Snowflake's Forum

  FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Weird. It’s a descriptor Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz famously used against Republicans even before becoming Vice President Harris’ running mate. And in Minnesota, the term can be … loaded. (Well, Minnesotans are weird after all, producing weird people like Snowflake) Walz’s supporters say the “weird” label caught on because it carries more weight in the Midwest. “It's very layered language,” says Black, a middle school geography teacher from Minneapolis. “I took it as like, this is his polite, Midwestern way of saying, like, ‘This is bonkers,’ right? Like, this is crazy, without coming right out and saying that.” “I guess the  Minnesota Nice  in me doesn't want anyone to feel terrible inside,” but, it’s important to ask yourself, “‘is my behavior conforming to the standards of respect and dignity toward others?’” Megan Yoshida says the weird label stuck because it simplified what many people feel about former president Trump. At a booth not far away,...

The WaPo reports  ( not paywalled ) that a previously undetected electrical field is causing loss of about 90 tons/day of gas into space: Scientists just discovered why Earth’s atmosphere is leaking It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field. First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Mathematically, scientists have long theorized that a small electric field could provide enough energy to shuttle hydrogen out of our atmosphere. But it would probably be generated on a subatomic scale and be incredibly weak. “It was just thought impossible to measure. It’s so weak,” said Collinson. In fact, Collinson and his colleagues had to invent an instrument, a photoelectron spectrometer, to measure the weak field. Tra...

  Must be in the DNA, but Bunny despises being late.  If not there ten minutes early…late.  Mrs. Bunny is fine with arriving at the Shinkansen platform just as it arrives.  Bunny’s guts churning if not there at fifteen minutes before.  Clocks all over the place. Some don’t care and run on their own schedules? Which type art thou?

Something on the lite side: KipSmithers [What was] Your first memory? (posted by Primalsoup)

  The high school question has inspired this one.  (Speaking in the present tense, but the past is also included.). Are you a person surrounded by many friends?  Is your address book full of people, or are you selective with those you are friends with? Bunny had and now has The Friend.  Singular.  Bunny may be friendly, but keeps his friends in the singular. What type art thou?  Have you changed over the years or stayed the same. J.P. Bunny

  Do you remember getting your first paycheck?  I do.  I was 16.  Had a job after school as a cashier at F.W. Woolworths.  I always wanted to work the candy counter, but they stuck me at the cash register.  (But I could still smell those hot nuts even from there.)  I guess I was pretty good at handling customers’ money, so the candy counter was just a daydream fantasy.   They paid us (cash) in a small envelope.  I believe it was something like $14 and some change.  Wages back then were like 85¢ per hour. That evening, my aunt took me and my sister to the drive-in movie.  I left my wallet on the refreshment stand there, after paying for my snack, and when I went back for it, it was gone (of course).  Sad ending to a sad first payday. 😞 How about you?  Do you remember your first paycheck?  How much was it?  Where did you work?  What did you spend it on? Etc.? (by PrimalSoup)

  If we listen to TV, movies, and some parents, high school is the best part of our lives.  We will make friends for life, and have experiences that we will carry with us for life.   Not for Bunny.  Bunny enjoyed the learning that went on at school, but didn’t bother with the social frippery.  There were some that were in just about every club, joined every activity, school government, social activity, and such.  Couldn’t see how they had any time to actually attend classes. What about you?  How was high school for you?  Super social, average, didn’t care? J.P. Bunny.

Why is there a pecking order? Are you a peck-ee or a peck-er? (no jokes please 😜 ) Where do you sit on the pecking order continuum (e.g., at work, at home, at other)? Does your pecking order status change with/in different scenarios? Should there be a pecking order?  If yes, why?  If not, why not? Just bloviate/philosophize on the concept of pecking order. (by PrimalSoup)

  milo   Why can't we just all get along? (asking for a friend) (posted by PrimalSoup)

 Story here: https://boingboing.net/2024/09/24/badly-confused-donald-trump-calls-for-johnny-carson-to-replace-jimmy-kimmel.html Besides the inanity of Trump's statement, does he have a point that late night hosts of past years were funnier and just plain better? Or are the likes of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert edgier and better at late night than Johnny Carson was? I am asking because I seldom watch late night. Any thoughts? Who were/are your faves or least faves? 1. Conan O'Brien - seriously? https://www.imdb.com/list/ls0850 https://www.imdb.com/list/ls0850 80724/

This thread was inspired by a conversation I had with a biker friend of mine. He rides only Harleys, and proudly displays Harley Davidson on his leather jacket and belongs to a couple of Harley motorcycle clubs that get together a couple of times a year for long road trips. Has friends who drive Harleys and they ride on weekends till winter hits. I asked him on the weekend what kind of music Harley riders listen to. He said primarily country (I was surprised) and hard rock (not surprised). Knowing that I had once lived a hippie lifestyle back in the day he asked me what Hippie Music was. Geeze, when asked, I wasn't sure. My guess, along the lines of Grateful Dead, Steely Dan, Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Bob Dylan. Janis Joplin. So I looked it up: Traditional folk music was widespread and popular by the mid-‘60s, thanks to events like the Newport Folk Festival and artists such as  Bob Dylan ,  Pete Seeger  and  Joan Baez . Psychedelic music was still in its infancy ...

