Snowflake's Forum

(Credit: Wikipedia.  Accessed June 27, 2024) In 1978, Britain was blessed with  this movie,   Watership Down , based on the 1971 novel by Richard Adams.  The British Board of Film Classification saw fit to give it a "U" rating, which stood for the same all-ages rating as the U.S. "G."  This wasn't changed in the slightest until  last year,  despite many scenes of gory violence and existential terror. I must admit that I could read the book  comfortably enough.  But that was the material reduced to black ink on white paper.  The same scenes and emotions rendered graphically on screen would have hit me a lot harder.  This Board should have paid real attention to what they were watching. A few bits from the comment thread of the first video link (I'm using symbols in place of the original commenter handles): 👦👦: '“Runs blocked with dead bodies" don't you just love kids movie quotes 😊' 👦👦👦: 'Yeah Ik so cute and friendly 😊😊😊😊' ...

“Responsibility” is an interesting concept.  Webster defines it like this: Where does responsibility begin and end?   With the self? With the person “of authority?” E.g.,: Boss that mis-directed you? Clergy who ill-advised you? Only with a person who has achieved “adult status?” Can one truly be responsible for another? If someone is killing themselves and you simply watch and refuse to interfere, are you partially responsible for that death? I’ll cut it off there.  A lot to think about.  Make your cases. (by PrimalSoup)

AI (artificial intelligence) has the capacity to analyze gigantic piles of data to look for weak signals in tons of noise. Humans simply cannot do that, but AI can. One area of science where there usually is huge amounts of noise that hides weak signals is in medicine.  One of the really hard places to pick out weak signals is in diagnosis of diseases that are slow to develop. Researchers all over the place are adapting AI to sift through massive data piles to look for signals of disease years before serious symptoms develop. STD writes about really encouraging data related to early detection of Alzheimer's Disease based on an interesting source of data, speech patterns:  New AI Uses Speech Patterns To Predict  Alzheimer’s Disease With Astonishing Accuracy A machine learning model created by Boston University can predict Alzheimer’s disease progression in patients with mild cognitive impairment by analyzing speech, with an accuracy of 78.5%. This tool leverages data from...

Still going down through my list of “philosophical” questions.  Here’s a good one on that list: Can a person be “educated” without a formal education? That’s kind of a trick question.   The way I see it, a person can be “smart” in all kinds of ways.   You’ve got, for examples, people who are: book smart street smart money smart people smart life smart to name some common types. So, “education” does not necessarily mean book smart, as we all tend to think of as the default answer.   It can mean many other kinds of smart. Questions: How would you rank these five types of smarts in order of importance (their value)? On the famous 1-10 scale, where do you rank yourself on these types of smarts?   What makes you say that? Do you know anyone who falls into these various categories?   (Can be friends, family, celebrity, notables, other.) (by PrimalSoup)

 What are YOUR plans for this summer? I will make mine brief......... I will be less active in here than normal. I have a full calendar. Geri and I want to go visit Quebec for a couple of weeks, make our rounds btwn Montreal and Quebec City. Will also be making a solo trip to see my son in Alberta. Long story short - before Covid he would make an annual pilgrimage back to Ontario to see his mom and I would pop by and catch up with him. Last year was the first time he actually visited and stayed with me, though he still got a visit in with his mom. But he has been upset that neither one of us have ever visited him in Alberta since he moved there in 2011. So I am going. Flight booked. On top of that, this old fool got himself suckered into landing a landscaping job at his old age. Not a stressful one, but some people who knew me from back when I was a landscaper want my help with some basic gardening, weeding, trimming, shit like that. And I agreed. Make some $$$. But that will tie u...

