Guard Dog

You gotta love the Brits: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5382713/sex-dolls-hired-out-50-pounds-before-buying-lovedoll-gateshead/

Yeah that is another design that can be expanded in a modular fashion.

I haven't seen micro houses yet (except on HGTV but most of those are on wheels) but a block over from my condo building they have micro apartments but they are 339 square feet I have a real interest in re purposing materials. One thing that strikes me about this design is not only is it expandable but you can bury it. A design like this, internally insulated and externally covered with earth would be very energy efficient. I have this idea for a house powered 80% by DC power, 10% propane or natural gas, 10% AC. Something like this would be easy to engineer in that way.

Interesting idea: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5271411/8ft-concrete-tubes-solution-housing-crisis.html

Them is fightin' words!

An interesting side note to the book I posted above, Sergeant Rex. If you have seen, or ever do see the movie Megan Leavy, that is the same dog. She became his handler after the author left the Corps. Her story begins there and ends with her adopting Rex when his working life was over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE4EwTvX8Vw

There is but ONE question with regards to season 8: Will Winds of Winter be released before it airs. My money says no. Edit: The show is so divorced from it's source material and leaning so heavily on tired old TV tropes than none of that "spoiler" stuff is too improbable.

Speaking of baseball. I was having drinks with two of my counterparts in Nashville last week and we got to talking about who was the best player to ever play in the majors from the Negro Leagues. It's hard to argue against Jackie but I said if baseball had integrated 10-15 years earlier it would have been Satchel Paige hands down. I mentioned to them that he played for the Miami Marlins once. Of course they laughed at that since the (current) Marlins started in 1993 and were the Florida Marlins until 2011. Paige pitched his last game in 1965 and passed away in 1982, 11 years before the Marlins Inaugural season. Seeing an opportunity I bet them each a drink. What they didn't know is the Miami Marlins were named for an International League team that played in the Orange Bowl & Miami Stadium in the late '50's. In 1957 they signed Satchel Paige and he pitched in just one game, a 6-2 win over the Columbus Jets. That day he pitched 8 innings of 1 hit ball AND hit a 3 run double. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Marlins_(International_League) Nothing tastes better than free whiskey.

Yeah, I'd say this one is likely true. They don't actually care about these folks other than how they can be exploited politically. Pretty much like everyone else in politics.

Dolores O'Riordan passed away. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5271823/Cranberries-singer-Dolores-ORiordan-dies-London-hotel.html

Today's lesson: Stick to what you're good at! http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/15/naacp-says-mlks-vision-cant-be-achieved-without-fighting-global-warming/ It's kind of like this:

This is why the Supreme Court matters. About 20 years the Court rendered a decision on a case called Kelo vs New London CT. That case is right up there with Dred Scott, Hans vs Louisiana, US vs Cruikshank, & NFIB vs Sebilus in the Hall of Fame of worst Supreme Court decisions. I've said it before and I'll say it again, every justice that sided with the City of New London should have been dragged from the building at the end of a rope and hung in the street from the street lights. Because this is what has come of it: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/east-harlem-dry-cleaner-city-forcing-business-article-1.3742125 If the government wants what you have, they can just take it. For all you people who think the government is your goddamed mother or some idiocy, or think it exists to take care of you in any way let me disabuse of that notion right now. Government exists for on purpose only: self perpetuation. It loves only one thing: money.

Personally I see nothing wrong with bias in news. There has never been a time in our country where unbiased journalism was the norm. Don't believe me? Go on over to google for a few minutes. I'll be here when you get back. News reporting is a commodity just like any other. It's like fried chicken. Some places sell spicy, some sell original recipes, some use buttermilk and cornbread batter (mmmm) some tastes better than others, some places are cheaper than others, but it's all still fried chicken. If you want fried chicken you should be able to pick who you get it from. And of course if you want real news there are places to get that too. The point I'm getting to (maybe I am taking the long way around the barn to get to it) is that the angst I hear over the effects of "biased journalism" and "fake news" is presented as begging the question "what are we going to do about it?" The answer is of course nothing. The idea that there is something to be done about it leads someone to think they know what people SHOULD be watching. And leads to someone MAKING people watch what that someone thinks they should. Freedom means watching other people do things you don't like. Whether that's watching Fox or MSNBC, or smoking a cigarette or whatever. No one is making anyone watch.

Now reading this: And this:

Best of luck with the new start!

Exactly correct. There are far too many examples of heavy handed abuse of the citizens by the US government. Frankly I am surprised this whole thing ended as peacefully as it did. It's hardly unheard of for Federal law enforcement is to shoot the suspects and all the witnesses. I

This was it. It's a little more complex than that because the land the cattle was grazing on was supposed to have been turned over to the state a long time ago. So there was a dispute to just who grazing fees even were owed to. Plus there was a Chinese owned power company that had an interest in leasing the land and some of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's family members were involved in brokering the deal. Like most stories this one had more layers than was obvious from the news.

Federal charges against Cliven, Ammon, and Ryan Bundy dismissed with prejudice. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bundy-blm/judge-in-las-vegas-dismisses-case-against-cliven-bundy-2-sons/ This stems back to the big stand off in Nevada a few years ago. The BLM decided to resolve a simple grazing contract dispute with automatic weapons, snipers, mace, and beatings. Oh, and a flagrant disregard of the 4th Amendment. I would not go so far as call the Bundy's the "good guys" but the government was definitely the "bad guys" in this debacle.

You are mistaken. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940 ... and some will still say that the U.S. was a peace loving nation who only got into WW2 because it was attacked unprovoked by the Japanese Empire, and that the attack was even a surprise. "Oh the stuff they teach people in schools! Or is it the stuff they don't teach people in schools? Either way... Ha! Ha! Ha!!! Ha!!!!" - I didn't know the cutoff was 40 in those days. Johnson would have been 32 in 1940 so he would have been on the hook. But it was moot because you are also correct he was in the USNR. So, I stand corrected... twice. That's what happens when you go off memory rather than looking things up.

There was no draft when Johnson was of an age to be drafted. He was in his 30's when WWII started.

I forget who said it, but it was a celebrity. They thought impeaching Trump would make Hillary President. I'll bet the were pissed when someone set them straight.... if anyone has.

Ah yes... I knew we discussed this kind of thing not too long ago. See post 109: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/93292-politics-episode-9-the-lurking-fear/page-6?do=findComment&comment=1926488

Yes, I was referring to career military men who became President either right out of uniform or shortly thereafter.

The track record of career military going into the Presidency is not impressive. Washington is probably the best. Jackson and Eisenhower did OK most people agree. Grant, Taylor, Pierce, Arthur, & Hayes not so much. Garfield was assassinated before he could do anything so it's hard to say with him.

I think we've had enough celebrity presidents thank you very much.