Snowflake's Forum

Can you believe it?  I had the "Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots" as a child.  I see from Googling, they have been discontinued by the manufacturer. Yes, I guess my dad probably bought it for me and my sister because he probably liked it.  (Btw, he was not a violent man, just for the record.)  Such a stupid game, but we liked it.  Hard to believe it didn't encourage me to be violent and go beat up the neighborhood bully.  But it didn't.  I turned out [a-hem] OK. ;) So, what are some of the toys you remember as a child?  I will add some more in the posting section too.  Did you have any favs??

The Incredible Story of the US Army's Earth-Shaking, Off-Road Land Trains The Incredible Story of the US Army's Earth-Shaking, Off-Road Land Trains Oh, your pickup has a lift? That's cute. By Joseph Trevithick US Army You need to get 500 tons of supplies from Fairbanks, Alaska to the Arctic Ocean—a journey of about 400 miles through pure wilderness. There are no roads, very few airstrips, and endless ice. You're going to have to withstand minus 68 degree temperatures. Also, nuclear armageddon is on the menu if you're not quick about it.  You, my friend, need a LeTourneau land train.  The DEW Line By 1954, with the Cold War well underway, the U.S. government realized the quickest way to get a nuclear bomber from Russia to America was to go right over the Arctic Circle. If we wanted any chance of preventing a nuclear apocalypse, we needed to know if Soviet bombers were crossing the North Pole as soon as possible. The Army planned to build 63 man...

MUSK MAKES HISTORY: SpaceX just launched 2 people into orbit MUSK MAKES HISTORY: SpaceX just launched 2 people into orbit for the first time, kicking off the rocket company's most important mission since its founding 18 years ago Business Insider SpaceX's Demo-2 mission, launched with a Falcon 9 rocket, lifts off with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside a Crew Dragon spaceship. SpaceX SpaceX has successfully launched into orbit its first human passengers: NASA astronauts  Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley . The astronauts lifted off at 3:22 p.m. ET on Saturday while riding inside Crew Dragon, a new privately developed spaceship that Elon Musk's rocket company made in part for NASA. However, the Demo-2 mission is a test flight that's far from over. Behnken and Hurley could  spend up to 110 days in space  after they reach and dock with the International Space Station. Garrett Reisman, a former astronaut who worked on SpaceX's Dragon veh...

Posted by Collectivist "The moralizing has begun. Those who have rarely been the target of organized police gangsterism are once again lecturing those who have about how best to respond to it. Be peaceful, they implore, as protesters rise up in Minneapolis and across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd. This, coming from the same people who melted down when Colin Kaepernick took a knee — a decidedly peaceful type of protest. Because apparently, when white folks say, “protest peacefully,” we mean “stop protesting.” Everything is fine, nothing to see here. It is telling that much of white America sees fit to lecture black people about the evils of violence, even as we enjoy the national bounty over which we claim possession  solely  as a result of the same. I beg to remind you, George Washington was not a practitioner of passive resistance. Neither the early colonists nor the nation’s founders fit within the Gandhian tradition. There were no sit-...

I hate the blues I hate the blues Play me something I can cloud 9 to 'Cause I hate the blues Crank it up And give it to me funky Leave them blues alone Have me in mood for something optimistic We've been down too long Have the songs We all need them We've been down too long Happy, happy songs You can't beat them Make somebody want to sing along (Sing along) I hate the blues I hate the blues Play me something I can cloud 9 to I'm sick and tired of the blues I've tried rain songs And pain songs And blow out of your brain songs And songs about how to lose I hate broken heart songs And torned apart songs And put that off the chart songs I'll just stay in the nude I hate the blues Yes, I hate the blues So come on boys And play a good time song Hey give me something we can cloud 9 to Cloudin' makes you want to sing along I hate the blues Let's go get stoned!!

The George Floyd Killing in Minneapolis Exposes the Failures of Police Reform   Alice Speri, Alleen Brown, Mara Hvistendahl May 29 2020, 8:59 p.m.  https://theintercept.com/2020/05/29/george-floyd-minneapolis-police-reform/ Excerpts, rest at link and the entire article is well worth reading: "The movement against police brutality took off in Minnesota after police killed Jamar Clark in 2015. The 24-year-old black man was shot in the head by a pair of officers who said they had acted in self-defense, a story some witnesses disputed. In the wake of his death, community members shut down Interstate 94 and occupied the 4th Precinct in North Minneapolis for more than two weeks. Despite intensive organizing by groups like the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, an internal investigation by the Minneapolis police department found that the two officers who killed Clark did not so much as violate a department policy. Since then, local movements have pushed for justice f...

By Lance Over the last few years I've grown more empathetic toward life in America for black Americans.  I could never begin to understand what it feels like to be eyed suspiciously in a department store or stopped by police for looking suspicious in a white neighborhood.  I give thanks to a very enlightened daughter who has taken time to educate me.  Something I saw on Facebook triggered me this morning to inspire my writing. I dont like the phrase White Privilege but would certainly consider it naivety.  I was young when seeing the news footage of cameras rolling down the streets of Detroit in 1968.  I certainly didnt understand it at the time.  My brothers best friend was a black kid and was in our home several days a week. I would later seek understanding.  I read the book "Black Like Me" in my teens.  My young years were also impacted by Vietnam which I read a lot about.  The readings included "Bloods" which was the experience fr...