June 23, 2025

A moonlit lane
John Atkinson Grimshaw
Posted by: CBD at 09:30 AM | Comments (309) | Trackbacks (Suck)

At least 20 Christians were killed and 52 others were wounded on Sunday when a radical Islamic terrorist opened fire in an Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, and then detonated an explosive vest, according to Syria’s interior ministry. The terrorist, affiliated with ISIS, targeted Mar Elias Church in Dweila, on the outskirts of Damascus, the BBC reported. A person who witnessed the attack told AFP news agency that “someone entered carrying a weapon” and began firing at worshipers. A group of church members charged the attacker and “tried to stop him before he blew himself up,” the witness added.So, what does this have to do with Iran? Everything. That is, everything that matters. First of all, the term "radical Islamic terrorist" is a triple redundancy but kudos at least for using the word Islamic and not Islamist which is obfuscatory by design. Substitute waves of Hamas attackers raping and maiming their way into southern Israel from Gaza or an IRGC missile crew firing off a nuclear tipped V-2 clone or No-Dong Big Schlong missile at Tel Aviv, et VIOLA as we say. So, we may have destroyed Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities, whatever the geopolitical and domestic repercussions. The problem was is and always has been – for over 1500 years and counting – ISLAM, Unless and until Islam reforms itself (a non-starter) or is otherwise neutralized, Civilization will still be at risk of being destroyed at some point down the road. When the #1 baby name across most of Europe is Mohammed, nuclear weapons is the least of our worries. Iran, or Turdogon's Turkey or the Saudis do not need nukes with several hundred million "Tiny Time Pills" in the form of immigrants/migrants spread out all over Europe and here in America. While far too many of the indigenous non-Muslim citizenry are willfully committing cultural suicide courtesy of Leftist/Socialist cultural rot eating away at the foundations of 2,000 years of the advancement of humanity via Judeo-Christianity and Western Civilization. Lest we forget, Pakistan has nuclear weapons and shares a very long border with Iran so what's to stop them from helping the Mullahs reconstitute their nuke program or just give them one or two warheads. And as for Iran closing off the Straits of Hormuz, I imagine that would not include oil shipments to the Chi-Coms and/or NORKs, perhaps in exchange for a few small tactical warheads. What if Iran had a missile or even a boat with an Islamikaze crew and a warhead heading at ramming speed towards a US Aircraft carrier parked off Israel or in the Gulf. Remember the USS Cole incident post 9/11? So, now that the hornet's nest has been kicked, what's next? I think the IRGC is too vested both in Islam and conventional internal power politics to ever willingly cede power to any other party, certainly none that are not Islamic in nature and for sure not the scion of the late Shah or any pro-western moderate secular party. Even if Khameni and some or all of his associates are forced out, the Iranian people will still have a giant rusty scimitar at their throats. Wish I could be more upbeat about their prospects, and then again, I'm no expert and have no inside dope on the Iranian street, but all things being equal, unless they are armed to the teeth and/or have significant police and army personnel willing to help them seize power across the nation, get ready for Islamic Republic 2.0.
Back here at home, and with everything going on, let's hope that this is a one-off and unrelated, but with years of a wide open border, this raises pulses.
Police told Click on Detroit that a security guard at Wayne, Michigan’s CrossPointe Community Church shot and killed an alleged active shooter Sunday morning. The City of Wayne Police Department posted to Facebook, “The Wayne Police Department responded to an active shooter at Crosspointe Church in Wayne this morning. Upon arrival, officers determined that a security guard for the church shot and killed the suspect.”Maybe it was just a run-of-the-mill transexual psycho and not a harbinger of Hamas infiltrators, so let's not sow needless panic and Islamophobia! Gevalt... 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. Have a great day!
- ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
- Victor Davis Hanson: What Trump’s Strike Means for Iran, the Middle East, and American Power.
Ten Iranian Questions
- Michael Walsh: . . . my controversial observations about the failure of American military leadership since 1945, especially our defeat by a handful of Saudi Arabian and other Muslims at the Battle of 9/11.
THE CONVERSATION: Clausewitz, Music, and the Real Art of War
Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 07:21 AM | Comments (416) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Top Story
- Why 51% of engineering leadership thinks AI is leading the industry in the wrong direction. (Engineering Leadership)
Because (a) AI is leading the industry in the wrong direction and (b) the other 49% are trying to sell you something.
Fortunately generative AI may be on track to delete itself entirely.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM | Comments (145) | Trackbacks (Suck)
June 22, 2025

