Unofficial Off Topic Thread

[sk47]

https://reason.com/2025/12/03/audit...ubsidized-health-insurance-only-1-was-denied/

Surprised even one was rejected.

Over 58,000 with social security numbers of dead people receiving ~$94 million in tax credits.

No wonder one party is so anxious to keep this funded; probably lose that many votes if it's cut off.

Hello; Thank you for this post.

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[sk47]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...1&cvid=6933546a5f81422d88973d0dd185ddfa&ei=21

Hello; I especially liked the armored truck and the bird dropped a catfish. The plywood into the windshield of the Honda is too scarry.

 

[sk47]

Mustang owner arrested just 60 minutes after buying his car

Hello; The new Mustang experience. For an hour anyway. Impounded.

 

[sk47]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle...1&cvid=693ee4f02765462196fb187dc820c391&ei=30

Hello; Another dog story but without a mauling nor a dead dog. Does raise a question or two. One being when is it "fair" to pepper spray a dog? The story is one example of when i think the small dog owner had a case to do so, with an understanding. That the dog park had signs requiring to have dogs on a lead was good enough reason. The owner of the two off leash dogs knew the rules and decided to "tush hog" the situation. The owner of the small dog on a leash wimped out in my opinion. Which is, in my opinion, what the T hog wanted & expected.

That gets to the understanding. That being in a situation such as the one described you are confronting the owner as well as the dogs. Had a few such situations myself. Some folks do not like the idea of a leash nor a fence. I get it. In a perfect world all dogs would be friendly to strange people and strange dogs and we could let them run free with no worries. Not the case.
I have a neighbor two properties over, maybe 100 to 150 feet away. We got along for around 14 years. On good terms. They got a sheepdog and when a pup I was around it with no problems. At going on a year, it decided to "herd" everyone in the neighborhood. Would try to get behind me and others and bite the back of a leg. Got the guy who mows another neighbor's house pants leg but did not get the skin. Dog tried hard to get me a number of times. Got to where i had to keep it in front of me. Would have to stop mowing or stacking firewood and such. Even chased two small kids around my property. So, i called the law a couple of times.

Came to a head one day when the man came to retrieve the dog for the seventh time and saw me swinging a metal fireplace poker at the dog ( the time the dog chased a 6 year old & 10 years old child around my place. ) He threatened to kick my ass for trying to hit his dog. So i swung at it again a few more times. I also called the law again. I made it clear I was no longer going to put up with the dog and would do my best to kill it if I could manage to do so.
Not sure what they did but the dog no longer comes on my property. It will stand in their yard and bark at me from a distance. No fence. Took the father of the two kids around a year to finally call the cops over the dog coming onto his place and going for his kids. He lives closer. I gave him a walnut picker upper spear I had made which seems to have convinced my neighborhood "tush hog" to keep the dog at home.

So far, my ass has not been kicked, and the dog stays home. That is the understanding I refer to. when a dog is off lead and is out and about it is half the issue. The other half is the owner. We need to be ready to deal with both or run and hide

 

[sk47]

Voyager 1 will reach one light-day from Earth in 2026. Here’s what that means

Hello; I do recall back in 1977 when Voyager 1 was launched. Months later started sending back flyby pictures of planets and moons. Took years to leave the solar system. Forty-nine years later, in 2026, it has traveled the distance that light can make in one 24 hour day.

This is why we are stuck in a small solar system with the tech we currently have. Also why sci-fi stories have to invent impossible things such as warp drive and cryo sleep. My favorite is the stasis field.

Interesting trivia to be sure.

 

[CrazyHippie]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle...1&cvid=693ee4f02765462196fb187dc820c391&ei=30

Hello; Another dog story but without a mauling nor a dead dog. Does raise a question or two. One being when is it "fair" to pepper spray a dog? The story is one example of when i think the small dog owner had a case to do so, with an understanding. That the dog park had signs requiring to have dogs on a lead was good enough reason. The owner of the two off leash dogs knew the rules and decided to "tush hog" the situation. The owner of the small dog on a leash wimped out in my opinion. Which is, in my opinion, what the T hog wanted & expected.

That gets to the understanding. That being in a situation such as the one described you are confronting the owner as well as the dogs. Had a few such situations myself. Some folks do not like the idea of a leash nor a fence. I get it. In a perfect world all dogs would be friendly to strange people and strange dogs and we could let them run free with no worries. Not the case.
I have a neighbor two properties over, maybe 100 to 150 feet away. We got along for around 14 years. On good terms. They got a sheepdog and when a pup I was around it with no problems. At going on a year, it decided to "herd" everyone in the neighborhood. Would try to get behind me and others and bite the back of a leg. Got the guy who mows another neighbor's house pants leg but did not get the skin. Dog tried hard to get me a number of times. Got to where i had to keep it in front of me. Would have to stop mowing or stacking firewood and such. Even chased two small kids around my property. So, i called the law a couple of times.

