Done. And done. #Kamala2024

Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball

This happened in Miami (of course). Ohtani hit the ball into the stands. And people fought over it. And now the ball is up for auction, but the ownership is headed to a jury. 

While this one is actually about money, let's be honest here. I've seen people fight about balls that get hit in the stands - even a foul ball in a meaningless at bat. 

But I prefer this story to any of the general stupidity and hate we have in the world today. 

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/19/g-s1-29064/dodgers-baseball-shohei-ohtani-auction

https://youtu.be/X8XclxJ1iQQ?si=qI8xY2eiLf__mdP5

Just so dumb…

Disney’s new money making schemes are annoying

Disney announced that DVC members can purchase additional perks through a program called Membership Magic Beyond.  This is a "yearly enhanced benefits package" offered for the low price of $99 in addition to the annual dues to DVC.

The program allows for purchasers to have access to som discounted tickets, entry into a special lounge, and some other assorted activities. 

It feels like the things that used to be included are all now add-ons. 

Oh but that's not all! 

The company announced a new special lighting lane add on that has a variable price point starting at $400 per day, per person that allows you to have lighting lane / priority access to all attractions in that park for the day. So you pay the $150 or so for park entry and then you pay more to be able to do what the free fastpass used to give you. 

That just sticks in my craw. 

It's sad that it's become a rich persons park and it's all about squeezing as much money from you as possible. 

Can you go in and not pay the extras and still enjoy yourself? Yes. But it's unlikely you'll be able to get to everything you want to do in a day. As Bob Chapek said at one point, the system is designed for you to get to one or maybe two headliner attractions in a day.  

Its money being (probably) illegally spent

I've seen two different clips of Trump walking into a grocery store for some stupid photo op, and then walking over to the register and handing a customer a $100 bill and saying "vote for me" - which may seem folksy to some, but is, in fact, illegal.  

Of course no one wants to hold him to account for BREAKING THE LAW again.  Because why would they?

Then there's the stories about Elon Musk being a big donor to his campaign.  And make no mistake the man who is close to being the worlds first trillionaire - that's just unconscionable when we have people working two jobs to meet ends meet, or living in their cars - will get there with ease if Trump wins.  He will get every single advantage to run amok and not have to worry about pesky rules holding him back.

The stories are that he has a sort of ground operation where his donations are being used to pay campaign workers to canvas.  That is you can make a quick buck by working for the Trump campaign by asking people to vote for Trump.

But the kicker *appears to be* that in at least some cases, these workers are offering cash (on the order of around $100) to voters who pledge to vote for Trump.  

Again, let me state that this is 100% illegal.  And for the moment, it remains unverified and unsubstantiated.  But there are people telling us they either got or gave the money, so there must be a little something to it.

But again, who's going to do anything about it?  If he wins, then they all get away with it and democracy is essentially dead.  And if he doesn't, will anyone follow up and prosecute him?  Probably not.  He is teflon man after all.

This is what "we the people" who see the shadowy things he is doing and overt things he surely will do if he gets back into office can thwart by simply voting Kamala.  

The grift is real!

Donald Trump's campaign seems to be all about the grift.  He pleads for donations, then spends that money on himself for only marginally campaign-related things (or not at all in some cases). like gifts and items for staffers, and of course his own legal bills.  He has staff stay at Trump-related properties while on the campaign trail, and has them billing the rooms to the campaign.

And of course he goes into states he won't win and talks about how terrible they are! And the reason for holding a rally there?  It appeases his big donors in those states.  They give him money for simply showing up.

But the most egregious acts are selling items, as a part of the campaign, but pocketing 100% of the proceeds.

The two most odious examples are his limited-edition, "swiss made," $100,000 watches that are actually made in Wyoming and its unclear who owns the company that makes them.  Because of course it has to be a big secret. 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-watch-maker-investigation-wyoming-b2631311.html

And his bibles. With his name emblazoned on the front (because he was sent from god, apparently?) that were made in China.  Because its cheaper there, in spite of his insistence that they are ripping us off!

And yet the christian right eats this up.  I believe there is a commandment about "not putting false gods before me' - but its possible he left that line out of course.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/thousands-of-trump-bibles-were-printed-in-china-as-he-campaigned-against-trade-practices

Reminder: election related videos

 Same on both platforms

https://www.tiktok.com/@lostandfoundwdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3oqLLQjcQ&list=PL2P9RQmz1CVMXc3gilWwaKJfSGzyYjTl3

Feel free to watch, share, or ignore (if that's your thing!) 

