Drones have changed war. If you're not parking your million dollar airplanes inside hard shelters, you will look the fool when someone blows up your plane with thousand dollar toys dropping glorified hand grenades.
Putin learned this when he lost half of his plane-based nuke delivery system.
Trump learned this for himself in Iraq and Jordan.
I expect billionaires will learn this soon at their executive airports.
Wisdom from YouTube comments...
*Remember folks: You don't want a boat. You want a friend with a boat.*
I am delighted that the GOP is polling like shit for this year's midterm elections.
That said, this is not my first election, and I've seen some astounding Dem defeats over the years.
Never underestimate the ability of the Dems to lose.
It's one of those days...
A fundamental tenant of markets is that people respond to incentives, and because of that, markets trend toward equilibrium. If the price of a good rises, then other people will try to supply it (so they can cash in).
I'm not seeing that in the oil market due to Hormuz being a risky place to drive a tanker. Some tankers are sailing - just not nearly as many as before. Why not?
Why doesn't the extra profit from oil being over $100/bbl sufficiently incentivize more tanker owners to sail their ships?
I'm guessing because the people directly taking additional risks from drones attacks aren't reaping proportionally higher benefits from the higher oil prices.
I imagine that monetary incentives stop being proportional when death is a potential outcome.
I'm watching some YouTube short exposing kids in the UK to various US foods; in this case, an entire Texas BBQ brisket. The kids are dubious, but then taste it, then devour it. One kid says, "why don't we have this in the UK?"
Because in the UK it's probably over $200 worth of beef, let alone the labor. This is food from a place that had huge herds of cattle so a monster chunk of meat was cheap. Those conditions don't apply to the UK.
So my question is... if the US is an oil exporter, why did prices go up here when a war closed Hormuz? Why did US oil prices spike?
Why do we have to pay EU prices for diesel but not beef?
All right, folks. Time to separate the pink boys from the subgenii.
How?
No question - the Oingo Boingo test.
Who can take a dada art project and turn it into an artsy ska horror band? And who will dare to groove to them?
Danny Elfman, and me. Maybe you?
Question to the AI-code folks...
Since CPUs and FPGAs are written in languages like VHDL and Verilog, are the HW folks getting any traction using AI-generated code?
If not, why not?
LOL.
**"Trump's 28 Point Peace Plan"** is neither Trump's, nor a plan for peace. I haven't counted, but there might not even be 28 points.
- It was written by Russia,
- handed to the couch-fucker,
- slathered with the name "TRUMP" in big letters,
- approved (unread) by Grampa von Shitzenpants,
- handed directly to Rubio to "make it happen",
- who leaked that he was handed a flaming sack of dogshit
I've been waiting for palace intrigues as Trump checks out (lame duckism plus dementia), and here's an example. Pretty cool that before the first year of his last term is up, he's already being played by number 2.
In a functioning democracy, Vance would be impeached for being a lying Russian agent. Rubio might even resign because of outside interference into his area of responsibility. Instead, I doubt anything will happen: Congress is too inept and Rubio is too cowardly.
I'm laughing on the outside, but not so much on the inside.
https://snyder.substack.com/p/russian-unreality-and-american-weakness
Google Maps lets drivers mark “Unplowed Roads.” These warnings are now popping up in Southern California to warn of ICE agents on the loose… because of the “icy” conditions. I love users!
I saw today that Stephen Miller and Elon Musk were tweeting about "defending Western civilization" and it bugged me. I thought about it while I was driving to/from town.
The only people who want to live in the past think they have something to lose in the future.
What I decided was that these two - a mediocre white guy and the world's richest man - personally feel like they have the most to lose if human society continues its trends of eliminating racism and patriarchy and oligarchy and plutocracy.
Personally, I am looking forward to seeing how humanity can organize itself without those things. I don't want more "western civilization" - it was filed with kings, and colonies, and slavery, and patriarchy, and entitled pricks and prickettes always looking for "the other" to marginalize, to hassle, to feel superior to.
I want "human civilization", whatever that turns out to be. That's the promise of the United States - liberty and justice for all.
The rumors of the death of Trump is the only distraction that I'll sanction from relentlessly demanding the complete, unedited release of the Epstein Files.
We collectively lost the dead pedo lotto today - but there's another drawing tomorrow.
In the meantime, email your congressman and demand the Epstein Files get released, and justice for the victims of Epstein and his co-rapists.
Now that Kootenai county, Idaho, is reporting measles cases for the first time since 1991, and with flu/covid season coming up, I'd like to point out that Idaho requires inspections of all watercraft (boats, canoes, kayaks, etc) every time that boat enters their state.
If you live in Newport, Washington and drive over the bridge into Oldtown, Idaho, for a paddle in the Pend Oreille river, you must stop and get your boat inspected. You get a dated sticker. Some boat launches have inspectors who check the sticker.
Idaho literally cares more about the invasive quagga mussel infecting their lakes and rivers than about measles or covid infecting their children.
https://cdapress.com/news/2025/may/01/watercraft-inspection-stations-open/
Hypothetically, suppose Iran kidnapped Don Jr. and Eric Trump and was using them as human shields at the Iranian nuclear enrichment facility.
No idea if the spat between Trump and Musk is real or kayfabe. If it's a scam, then Trump is trying to distract us from something, and Musk is likely trying to salvage his stock prices.
Interesting that Musk would bring up the Epstein files. Last time those were in the news a GOP kid and some Trump supporters got killed.
Regardless, they are both manipulative assholes, and I've sworn off being manipulated by assholes. Off to game...
I am so old that my grade school report card had a subject called "citizenship".
I'm not saying that I want kids to obsequiously follow authority. They get enough of that shit.
I am saying that character actually matters, and our grandparents knew that, and that we have forgotten it to our peril.
Weirdly, my report card also had 'handwriting' as a subject. I think keyboards and screen killed that one for good.
The news has been one punch in the nuts after another this year. But, it's been a lovely spring and now the trees have their leaves and lilacs are in bloom and my brain is overflowing with the music of all of the springtimes I've enjoyed.
No idea how things will turn out, but for tonight, I am grooving to Chick Corea and Return to Forever - again.