Came to a head one day when the man came to retrieve the dog for the seventh time and saw me swinging a metal fireplace poker at the dog ( the time the dog chased a 6 year old & 10 years old child around my place. ) He threatened to kick my ass for trying to hit his dog. So i swung at it again a few more times. I also called the law again. I made it clear I was no longer going to put up with the dog and would do my best to kill it if I could manage to do so.
Not sure what they did but the dog no longer comes on my property. It will stand in their yard and bark at me from a distance. No fence. Took the father of the two kids around a year to finally call the cops over the dog coming onto his place and going for his kids. He lives closer. I gave him a walnut picker upper spear I had made which seems to have convinced my neighborhood "tush hog" to keep the dog at home.

So far, my ass has not been kicked, and the dog stays home. That is the understanding I refer to. when a dog is off lead and is out and about it is half the issue. The other half is the owner. We need to be ready to deal with both or run and hide

I've got a similar neighbor with a Labrodoodle. Pretty large dog and full of energy. He used to just about knock me down and drew blood grabbing my arm when I was out doing yard work, but it was all playing to him. At first, I expected his owner to address this, but eventually decided to fix it myself. So I started firmly gripping his collar and restraining him until he settled down. Then I'd relax and love on him as long as he remained calm. Now were good friends and he sits and behaves for me. His owner can't figure out why. lol.

 

[sk47]

I've got a similar neighbor with a Labrodoodle. Pretty large dog and full of energy. He used to just about knock me down and drew blood grabbing my arm when I was out doing yard work, but it was all playing to him. At first, I expected his owner to address this, but eventually decided to fix it myself. So I started firmly gripping his collar and restraining him until he settled down. Then I'd relax and love on him as long as he remained calm. Now were good friends and he sits and behaves for me. His owner can't figure out why. lol.

Hello; I tried to make friends with the problem dog. Gave it dog biscuits. Did not matter. Seems it was hardwired to "herd" and willing to bite the back of a leg or ankle to get you moving. Not a deadly attack to be sure but over and over was too much.
When I was having problems with the dog it had four legs. Now it has three. I do not know the actual story as am not on speaking terms with the man & wife. One story is they took it to their farm and it started some crap with another dog and got chewed up good. Now it has one less hind leg. It was down for a while but is recovered. The family with kids is moving away so that is not to be a problem soon.

 

[sk47]

DoorDash driver caught spraying substance on food bizarrely claims she was aiming at spider

Hello; I have never ordered door dash. This story is way worse than someone spitting on the food.

 

[sk47]

"It went too far": Armed homeowner arrested after shooting teen "porch pirates"

Hello; This is a case of porch pirates getting what they deserve in my opinion. Seems two thieves were caught by a homeowner stealing his property from his home in Atlanta GA. The homeowner shot the two thieves wounding them.
The linked article presents different points of view so likley one you favor is included. Some say since the thieves are teens that is a factor. Some say packages can be replaced and so on.

That they are teens is interesting but not important. I am sure from seeing videos of such theft that lots of porch thieves are adult. I sort of get the point of packages can be replaced but do not give credence to the idea. My home & property is where I live. I have to be here. my home & property is my sanctuary. I hope to defend my place no matter what it takes. I may give someone my stuff or my money but i will not tolerate someone taking anything from me.
I read about in some states a thief can steal up to $900 or so before being charged. That is so wrong. It is not about the value of what is taken. It is that someone is trying to take from us, not what the stuff is worth.

Not the last thought to be sure but a final one for now. I am sure there are plenty of thieves in my area. If it becomes known there is no consequence for coming on my place and taking small stuff, soon enough they will want even more. That the homeowner is in jail is not justice. Not in my view. I do not know if the homeowner lived alone, but if he does wanna wager on if his place is robbed. maybe by the same thieves?

 

[sk47]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle...1&cvid=694172bcee9d426787795a515c940a43&ei=28

Hello; Here is the most screwed up dog story yet. No violence, no mauling and no deaths, just a modern type "it has to be someone elses fault". You likely know the sort of person. Sort of the opposite and logical outcome of everybody gets a trophy.

Now i first confess to not completely understanding the logic of having a dog and not taking it for a walk yourself. I will also confess to not understanding what seems to me a sort of fad of having a dog when your lifestyle makes such very hard.
(side note- I live near an expanding college campus. One which has grown from a sleepy small college to a local behemoth. Seems nearly all the students have dogs. Some more than one. I can only imagine what dorm life is like and in fact do not want to know first-hand.)