About abortion access

I know this is an issue in this country. But for the life of me, I can't understand why.  Most developed nations don't even consider this as a talking point.  Abortion is legal almost everywhere in the world where you might consider it a 1st world nation (and even in some developing nations!).  A woman's right to choose, while getting quality advice and health care from a doctor, makes this a human right.  

But here, we have a hodge podge approach to it, with no uniformity and courts ruling differently across the country based on "states rights"... and of course the Supreme Court (which started us down this path, with no case before it, in simply overturning Roe v Wade for "reasons") won't wade into this at all.

And so we have lots of heated arguments that just fan the flames of division with no real meaningful discussion on the topic. (aside: I find it weird that the most ardent pro-life advocates are the ones that want to leave it up to politicians to decide are the same people who talked about "death panels" when talking about general healthcare.  They really can play both sides when it benefits them)

And before us, we have two candidates who have differing views on how to solve this.  On the one side you have Kamala who believes we should live in the 21st century, and women should have a right to choose. She would like to make it a uniform, national standard. 

On the other side, you have the orange menace, who clearly has no real opinion because it doesn't affect him, personally.  But, the authors of "project 2025" have made clear that they have an opinion and HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN an executive order for Trump to sign early in his tenure in office - and the authors have gone on record as saying they know he will sign over 100 such orders that are already written, in those early days.

When Trump tells you that he wouldn't sign any legislation that outlaws abortion, he might be telling the truth.  This is NOT legislation.  This is him acting as a king in doing the bidding of a small group that fundamentally wants to shape the nation without consulting the legislature or the courts (so much for checks and balances!) 

The way they plan to do this is to essentially enforce the Comstock Act of 1873.  The act lists out obscene materials and abortion-related items, and specifically says they can not be mailed. They are saying that the shipping of items related to abortion is covered under the mail provision.  And enforcement means that no equipment used for abortion may be sent to any clinic or hospital.

Of course, they are operating with a broadsword, and some equipment used for abortion is also used for general women's health.  So... the outcome will be that women won't have access to medical devices and procedures unrelated to abortion that could be used in healthcare and/or to save their lives.  You've heard about women dying in parking lots in states where abortion is outlawed.  Get ready for it to happen everywhere and extend beyond pregnancy.

And oh, by the way, the prohibition would also include many contraceptives as well.  So unwanted pregnancies will go up.  And women who need hormonal control to treat other issues may simply be out of luck.

It seems to me that the way to avoid nonsense related to this is to simply vote for Kamala.  But what do I know?

And in return, you'll also avoid another 100 things that would be started through executive action - surely some of which will impact your life.  

Darwin’s finches and evolution

The actual study is intriguing. But the summary here is a quicker and easier read. 

Essentially, the researcher found that finches evolved into new species in a very short amount of time!

The article says this:

This study provides critical evidence that ecological factors, such as droughts that alter beak shape, can indeed drive the emergence of new species by changing how birds communicate and recognize one another. 

For those of you who don't believe in evolution, here's an example of it happening in our world. 

https://www.earth.com/news/finch-beaks-and-bird-songs-a-new-story-of-evolution/

An op-ed about hurricane Milton, life in St. Petersburg, and misplaced priorities

This is a good read about what has become of St. Pete, and can be extended to towns around Florida. 

It's sad to see how our priorities have been warped to focus on things that don't matter, and in a way how dystopian we've become.

https://www.cltampa.com/tampa/op-ed-the-shredded-trop-and-a-fallen-crane-illustrate-the-foolishness-in-st-petes-priorities/Slideshow/18770755/18770770

.

Watch "Watch a meteor land on Earth - BBC" on YouTube

This is crazy, cool, and a little terrifying. 

https://youtu.be/nKqzB6hlF8c?si=Rs6etMfkcF3HvBUy

The early days of gas cars

We talk about how there's no infrastructure for electric car charging and that's a sort of deal breaker in terms of convenience. 

But (a) for most people, the ability to charge at home and perhaps somewhere like work is enough to meet everyday use. The "mental model" of having to get gas and worry about charging shouldn't be a consideration. The infrastructure as it exists today should be enough for general usage. 