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:50 PM | Comments (386) | Trackbacks (Suck)

A bigly big thank you to all those who attended the 2025 NoVAMoMe! It is always so much fun to see our online pals and make some new freshly de-lurking friends as well! The weather was perfect and as far as I could tell everyone had a great time visiting one another. My bestest blog buddy, organizer and generally nice person extraordinaire bluebell and I thank everyone for attending. Hopefully those who were there will inspire others to join the fun at a MoMe near them! Have I said it's fun? 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 (142) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Good afternoon. CBD is out on secret assignment. Or he just wanted to take the day off from you Morons. I'm not sure. Just remember, if you fall asleep cooking to the Mystery Click, it isn't my fault!
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian (ONT Cob Emeritus) at 03:54 PM | Comments (219) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The past three summers have seen me falling behind on yard work. And oh boy do I have projects planned. Both on paper and in my mind. My current project is to clean up stepping stones. I'm also planning on installing several new 4"x 4" x 8' for bird feeder stations. Although I have a fair number of lawn and garden tools I do not own a post hole digger or a lawn edger attachment. So I called the local company whose name is, "Owner's Name Rentals, Sales & Service". I asked if I could rent a lawn edger and power auger. Well unless I had a tractor with a PTO they didn't have an auger for me. What about an old fashioned post hole digger? That wasn't there either. So I decided the bird feeders can wait. The sidewalk edger? It is an item that may or may not be on their Wish List. I then asked where I might find such equipment. I was advised of a national chain hardware store approximately 45 minutes away that has an outstanding rental outlet. Hmmm 90 minutes of drive time? I don't think so. So with a couple of shovels, some elbow grease and sweat, I was able to save a few bucks, keep the earth green and clean up those dang stepping stones.
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian (ONT Cob Emeritus) at 02:00 PM | Comments (166) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Of course the following was written before last night's Iran strike. Rumor has it that Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is now waving an "I Stand With Iran" banner.
When you think of nationally elected democratic representatives and senators what do you think? Do you think of them as entitled, self-absorbed pond scum sucking weasels? If you do, who am I to judge! Do you think of them as hypocritical, self-serving, power hungry scavengers? If your answer is yes. You are not alone. Since November 7, 2024 it is nearly impossible to keep tabs on their immature behavior.
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian (ONT Cob Emeritus) at 12:10 PM | Comments (385) | Trackbacks (Suck)

(HT: Pete Zah)
Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (285) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Top Story
- 80% of patients in a recent study were cured within six months - of Type 1 diabetes. (Hartford Courant) (archive site)
The subjects of the study were the subset of diabetes patients who have hypoglycemic unawareness - that is, they also lack the usual warning signs that their glucose levels are dangerously low.
That was not specific for the treatment, but made the treatment more necessary.
Because there is a big downside. The treatment involves using stem cells to recreate the missing pancreatic islet cells that generate insulin, but leave the patient needing lifetime immunosuppressant treatment - which is probably not an improvement over diabetes for most patients who don't also have hypoglycemic unawareness.
But still, it works. It's an option, and if the immune issue can be resolved, it's a cure.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM | Comments (439) | Trackbacks (Suck)
June 21, 2025

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:30 PM | Comments (895) | Trackbacks (Suck)

I would just point out that 99.9% of Iran was not bombed. Posted by: Duke Lowell
Posted by: Ace at 09:40 PM | Comments (528) | Trackbacks (Suck)


