The fun thing about aging is that, while new injuries seem to take longer to heal, at least I probably won’t miss them for long, since old injuries (some 60 or more years old) continually remind me of their continuing (have I stressed “continue” enough yet? 😉 ) presence. Joy! It’s a memory boost! Maybe I will NEVER “forget” an injury! *heh*
“Military Grade”
Confession: while I despise the word “smirk,” primarily because subliterate 20-somethings misuse it so much, I confess to smirking (appropriate use notice! *heh*) whenever I see some company tout a product as “military grade.” (Too often – once is too often, but sadly it seems to be more often than that – “military grade” means “low bid from the company offering the most graft.”)
Does “Constitutional Heresy” Count?
Just askin’ because. . .
Lacks a Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi
Severe cold discovery: The Phlegm Diet™® is quite nutritious, but the flavor profile isn’t quite five star quality. Maybe 1/8 star. . . Texture? Well, if you like raw oysters. . . it’s a little less appealing than that.
Is It just Me?
Yeh, it’s probably just me. *heh*
Lil hitches in a sci-fi (or really, any) story stand out when the rest is well-written (especially if it’s “hard” sci-fi, which must meet a stricter standard for suspension of disbelief). Here’s a marginal blip: in order to “blend in,” a Chicom operative orders a cheese pizza. . . and eats it. The thing is, while lactose intolerance among those of northern European ancestry has generally been around 5%, among the Chinese, especially the Han, it’s around 90%. A cheese pizza just doesn’t seem normal. To me, that would stand out, not blend in.
*shrugs* My Wonder Woman chides me sometimes about being a bit too detail oriented, so maybe this is just an idiosyncratic problem.
The Right Tool for the Job
You have one knife on your person. Good for you. Two is better. Three is better still. More, if you want to have self-defense options that include edged tools/weapons. No, really. Close range knife “fights” mean BOTH will be wounded. If not defending against a firearm, ranged knife defense – practice throwing knives? Sure – can be an exceptionally effective option.
Note: knife wounds are more likely to result in fatalities, so make absolutely certain you cannot remove yourself from danger without seriously wounding an aggressor.
Aside from self-defense options, knives are pretty close to being the ultimate “frustration-free packaging” tools, among many, many other uses, and the right knife for the job can make a big difference.
CMS Apocalypse?
Premise of a fiction series.
FORTUNATELY, I read the author’s intro before committing to the series that might have had potential for having some interesting information gleaned through some storytelling. But, given one sentence early on, I was able to avoid further brain-damaging text. Whoever edited the book missed a gross mismatch between a plural noun and a singular pronoun. A further glance down the page and, yep: grammar being sucked like dead bunnies through a straw. I ain’t got time fer that. 😉
I’ll add to my infopack on CMSes and EMPs with info from elsewhere, TYVM.
Nopers. Not for Me.
Saw a posting for what is quite likely an otherwise worthwhile event, but even if I were to desire to attend, I could not, because I have a firm policy against exclusion of knives (and by extension ANY exclusion of items that can be used for self-defense, because such is an inherent right). And, guess what? The venue not only excludes ALL knives (no matter size, design, or purpose) but excludes a lot of other things that, well, only Koolaid drinkers would approve of.
Yeh, I don’t fly, either (and I’d have to to make the event. Or rather, I will not, because Thugs Standing Around are just Security Kabuki, laced with cover for Official Thievery. Sure, it limits some of my options, but not any that are really important.
Obfuscation, a PERSEC Device
PERSEC, INFOSEC, even OPSEC: fields to consider when using one’s Internet-connected computation devices (including phones). VPNs, TOR browsing, defeat of various tracking methods etc., are some standard tools, but do not underestimate sowing disinformation.
For one small example, Amazon has a record of ~8,500 books I have “bought” for my Kindles. Of course, MOST of those are freebies, and an [undisclosed] number of those are books I have absolutely no interest in at all (though I do fake having read ’em by “jumping” on through til I reach the end). This ensures that Amazon will keep pitching books to me that I have no interest in reading, demonstrating the company’s lack of true knowledge of my interest areas. (I do download a lot of PD books elsewhere while in TOR sessions, though.)
That’s just an example. There are others. It cheers my heart whenever a company sends my junk mail addresses emails touting things that “will interest me” demonstrating that a particular set of disinformation has taken root.
And now you get to wonder what part(s) of this post is(are) disinformation. . . 🙂
Needed More Fiber
This is the largest fossilized human turd ever found
“The hefty deposit, measuring 8? x 2? (20 cm by 5 cm), was found beneath the site of the famous bank [Lloyds]in 1972. . .”
Hefty? *meh* Maybe by weight, since it’s fossilized. (warning: may be TMI) 8”x2” isn’t much at all. Mine are regularly 12” (or longer) “floaters” of a diameter easily 50% larger than 2”. Maybe I should “fossilize” a personal “floater” and put it up for auction. . .