And then (b) is this article about how early cars were either electric(!) or were powered by kerosene that you purchased at a store and taken out in an early version of a jerrican. (Fun side note: the word Jerri is slang for German, as the Germans invented the current design of the can during WWII and it was replicated by the allies)

People were fine with that - because they now had the ability to drive somewhere. We have become so car centric, looking for convenience, that we couldn't imagine such a thing. 

But note that the story below has a little more subtext - kerosene was inefficient as a fuel source, and the gasoline that was a byproduct of kerosene production was simply discarded. But it was much more efficient as a fuel source, and thus was sold to consumers (a win-win for the refiners because they had no byproducts to dispose of and could make lots more money!)

But it still took rather a long time to develop a method for distribution that is still in use today. It just took time to build a network and people only fairly recently in that history started thinking about much longer trips in their cars. 

https://historyfacts.com/science-industry/fact/before-gas-stations-drivers-used-to-buy-gas-in-a-can-from-the-pharmacy/

Part of the roof came off the Polynesian village

Oops. It's intriguing to me that Disney developed the Epcot building code… and then proceeded to not use it for cost reasons. 

https://blogmickey.com/2024/10/photos-high-winds-from-hurricane-milton-peel-off-roof-from-disneys-polynesian-village-resort-buildings/

The benefits of organic farming

A group of researchers studied the benefits of organic farming on the soil itself. 

After comparing their results, the researchers concluded that soil treated with manure or compost fertilizer stores more carbon than soil treated with chemical fertilizers or no fertilizer.

So there's a benefit to carbon capture and therefore to how to positively impact climate change. 

I realize that with the global population such as it is, organic farming can not feed the world. At least, not yet. But maybe this will prompt companies to look at alternatives to harsh chemicals that can produce similar results. 

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/organic-farming-soil-carbon-storage-study/

Woah. A black hole in a lab! Science rules

The notion of reconciling quantum mechanics and relativity has been a dream for some time. 

But it looks like some researchers who essentially created a simulated black hole by moving electrons between atoms to see what might happen have stumbled onto something interesting.  

That simulation could possibly reconcile the two theorems. They are showing how quantum states react while creating an event horizon that produces light and so it glows. That may be just the right thing to match this all up. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-simulated-a-black-hole-in-the-lab-and-then-it-began-to-glow

Its cool. 

Space junk: COLLISIONS ARE NOT A QUESTION OF IF BUT WHEN.

With all the debris that we continue to send into orbit, it's important to keep in mind that this could become a very big problem, very soon. 

https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-junk-disaster-inevitable

Toyota and hydrogen fuel rods

What a great idea! Let's make little devices that could be turned into bombs!

What could possibly go wrong?!

https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/toyotas-portable-hydrogen-cartridges-look-like-giant-aa-batteries-and-could-spell-the-end-of-lengthy-ev-charging

The big lie started with just one email

The daily show did some actual journalism and found the person who sent the original email about the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. 

It was a crazy person basing it on literally nothing… and then Fox News and certain well known dipshits ran with it without doing a shred of fact checking. 

Resulting in much of the stupidity we saw between the election and the inauguration, and the nearly $800 million dollar settlement Fox News reached for not even attempting to see if there were any nuggets of truth. 

https://youtu.be/NWZjYZ4b6EE

Why monster hurricanes like Milton are happening in the Gulf. It’s not geoengineering

This is a well researched article that sums up two key things: that there is a ton of bullshit (aka "misinformation") out there about basic science. And there is a climate change effect that is causing bigger storms to form in the gulf. 

And both should serve as a warning to us. We need good science. Not to bury our heads in the sand. And we need to stop with the notion that some crazy person knows what they're talking about because they researched it. 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/climate-change/article293741614.html

Nature returns. And so do the salmon

A dam was removed on a river between California and Oregon. And lo and behold, the salmon made their way back to the river, as they had years ago before the dam was installed. 

Nature has an amazing means of "finding a way" doesn't it?

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/salmon-swim-freely-klamath-river-1st-time-century-114571347

Zachary Taylor legacy

I love this little nugget. Zachary Taylor had never voted, was unaware that he was nominated for president (after refusing to pay the postage on the letter that informed him of such), and refused to campaign. 