According to X, top ranking Dem members of intelligence committees were not briefed on the strikes but the Republicans were. heh
Posted by: Tonypete
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at 08:25 PM | Comments (621) | Trackbacks (Suck)
We saw a lot of good and interesting movies this past fortnight-and-a-half. Bring Her Back, a melancholy horror from the makers of Talk To The Hand, er, Talk To Me; the romantic Lost In Starlight; the 25th anniversary of Dogma (about which I have much to say); the 30th anniversary of Eat Drink Man Womanl Wes Anderson's Wesandersony The Phoenician Scheme; the French Kung-Fu Giant Penis Farce Zenithal; and the picaresque coming-of-age apocalyptic survival horror 28 Years Later.
I can recommend all of them to people who like those sorts of things. But I shan't review them today. Today I want to talk about changes in the movie biz, vis a vis how relates to your nearly 29-year-old correspondent. If we go back 45 years ago (there will be no math), we might find your humble moviegique didn't just see the top 20 movies, he saw 90% of all the movies that were released. I didn't see them all in the theater, admittedly. I wasn't so adamantly anti-watching-movies-on-TV back then, and it wouldn't have been an option to see them in the theater once they'd past their second run. In 2010, I still saw most of the top 20. By 2020, I'd seen two of the top 20. And there's a near 0% chance I will see the ones I "missed". In other words, whatever mojo Hollywood had over me, it lost it five years ago. Yaboi Zack is on a year-plus long rant against "birthday party clowns" (as he calls them): People who gained fame and fortune by bashing popular culture and now can't do anything else. They can't admit when something is good. Of course, simply redirecting my entertainment dollars to stuff I like allows me to avoid having to grouse constantly. But I do think it's important to call out when things are good. Not because Hollywood is getting better (his thesis). It's not, at least in any way that matters: Any industry stays centralized and powerful because of the virtuous cycle of talent attracting money creating power which attracts more talent and more money and more power. My thesis is that Hollywood's degraded to the vicious version of the cycle: They lost talent, they lost money, they lost power, and this is accelerating. Hollywood is Carthage. It's Detroit. It's Joe Biden. That doesn't mean it has no lucid moments, of course. This brings me to Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.
Tom Cruise with long hair and bangs gives me Neal Breen vibes.
Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:30 PM | Comments (219) | Trackbacks (Suck)

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. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin. It must have been thirsty because it came up with home brewing and winemaking. Credit to Stateless for the topic request. We did a beer theme in September 2024, but that wasn't focused on homebrewing and didn't include winemaking.
Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM | Comments (99) | Trackbacks (Suck)


Posted by: K.T. at 03:25 PM | Comments (56) | Trackbacks (Suck)

I took the camera out to the local community college garden this afternoon. It’s early, but I did find a few things in bloom.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:21 PM | Comments (44) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Posted by: K.T. at 11:01 AM | Comments (449) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Mosinee) 1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice. The troll's tear ducts are overworked.
3) Nope, no, not a chance. No running with sharp objects.
4) Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian (ONT Cob Emeritus) at 08:04 AM | Comments (324) | Trackbacks (Suck)
Top Story
- Anthropic's Claude is not the only AI to immediately resort to blackmail when the going gets tough, according to... Anthropic. (Anthropic)
It's just the most likely. Albeit not by much.
Anthropic attempted blackmail 96% of the time when the opportunity presented itself. Google's Gemini 2.5 was just behind at 95%. Competitors Grok 3, GPT 4.1, and DeepSeek R1 trailed a little behind, only going rogue around 80% of the time.We refer to this behavior, where models independently and intentionally choose harmful actions, as agentic misalignment.
Mechanical sociopathy.We deliberately created scenarios that presented models with no other way to achieve their goals, and found that models consistently chose harm over failure.
This highlights the underlying problem with AI. One of the underlying problems. One of the many underlying problems.
AI is designed and trained to give you an answer that you like, rather than one that is true.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM | Comments (135) | Trackbacks (Suck)
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