A SciAm article discusses the still primitive state of research on dark fungi. I know, you all are disappointed at the lack of progress so far. The existence of dark fungi are known by detecting their DNA from the environment. But science has never seen any of these life forms intact. SciAm writes about these ghosts : The land, water and air around us are chock-full of DNA fragments from fungi that mycologists can’t link to known organisms. These slippery beings are so widespread scientists are calling them “dark fungi.” It’s a comparison to the equally elusive dark matter and dark energy that permeate the universe. Like those invisible entities, dark fungi are hidden movers and shakers, prime examples of what E. O. Wilson called “the little things that run the world.” If you want to discover a hidden world of new life-forms, you don’t have to scour dark caves or slog through remote rainforests. Just look under your feet. When then-graduate student Anna Rosling went to northern Swede...

Cereal?  Yes, something lite to talk about to finish out the weekend.  I will have something heavy duty for you tomorrow. My husband likes those worthless Rice Krispies, so I buy it for him. 🤷‍♀️ He also likes oatmeal.  Mom must have fed me too much of that as a baby because I can't stand the stuff.  I don't even like thinking about it. Me, I am fond of Wheaties and Cheerios.  Not sure which is my favorite.  Toss up. I don't like adding sugar to my cereal, but a lot of people do that.  I saw my [grown-ass] cousin add two heaping teaspoons of granulated sugar to her Raisin Bran once.  Yikes!  Ketoacidosis much?  I also can't stand the kids stuff; you know, all those candy flavored cereals that pander to kids.  They put those down low on the shelf at the cereal aisle because they know that's what kids see first.  Yes, there's a method to their madness. So, spill the beans...  I mean cereal.  What, how, etc. do you lik...

The woman’s purse.   Attn: men who have a woman in their life.   How brave are you to go into your woman’s purse? Is it a personal thing, like a diary? Is it off limits unless she asks you to get her something in there? Do you have to wade through several wads of used Kleenexes to get to the item she sent you in there for? Talk about your experiences with the woman’s purse. Women, how about your man’s wallet.  Is it forbidden?  Afraid of finding something in there you don’t want to find 😱 (e.g., condom, mistress’s picture, hidden "fun money," etc.)? Give us the juicy details.  Tell us of your “adventures in purses and wallets.” (by PrimalSoup)

Very simple.  What is or what would be your dream job? Working in a museum for Bunny, sometimes giving educational tours to the kiddies. What is it for you? J.P. Bunny

 So far, knock on wood.......................... More Stories from Real People Who Have Lost Loved Ones to the Far-Right Media Machine​ https://www.thebrainwashingofmydad.com/personal-stories Yes, I have heard the stories. It is becoming more and more common. A new American normal?  But are Leftists blameless?  Have YOU or do you know of anyone, who has excommunicated a Trump supporter from your life or from their lives because he or she is a Trump supporter? Anecdotally, I have heard it is impossible to deal with those people, so it's not just a matter of cutting them out, but they cutting themselves out. Some fine distinction there.  Nevertheless - the question remains............ family or friends? 

  A growing number of men spread hateful ideas about women, trans and nonbinary folks online. Some internet communities even encourage and celebrate gender‐based violence. How did we get here? Why do some men and boys get drawn into – and even seek out – extremist influencers and groups? What motivates the manosphere? Sexist ideas and organized male bigotry are nothing new. The fight for gender equity has faced backlash from men’s rights activists for decades. They often draw on very real concerns: Changes in the global economy have reduced the security and availability of many traditionally “manly” jobs. Gains in gender equality and 2SLGBTQI+ rights are challenging and changing traditional ideas about gender roles. Some men find these shifts unsettling. They are dealing with new social expectations. They are being asked to share power and privilege for the first time. Men have high (and rising) rates of mental health problems, including loneliness, depression and suicide. The...

Last Friday,  uexpress  published this agony column from a correspondent who claims to have been committed to various "good causes" for the last few dozen years, and to have seen old friends fall away from interest in the outcome of these political struggles. My answer, with its usual bit of snark, is the following: "In North America, building and maintaining a family, especially with the conventional suburban accoutrements, requires a house (which is a complex structure made up of many breakable, moving parts), at least one car (ditto), and ever-growing expenses and mounds of paperwork. Even a dog from the shelter [may] tie its happy new owners a lot closer to their little corner of the American Dream, and cause them to forget that the rest of the world still exists. "Unfortunately, unlike people who stay in so-so walkable cities, (and our old-country cousins in Europe), suburban family-builders have to take on entirely too much busywork just to form workable hou...