And he won, then died in office. 

Politics are weird, man. 

https://historyfacts.com/us-history/fact/zachary-taylor-never-voted-until-his-own-presidential-election/

Such odd responses

Back in June, there was a proposal (pitched by Democrats) to expand the selective service, so that women would also have to register.  The concept was to help encourage more people (both men and women) to signup for military service.

Senators and Congresspeople had mixed reactions, but in a general sort of sense, there was some agreement that the military needs to be expanded and automatically registering men (rather than having to send back a form), and perhaps some means of expanding the program to women might make sense.

But not everyone felt that way.  Senator Josh Hawley, for example 'derided the measure to put women on equal footing as another "woke" decision being made on behalf of the nation's military.' 

"We need to get reality back in check here. There shouldn't be women in the draft. They shouldn't be forced to serve if they don't want to."

But he also doesn't believe its a womans right to control her own body as it relates to abortion.  

Is it safe to assume he 'respects' womens rights ... as it relates to how they serve men? 

Watch "Titan submersible owner said he'd 'buy a congressman' if Coast Guard became a problem, witness says" on YouTube

Geez. Here's another reason why rich people suck. In this case, he was only hurting himself and others who were dumb enough to go an expedition with him. 

But buy a congressman? Really?

https://youtu.be/gSZJJztP3AI?si=edtVLFJtDiLlORb5

Sheer stupidity is rewarded

We live in such strange times. The news media (that is ALL of them, not a partisan thing) are governed by financials. 

Their goal is to "sell newspapers" or more precisely, to get clicks on sites. Because that generates revenue and pays the reporters.  

They try and fill in sometimes with these artificially generated stories. Which is sheer madness. Stories that don't mean anything but have a headline…really?

That's terrible. But worse is not reporting on actual news, and instead allowing salacious headlines to make the rounds. And to give idiots with an ill informed position a forum to air their nonsense. 

That's why Donald Trump was - and is - in the news without any sort of realistic fact checking. Why he's always on. It generates clicks. 

And why a mouth breather like that congress lady from Georgia can espouse idiotic claims like "THEY control the weather" without a dismissive "this claim is absurd and laughable" 

Like in the attached article. It sure feels like it should be downplayed much more as in "she is a nitwit and has no business being in office" or perhaps just ignoring her dopey comments. 

https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-doubles-down-weather-comments-after-backlash-1964508

Is it a cult?

As you may be aware, I am producing videos about the election for both TikTok and YouTube.  At first, I allowed for comments on said videos, but I had to turn that feature off when I started getting more vitriol (including "schoolyard taunts" that we might have heard back in the 70s by bullies) for saying anything that wasn't aligned with the MAGA point of view. 

Quick note: oddly sometimes the "off" feature resets on YouTube when I upload from my phone and also when it's a scheduled video. So once a while a comment slips through before I can fix it. 

On the YouTube videos, I also turned off the ability for the viewer to see the percent of thumbs up and down (you can only see the thumbs up); but I can see it as the owner.  It's strange to me - though maybe not surprising - how many thumbs down the videos get.  It's a VERY large percentage (in many cases, well over 80% of the responses).

I expect that sometimes someone won't agree with what I'm saying and will give a thumbs down. And sometimes people are just "being funny" (ie, jerks) and give a thumbs down "just because."  But the number of negative responses is far greater on these videos than what I've seen on anything I've produced in the past.  

A bit of an aside: you have to have a thick skin to produce content for anyone to see on the interwebs; you never know how people will react.

Most rational people just move on.  But in the case of anything related to MAGA, people take time out of their day to watch at least part of something that doesn't align with their POV and proceed to comment on it (spilling their hate), and opt to put a thumbs down. 

For what it's worth, that sure sounds like a cult to me.

It’s really sad when corporate malfeasance wins

Tesla was taken to court over misleading statements about its full self driving. 

And in the end Tesla won because the lawyers argued that corporate puffery can not be construed as reality. 

We are truly dystopian. Full stop. 

https://electrek.co/2024/10/02/elon-musk-celebrates-winning-lawsuit-tesla-self-driving-claims-embarrassing-defense/

Tom Sawyers Island

The Orlando Sentinel ran an article about the closure of Tom Sawyers island at Disney World. 

