rjshae

Christ of the Ozarks; it's 20 meters in height.

I'm Anglo-Saxon by heritage. I don't consider myself "white" as such because to me that represents a number of different ethnic groups.

Oh, I have to disagree. Diplomacy doesn't work like that. We don't need to kiss butt to improve relations; just smooth things over, find common interests, and all will be fine.

It's not really anything. At most Biden could only get a draw by participating, so why bother? He can hurt Putin more through other means, including rectifying our soured relations with European states.

The good news for me at least is that the state is lowering the eligibility age for vaccines at the end of the month, so I'll finally be able to join a queue. My old work buddies and I are hoping things will reach a point where we can get together for a gathering some time this summer. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed...

My thinking is that we all have biases -- it's how our brains are wired for survival. Whether you control them or you let them control you determines whether you are racist/sexist/tropist. I think we should allow some leeway for people having biases; don't shun them just because of some questionable statement, but do let them know if you find it objectionable. Where racism hurts and often should not be tolerated is when it has an impact on a person's major life choices and economic opportunities. I think that is where the government often needs to step in. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and all that whatnot. Thanks.

How do we celebrate? Tear down some random statues?

Here's some recent progress on betavoltaic battery technology using the nickel-63 isotope: Scientists develop an economical atomic battery with power increased by 10 times (August 21, 2020) I did a little reading on this topic. This isotope is generated through neutron capture by nickel-62 in the structure of a nuclear reactor, and is currently disposed of as low-level radioactive waste. Nickel-63 decays to stable copper, emitting beta radiation (electrons) with no gamma ray output; it can be blocked by a pair of gloves. The isotope has a half-life of 100.1 years, so it's superior to tritium for long-term battery use. More info: Nickel-63

Pretty much the same place that vaccine hesitancy is coming from, I'd say.

^ Drone camera?

Based on the rushed testing protocol they used, as well as being from a highly questionable information source (Putin's Russia), that would be the vaccine I would have the greatest hesitancy in using.

I think he mentioned at some point he was in favor of a digital fence. For that to work though you'd need to hire more border guards to round up all the loose people. Must be a Democrat full employment act.

Well that's pretty much been 80+% of the attacks coming from the right wingnuts, so most likely Putin is merely amplifying the behavior. Thus far it hasn't done much to Biden's popularity, and I suspect many people just dismiss it as peevish partisanship.

An angry grizzly bear appears. You draw your derringer...

They'll need a control to compare to the microchipped population. The big question is, which one is the control? It's a double-blind study. Mwahahaha...

So... the $750 million the Gates Foundation spent on AZD1222 doesn't count? Bill Gates commits $750M to help Oxford vaccinate the world against COVID-19

Major European nations suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine Why does this seem like a total knee-jerk response that will end up killing more people than it saves?

Fails to sink a birdie...

Ultimately, I think we're going to need to employ something like blockchain technology to validate the originality of all videos. At least those that are likely to end up in a court of law.

Researchers have had good results from a two week, $10 course of the antidepressant fluxoxamine: The antidepressant fluvoxamine could keep mild COVID-19 from worsening Good news, if it pans out.

Finally got caught up on Resident Alien. Alan Tudyk plays an alien in an alien land brilliantly; the comic timing is spot on. The rest of the drama is mostly conventional, but the town plays the straight man role perfectly. It's well worth a watch.