluntary bladder and bowel control


• Sexual dysfunction


• Initially flaccid, areflexic legs (spinal shock)


• Later development of spasticity and increased reflexes


• Loss of normal sweating and temperature regulation below the injury


• Impaired trunk and postural control


• Autonomic dysfunction, including abnormal blood-pressure and heart-rate responses


• Risk of autonomic dysreflexia with injuries at or above T6

That is not to say that it can't be done. There are far too many successful, well adjusted people in wheelchairs to assume that it is impossible.

In college I roomed with several students in wheelchairs, and their injuries ranged from very low on the spine, to so high up that one required assistance breathing. They dealt with their injuries and their lives just like everyone else. It was a continuum, with a few who were amazingly independent and charged through the days, to one who was a passive slug who demanded that others do everything for him. So...pretty much like all of humanity!

Why do I mention this? Well, there is a woman in the news with a total transection at T5-T6, and I wonder whether there might be some justice in her future, even if it might not come from our legal system.

Posted by: CBD at 12:00 PM | Comments (148) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Morning Book Thread - 8-30-2026 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

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 (pumpkin spice latte 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...(Oooh! Shiny!)

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (248) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 6 September 2026

Top Story

• Word of caution: If you ever rewrite your own blogging platform and use your personal website as a scratch monkey, remember to unmount it before trying to post your daily update, or you may experience a moment of blind panic when everything is gone.
  
  
  
• We'll make our own Twitter, with blackjack, and hookers. In fact, forget the Twitter. (Tech Crunch)
  
  The obvious immediately happened and a judge has ruled that a bunch of lousy grifters fine upstanding group of gentlemen cannot simply appropriate an established trademark for profit.
  
  
  
• Speaking of which, reports of the death of Nitter have been greatly exaggerated. (Codeberg)
  
  It's actually less dead now than it was before it was killed.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM | Comments (219) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Night Club ONT - September 5, 2026 [Disco & Dino]

Welcome to Club ONT - a whelming collaboration of The Disco and The Dino.

Open thread - bar is open, too. Come in in, grab a drink or 2. Or 3. Keep it light and friendly. The moose out front is on troll patrol, so say a word of thanks as you pass by that the moose is on duty.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:00 PM | Comments (408) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Evening Movie Post [moviegique]: The Searchers (1956)

Pickings have been slim. The Olivia Wilde-helmed The Invite has been hanging on for months, a comedy with a solid 7.5 or so on IMDB. I've thought about going to see it a half-dozen times and, frankly, it just gives me the creeps. There's a John Boorman documentary on how he screwed up Exorcist II: The Heretic that gives me Jodorowsky's Dune vibes but it's awkward to get to. So I says to the Boy, I says, "Well, what if we went to see The Searchers?" 

And what if we wore hats?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:30 PM | Comments (238) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hobby Thread - September 7, 2026 [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. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling lucky and decided on a painting plus theme for this Hobby Thread.

A what? Painting plus. What's that? Paintings plus other hobbying stuff. Oh.

[Top photo: Canfield Ohio Fair]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (129) | Trackbacks (Suck)