I found the end part interesting. It's exactly what Disney is all about these days…

What's so very Disney about it

The island leans into its cutesy, old-timey theme. It's Disney-level clean in a great outdoors way.

There are a handful of animatronics, including one that's snoring.

On the modern side, there are the standard warnings about alligators and snakes, and there are rules for Tom Sawyer Scavenger's Fort (ages 2-12 only) and the "surfaces may be hot" advisory.

What's not very Disney 2024 about it

On Tom Sawyer Island, there's no MagicBand needed, no PhotoPass stops, no Lightning Lanes, no dessert party offering and no cast members telling us to keep our hands and feet inside the fort at all times.

There are no characters to meet or greet, no touting the latest holiday, no Mickey Bars, no souvenir merchandise or really anything to spend money on with the exception of a couple of vending machines by Aunt Polly's.

Decide for yourself if that's a plus or minus.

Using your friends family in photos is just weird

This candidate for office posted a photo with a woman and kids without any context.  It looks like a normal family photo.  Only, it's not his family, it's a friend's wife and kids.

His opponents came out and cried foul because he's single, and wants to appeal to family oriented voters. 

He says it's perfectly normal, as he was just posing for pictures like people do during campaigns (you know, because you're a celebrity and can do whatever you want…even grab them….but I digress).  And anyway, where is his friend?

To make his point, he posts some other pictures with supporters.  None are staged like that.  They look like candid shots. And he even posts a picture of him and his fiancé.  She is standing a little behind him, and it's a selfie style photo.  I certainly didn't guess that was his fiancé based on how it looks.

Sometimes people do weird things.  And when it comes to politicians, it's often weirder still.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13910009/Virginia-GOP-candidate-Derrick-Anderson-borrows-friends-family-campaign-photo.html

Another example of gaslighting

"Raising the minimum wage will lead to more people getting laid off, and prices will go up"

Except, that hasn't happened. 

Here's an independent study of what is happening in California. 

https://www.kqed.org/news/12007150/californias-20-fast-food-minimum-wage-sees-no-job-loss-slight-price-hikes

Sex Ed in Florida doesn’t educate about sex

The governor is at it again. He's telling schools that they can't actually teach about sex, can't talk about anatomy, and can't show pictures of reproductive organs. 

Of course, they have to promote abstinence and can not talk about birth control. 

And naturally parents can opt out. 

Because why talk about the human body? Why should budding adults have any idea what's going on in their bodies?

In Minnesota, Tim Walz offers menstrual products. In Florida, duhsantis is happy to just call that a lady problem and moves on. 

https://apnews.com/article/florida-sex-education-curriculum-5b1a46f5a73e3122f4815cf1d439aef0

Floridas insurance crisis

Here's a piece that appeared on 60 minutes recently. 

It tells the  story about how some of the "smaller insurers" in Florida (and to be fair, there really aren't any big ones left at this point) have been screwing customers. 

Intentional underpayments for legitimate damage is the key takeaway. 

But don't miss the fact that the aggrieved have turned to the state for help… but of course the attorney general can't be bothered. You know, she and the governor are pretty aligned in priorities, and serving the public is not at the top of the list…

https://youtu.be/j5re7zBzrJk?si=bSO2XafppPhCfYLE

Xitter and free speech

Elon says Xitter is all about the public square and free speech. Yet, we have heard that he has his team promoting his content and others he likes, while holding back things that he doesn't. And he actively removes people when they say things about him (or something near and dear). 

And just this week, he kicked a reporter off for … reporting.  Because he didn't like the report. 

https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-dossier-leak-hack-iran-ken-klippenstein-1960044

And then there's this story about how someone asked why Trump assassination keeps trending. And he responded in a way that got the secret services attention - essentially suggesting that someone target Biden and Harris. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-09-19/musk-x-post-about-biden-harris-threats-leads-to-secret-service-investigation

I think we can say "what a douche"…

Cards Against Humanity is suing Elon Musk…

This is an interesting story. 

Cards Against Humanity purchased a few acres of land in Texas as a sort of thumb of the nose at the idea of trumps border wall.

They somewhat humorously said they wanted the government to try and take it through eminent domain. 

Anyway flash forward to SpaceX having their launch facility in southern Texas. And, well, they're using the land owned by Cards Against Humanity to store random debris. Without permission. 