So, back to the link. I have not owned a dog since the early 1980's. (was not a dog parent by the way. I owned the dog. Another odd life twist = pet parent) Things were simple enough back then. Now dogs get medical care on a level in terms of cost with human health care. Costs a lot. So where is the next level of false logic coming from? First level is having a dog which you cannot walk yourself. Second level is expecting a low a low wage dog walker to help foot the bill for something a dog (a dumb dog by owners very words) eats.

Made me think of why i finally stopped driving a school bus. I drove for 13 years. I understood i was liable for the safety of my passengers. From 1st graders to 8th graders most years. The first few years I could maintain discipline on the bus. Yes i did use corporal punishment. I used a paddle. Worked very well. As time went by the "experts" took away the paddle, then writing lines, then stopped all forms of punishment. In addition I could not personally kick a student off the bus nor could i get the school principal to use his authority to do so. There is a final straw episode after which I declared I needed to be able to kick unruly kids off my bus for safety reasons or I would quit driving. The bosses let me quit. But i am off topic a bit.

Had a friend in the medical field. He earned well. Had a low paid housekeeper come clean his house after his wife left. One weekend he gets around to cleaning up a portion of the property. After timing some branches and other work he decides to block the spot the housekeeper had been parking in for many months. he did not tell her of the change, just filled a black five-gallon bucket with gravel and sat it in front of the spot. The woman drove into the bucket causing big damage to her car. ( I saw the bucket after the fact and had to tell him it was hard to spot. ) He refused to help her with a car repair and was very self-satisfied he was not in the wrong. Would have been tiny potatoes financially for him but devastated the woman.

To those who hire someone to walk your dog, too bad if i offend. To those who walk their own dog good for you and please clean up if they deposit on a walking trail.

 

[sk47]

My boyfriend makes twice as much as I do but insists we split everything 50/50. Is that fair?

Hello; I guess the link is clickbait, but it strikes a chord. A decent exploration "equity" & "equality".

The story turns out to be biased but that is not the main point, at least for me. The scenario is one makes $50K & the other makes $100 K. That the couple are in a romantic relationship is of less interest to me, but a big sway point for the author.
The rent is $1000 I think so an equal split is $500 each. That makes sense. What the link leaves out is a real-world situation would be for the $50K person. On their own they would have to pay the full $1000. So, they are $500 ahead with a fair split of costs. The author wants a better deal for the lower wage earner.

Not clear why the higher wage earner is making more. Did they work hard at gaining some more critical skill? Are they doing some sort of much more dangerous or physical job? None of that sort of thing matters within the realm of equity. All that seems to matter is the one with less income ought to get a better deal simply because the other earns more. Now as a public-school teacher in KY I could have gone for such a deal. There is a flaw in the thinking of course.

In this particular example the couple are in a romantic setup. The author goes into feelings and definitions of relationships a lot. I get it. I was married twice. Both times I was the sole earner even though in one marriage the wife had a college degree which I managed to get paid off. So I was apparently being very "equitable" and did not exactly know it at the time. Worked out well for the wives as they had plenty of time for their boyfriends, but a topic for another day. I will say this though; the grass was apparently not "greener" as both tried to come back after the divorces.

Of course, I acknowledge to have missed some important points about equity as it has been applied currently. Perhaps other will fill in about the current spins.

 

[sk47]

Video: 77-year-old man killed as stray bull tosses him on Bengaluru road | Watch

Hello; some disturbing videos. I live next to a pasture with maybe 20 head of cattle including a big bull. Only a flimsy chain-link fence on the boundary. The cows do get out from time to time.

The sceond is what i have been reading about. Pumas taking pets. A stomach study of dead puma show around 52% of their food is cats & dogs.

 

[sk47]

Automakers push to make accessing your own car’s data a crime punishable by 3 to 5 years in federal prison

Hello; Lots of detail in the link so I will not try to summarize. I think this is about tunes to some degree. Locked information in a vehicles computers. Maybe about how clever folks eventually find a way into the data which car companies try to keep hidden.

I think the point of the link is such should not result in felony charges if you are clever enough to open the locked data.

I am not so clever so am not worried personally.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Looking forward to healthy sugar substitute from E. Coli and slime mold.

https://www.futurity.org/healthier-sugar-substitute-tagatose-3314572/

 

[sk47]

Looking forward to healthy sugar substitute from E. Coli and slime mold.

https://www.futurity.org/healthier-sugar-substitute-tagatose-3314572/

Hello; Might be good on the Solyent Green.

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