For the believer, specifically the Christian, they know to the depth, breadth and soul of their being that Heaven awaits them.   If there is one thing in this evil world they can be sure of, it’s to experience eternal bliss with their Heavenly Father, after they leave this Hell hole. The price for that bliss is pretty cheap, as Earthly prices go.   No need for currency, no offering up a family member (as in “first born male child”), no forfeiting all your worldly belongings as payment.   No, in fact, the price is something virtually every human being possesses: the willing acceptance of Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior… and really mean it [assumes free will].   At least that’s the going rate I’ve been quoted, by some devout Christians I know.     As a result, all Christians put their lives in God’s hands, full stop.   They eat, drink and sleep “God anything.”   Their God occupies a central part of their being.   God is thei...

Is the use of the word pedantry correct in this context?  

 You judge.

Science continues to do new things and stuff. IEEE Spectrum reports that neurons are being attached to electric transmission lines to boost current-carrying capacity: Smart Powerline “Neurons” Boost Grid Capacity Sensor networks enable 40 percent more electricity to pulse through the lines Aging high-voltage transmission lines are a bottleneck in the power grid today, but what if a simple tweak could increase their capacity by up to 40 percent? That’s what Great River Energy in Minnesota is now looking into. After a successful pilot project last year, the company is installing 52 smart sensor motes—a.k.a. “ neurons ”—on their high voltage transmission lines. These motes are made by the Oslo-based company Heimdall Power . Each neuron contains sensors that help operators manage power transmission more efficiently. The lightweight Heimdall Neurons are the size of a soccer ball and are mounted on a transmission line. They can even be installed by an autonomous drone in less than two minu...

 Welcome to Cleveland!  Once known as "The Best Location in the Nation," it acquired a bad reputation.  Little problems like the Cuyahoga River catching on fire. Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In" also made the town the butt of an ongoing joke.  Gag lines such as:   In Cleveland, Velveeta cheese can be found in the gourmet section of the supermarket. Attention Cleveland! Your river is on fire. Definition of a plush Cleveland cocktail lounge: A bottle of Seagram's with a brown bag around it. In Cleveland, St. Patrick's Day parade consists of 50,000 Jewish onlookers watching the help walk by. Attention Cleveland! Your lake just died. The best steak on the menu at Cleveland's classiest steak house is an all-beef wiener. And in the end, we Clevelanders had to get used to a new city nickname: What can I say?  Life is cruel. So tell us your slogan for cities.  Share a little slur, just for the fun of it!  Maybe we can put some of them on the map!   ...

  …better than all the rest.  Let’s find out. Check your personal state biases at the door and choose which three states (in the U.S.) have the best nicknames: Let’s see if there is some kind of consensus (a winner) among us. (by PrimalSoup)

   Supreme Court says jab at Trump can't be trademarked The man behind the case wanted to sell T-shirts with the phrase he said conveys the idea that Trump and his policies 'are diminutive.' It brought some levity to the dry world of Trademark law. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/06/13/trump-too-small-supreme-court-trademark-decision/72166365007/?tbref=hp WASHINGTON – The  Supreme Court  on Thursday unanimously rejected an attempt to  trademark the lewd phrase “Trump too small,”  a decision that recognized the government’s long history of setting boundaries on trademarks. But a federal appeals court backed the applicant, California attorney Steve Elster, holding that the law would restrict his  freedom of speech  and criticism of a public official. Elster wanted to sell T-shirts with the phrase he said conveys the idea that former President  Donald Trump’s  “features” and his policies “are diminutive.” Without getting i...