So they're suing Musk. But if we look at it, the reason for buying the land in the first place was to make a point. And in keeping it,

And suing, they're making an even more important point: companies can't simply do whatever they want. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91195653/cards-against-humanity-lawsuit-against-elon-musk-brilliant-stunt-that-makes-a-serious-point

1972 Miami Dolphins

 The passing of Mercury Morris made me reflect on the passage of time.  The undefeated season was going on 52 years ago when the players were mostly young men.  And the coaching staff was fairly young as well.

But now, all of the coaches and the owner have died, and 21 of the 45 players have likewise moved to valhalla, where no doubt they feast and are revered.

And a word about the legend of the team popping champagne when the last team falls: a few of the players lived in the same neighborhood in west Miami in the 1980s.  They were friends, and a few would hoist a pint to celebrate their success, and remember their accomplishment during the ensuing football seasons.  Then, sometime in the early 90s one of the news outlets seized on that idea and took pictures of them celebrating after the last team fell - even if it was mildly staged.  And a legend was born.

They were always proud of their success, but also knew there was some amount of luck involved.  And while they would welcome another team to their ranks, they always enjoyed being special.

By their jersey number, here are the players who are still with us:

11. Jim Del Gaizo, quarterback is 77 and living in Plantation FL 

12. Bob Griese, quarterback is 79, is retired and living in Jupiter.

20. Larry Seiple, punter/tight end is 79, is retired and living in The Villages 

26. Lloyd Mumphord, defensive back is 77 and living in Lafayette, La. 

28. Ed Jenkins, running back is 74 and living in Florida, 

39. Larry Csonka, running back is 77 and recently moved to North Carolina.

40. Dick Anderson, safety is 78, living in Miami 

42. Paul Warfield, wide receiver is 81, living in California. 

45. Curtis Johnson, defensive back:is 76, is retired and living in Detroit. 

49. Charlie Babb, safety is 74, retired and living in Naples. 

51. Larry Ball, linebacker is 75 and living in Miami

54. Howard Kindig, offensive lineman is 83, and living in Houston

59. Doug Swift, linebacker is 76 and living in Miami,

60. Al Jenkins, guard is 78, and living in New Orleans. 

65. Maulty Moore, defensive tackle is 78 and living in Florida, 

66. Larry Little, guard: is 78 and living in Florida,  

72. Bob Heinz, defensive tackle is 77 and living in Fresno, California. 

73. Norm Evans, offensive tackle: is 82 and living in Seattle

75. Manny Fernandez, defensive tackle is 78 and living in Ellaville, Georgia. 

77. Doug Crusan, left tackle is 78 and lives in Indianapolis, 

80. Marv Fleming, tight end is 82, and living in Marina del Ray, California  

81. Howard Twilley, wide receiver is 80 and living in Dallas.

82. Otto Stowe, wide receiver is 75 and living in Santa Barbara, California.

83. Vern Den Herder, defensive end is 75 and living in Sioux City, Iowa.

And here are the players who have left us.  The first - and only for a long time - was Wayne Moore who had a heart attack in the 1980s

1. Garo Yepremian, kicker: Died in Pennsylvania in 2015, at age 70, 

7. Billy Lothridge, defensive back: Died in 1996 at 54 in Pensacola

13. Jake Scott, safety: Scott died at the age of 75 in 2020, 

15. Earl Morrall, quarterback: Died in 2014 at age 79; 

21. Jim Kiick. running back: Died in 2020, at age 73,

22. Mercury Morris, running back: died at 77 in 2024

23. Charlie Leigh, running back: Died in Albany, New York, in 2006 at age 60. 

25. Tim Foley, cornerback:  died in St Augustine FL in 2023 at 76

32. Hubert Ginn, running back:  died in 2023 at 76, ih South Carolina.

43. Mike Howell, defensive back: Died in 2016 at 73. 

53, Bob Matheson, linebacker: Died at age 49 in 1994 at Duke University Hospital 

56. Jesse Powell, linebacker: Died in a Texas hospital in 2012 at age 65; 

78. Jim Dunaway, defensive tackle: Died in 2018 at 76;

79. Wayne Moore, offensive tackle: died in 1989, at the age of 44 from a heart attack .

57. Mike Kolen, linebacker: died in 2024 at 76, in  Alabama. 

62. Jim Langer, center: Died in 2019, at age 71,

67. Bob Kuechenberg, guard: Died in 2019, at age 71, in Fort Lauderdale. 

84. Bill Stanfill, defensive end: Died in Albany, Georgia., at 69 in 2016, 

85. Nick Buoniconti, linebacker: Died in New York in 2019 at age 78 

86. Marlin Briscoe, wide receiver:  died on 2022 at 76 in Norwalk, Calif., 

88. Jim Mandich, tight end: Died in 2011, in Miami Lakes, at age 62 

How stupid does he think we are?!

The orange menace reposted a photoshopped picture of Kamala with PDiddy for reasons I can't begin to understand or explain. 

And yet… he's called Diddy his guy, and came out and said he was innocent. And there are tons of pics of him with diddy. Including this one. 

What a pillock

This waste of space, mouth breathing senate candidate wants to know why women over 50 care about abortion.  

Where to begin? How about congrats on understanding one thing in biology; you learned that women reach menopause sometime about that age. But really? You can't understand women's health?!

You just can't make this stuff up. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-moreno-ohio-senate-abortion_n_66f22ca3e4b0199dbefaa30b

breaking down plastics

Here's another team working on how to break down polypropylene and polyethylene using a catalyst - relatively cheap materials - to break the polymer chains. 

So far, they've had some success in a test environment. It will be interesting to see if they can try it out on a large scale and see what the effects are, and whether this could be scaled. 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/09/vaporizing-plastics-recycles-them-into-nothing-but-gas/

To Valhalla

I was sad to learn the Eugene "mercury" Morris passed away. He was another of the greats on that '72 undefeated dolphins team and became their ersatz spokesman. 

Mercury was quite the character, but had a darker side where he got involved with drugs, and spent some time in prison after his playing days.  

But he was always kind of humble about it all and was honest about his mistakes. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing him many years ago. I don't recall where the full recording disappeared off to, but here's a clip I put on YouTube. 

https://youtu.be/RUoNbJFf5KM?si=QMviwImHWSw4GMPZ

A step closer to wireless charging

Tesla had acquired several companies that specialized in wireless charging technology, but that seemed to lead nowhere…

Until this week, when they filed a patent on wireless charging technology. And they have shown how it would work with specific cars. Which would seem to indicate this is how the robotaxis would stay charged while on the road. 

This could be an amazing breakthrough, and I might be a little more enthusiastic if it weren't involving Elon musk. 

But in any case, I'm excited about the evolutionary step that's about to happen. 

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1144426_tesla-wireless-charging-system-patent

Election-related videos

Under the headline "doing what I can to help,"  I decided to produce some short videos about the election, and more specifically why to vote for Kamala - and why not to vote for the orange menace.

They are being posted regularly to TikTok here 

https://www.tiktok.com/@lostandfoundwdw

And they can all be found in a playlist on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3oqLLQjcQ&list=PL2P9RQmz1CVMXc3gilWwaKJfSGzyYjTl3

Feel free to watch, share, or ignore (if that's your thing!) 

A refresher on trumps collusion with Russia

This is a look back at the disinformation campaign - and the subversion of the 2016 election. 

Think it couldn't happen again? Think again. 

https://link.motherjones.com/public/34415116

Specialty license plates in Florida

Among the (very many) specialty license plates that are available in Florida, there is one that is Disney World related. 

But the thing is that specialty plates have a special designation, and proceeds from them must benefit a charity.  Disney World worked with the Make-A-Wish foundation, and donates the proceeds there.

They just announced that they reached a milestone in these donations.

The $3 million raised has helped send more than 300 Florida families on unforgettable wish trips, bringing them happiness and hope when it's needed most. Here's what one mom shared with us after her daughter's wish to visit Walt Disney World was granted:

 

"Disney has always represented magical moments for our family and when Vyla's wish was granted, it was more than we could have dreamt of. I couldn't hold back the tears walking into the park because it was a moment we didn't know we would see. We are so grateful for Make-A-Wish, Disney and all of the people who made these moments possible for our family."

Black Trump supporter was called a slave…

There's a story about a black man who claims he was "all in" as a Trump supporter, and wanted to help promote the orange menace. 

Did I need to mention that he's in Flori-duh? I mean we are the seat of stupidity.

He started canvassing (going door to door to talk to people) and then complained about not getting paid and someone in the campaign called him a slave. And so he cried foul, and also talked about how they also asked him to bribe someone. 

I have SO MANY questions. 

Of course there's the headline. He was derided - or at least he took it that way. And that's really all that matters. The campaign seems to have two views: the one that says the person was wrong to say it and the one that buries its head in the sand. 

What century is this again? Why would this even ever come up? 

But to me, there are a couple of deeper issues that came out. 

I know people canvassing for Harris. They do it because they believe in the cause. The Trump campaign is paying people to do the same? Huh? Could that be at least part of the reason he decided to join the team? There's a lot of legal fuzziness around the payments as well. A separate company is contracted to employ people and they have some weirdness going on. 

Then, a spokesman said something about how they track the canvassers, and they can see which houses they went to. That seems much less like a political movement, especially something "grassroots" doesn't it?

How does that work? And who pays for the technology?

And then there's the matter of bribe. Is anyone actually looking into this? Who was being bribed? And why? There's something weird going on there, too. And something about having a black man who was hired as a canvasser setup payments for something seems amiss. There's got to be more to this story. 

https://atlantablackstar.com/2024/08/29/black-trump-supporter-says-he-was-called-a-slave-by-the-conservative-organization-he-was-campaigning-for/

Can you pass the citizenship test - answers

1. c: The printed copies distributed to state delegations and others originally bore just two signatures: those of Congress President John Hancock and Secretary Charles Thomson. The parchment copy most Americans know and revere wasn't engrossed until the following month, and some delegates never signed it.

2. b: The seven red stripes represent valor and "hardiness"; the six white stripes stand for purity and innocence.

3. d: James Madison, often called the "Father of the Constitution," initially opposed having an addendum to the document. But some states held off ratification until a "bill of rights" was added.

4. b: Madison's initial draft of the First Amendment did not include freedom of worship. It read: "The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable."

5. a: That number was first adopted in 1911. The House temporarily added two more seats following the admissions of Alaska and Hawaii as states in 1959.

6. d: Although George Washington was born in Virginia, the first president could have been foreign-born, so long as he was a U.S. citizen "at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution ..." Martin van Buren was the first president born after the United States broke away from Britain.

7. d: The framers hoped that staggered terms would promote stability and prevent senators from combining for "sinister purposes."

8. a: Before 1951 and the ratification of the 22nd Amendment, presidents could theoretically serve unlimited terms. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected four times but died in office, is the only chief executive to have served more than two terms.

9. b: Congress controls taxing and establishes an annual budget.

10. c: Those three words are the beginning of the preamble. That differs from the Articles of Confederation, adopted in November 1777, which focused on the sovereignty of the states.

Could you pass a citizenship test?

Immigrants seeking to become United States citizens have to show a working knowledge of the nation's history and how the federal government functions. And they don't get multiple choices.

Could YOU pass even a dumbed-down citizenship test? Let's find out!

1. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

a. July 4, 1775

b. Christmas, 1782

c. July 4, 1776

d. Oct. 19, 1781

2. What do the stripes on the U.S. flag stand for?

a. They hearken back to the British flag

b. The 13 original colonies

c. The blood shed in the American Revolution

d. No one knows for sure

3. How many amendments make up the Bill of Rights?

a. Five

b. Twenty

c. Thirteen

d. Ten

4. Name one right guaranteed by the First Amendment

a. The right to bear arms

b. Freedom of assembly

c. The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

d. The right to privacy

5. How many members are there in the House of Representatives?

a. 435

b. 438

c. 450

d. It fluctuates

6. Which of these is NOT a requirement to be president of the United States?

a. Must be a natural-born citizen

b. Must be at least 35 years old

c. Must have lived at least 14 years in the U.S.

d. Must own property in the U.S.

7. How long do Senators serve?

a. Four years

b. Two years

c. Eight years

d. Six years

8. How many full terms can a president serve?

a. Two

b. Unlimited

c. Three

d. Four

9. Which branch of the federal government controls spending?

a. Executive

b. Legislative

c. Judiciary

d. The Internal Revenue Service

10. What are the first words of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution?

a. "We hold these truths to be self-evident ..."

b. "Four score and seven years ago ..."

c. "We the people ..."

d. "When in the course of human events ..."

— this is from 6ABC.com