" Last Chance Saloon" (link) this way --> (by PrimalSoup)

  Many of us are old enough to be on the older side of the generation gap. Do you try and fit in / understand today’s young people, or just stay content on your ancient side? The latter for Bunny. J.P. Bunny 

  Why did the chicken cross the road? In  San Francisco , it's to catch motorists breaking the law. For all the details: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/sf-police-wear-flashy-costumes-to-catch-drivers-19769362.php

Lots of sources are reporting that climate and computer scientists have produced a timeline for Earth’s surface temperature over the last 485 million years. It is the most accurate data generated to date. It relies on a combination of the best climate models currently available and a data analysis protocol called data assimilation, something weather forecasters use all the time. A science source comments : A reconstruction of GMST (global mean surface temperature) spanning most of the Phanerozoic Eon), PhanDA, provides a statistically robust estimate of GMST through the Phanerozoic. We find that Earth’s temperature has varied more dynamically than previously thought and that greenhouse climates were very warm. CO2 is the dominant driver of Phanerozoic climate, emphasizing the importance of this greenhouse gas in shaping Earth history. The consistency of apparent Earth system sensitivity (∼8°C) is surprising and deserves further investigation. More broadly, PhanDA provides crit...

 Use something else instead. Maybe a newspaper? A towel? Nothing? Keep reading: Alicia Silverstone says toilet paper carries 'risk of cancer.' https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/09/10/alicia-silverstone-toilet-paper-pfas/75150833007/?tbref=hp  Silverstone claims regular toilet paper "is contributing to your risk of cancer" by containing chemicals collectively known as  PFAS . "OK, so it might cost like $15 more per year," Silverstone says of PlantPaper's toilet paper. "That's the cheapest investment in your health that I can imagine." One order of 16 rolls of PlantPaper toilet paper costs $42, per the  company's website . So what's the truth? Should people be concerned about PFAS in toilet paper? Over time, this exposure can do harm to the planet as well as to people and animals. "Exposure to high levels of PFAS is associated with higher  risk of cancer , impaired kidney and  liver function , reproduction ...

  When Bunny enters a shop, public building, private building, or place he doesn’t spend much time in, hands are casually clasped behind the back.  Never noticed it until Granny pointed it out.  “Your mother made you put your hands behind your when you were very young.  This is so you wouldn’t touch and break anything.”    100% automatic and never noticed it until then. What habits do you have from childhood that you have carried up to now? J.P. Bunny

Are you a different person with different people (e.g., at work, at home, at the in-laws, at friend’s, here on Disqus, etc.)?  If yes, how so (e.g, more/less polite, more/less intimidated, more/less relaxed, etc.)? On balance, are you more yourself, or are you more what other people want, or maybe even expect you to be?  (e.g., 50:50, 51:49, 75:25, etc.). Disqus yourself.   (I mean that in a nice way of course. 😁) (by PrimalSoup)

  ** The service desk is now open ** Is there some subject(s) or question(s) that you’d like the invitees to “Disqus”?  I am here to post them for you, since you may not be an author, may not have the time or desire to be an author, or may not know how to author. In the posting area below, list as many ideas and/or questions that you’d like to discuss, and I will create your OP for you.  Free of charge!  Phrase your ideas and questions as you want to see them presented.  Your question(s) will go into a queue of questions, and when your number is up, your question will be posted. Thanks for helping keep this forum alive! 😊 (by PrimalSoup)

Peter Taylor   What is the greatest challenge you have faced/are facing/are likely to face in your life? (posted by PrimalSoup for Peter Taylor)

 Ever hear the expression, the law be damned? Is it EVER ok to ignore the law? Consider the following scenario:  You are an eyewitness to a crime: A man has robbed a bank, but instead of keeping the money for himself, he donates it to a poor orphanage that can now afford to feed, clothe, and care for its children. You know who committed the crime. If you go to the authorities with the information, there's a good chance the money will be returned to the bank, leaving a lot of kids in need. BUT you would have done your due diligence in reporting a crime. What do YOU do?

milo First love I bet some people can tell us interesting stories. Anything that makes a compelling tale. A confession. An admission of idiocy in the face of lust. A heart-rending story of loss or regret. A triumphant tale of success. Anything that will satisfy our need to pry into one another's lives and hold them up in the bright light for scrutiny. (posted by PrimalSoup for milo)

Okay, I hope you had fun with my title! I just spent time posting the following comment to one of my favorite people here.   I started thinking, “I wonder if anyone else might like to contemplate my post."   So I am reposting it here for anyone who finds interest in it.   I know it’s a Saturday, and the grill awaits.   But if you want to take time to think about it, no pressure.   I understand.   Enjoy your reality today!! 🌭🍔🍺🍷⚽🏈🏁 , etc. Here’s something I think about on occasion (I hope I can explain it in a coherent way).  You’re gonna see a lot of “quoting.” 😊   We have “our” reality.  We are “used” to it.  It makes a kind of “sense” to us.  We can do things over and over and expect the same results.  IOW, we have somewhat of a “handle” on our “situation(s).”  We call these things our objective reality, and it is.   We’ve come to describe our reality as “being driven” by The Laws of Physics.  They ...

 Not sure. But does it matter? People shop till they drop on Saturdays. Maybe go to church on Sundays. Stores open all 7 days of the week now. But have you ever stopped to wonder who invented weekends? Who came up with the idea of working five days and then taking two days off? Why didn't they make the  workweek  two days and the  weekend  five days? https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-weekends For much of history, taking one day of rest each week has been very common. This stems from various religious traditions. For example,  Muslims  traditionally took a day of rest on Friday, while  Jewish  people observed a day of rest on Saturday and Christians did so on Sunday. It wasn't until the  Industrial   Revolution  of the late 1800s that the concept of a two-day “ weekend " began to take shape. At this time, large factories that produced consumer goods were beginning to  transform  the traditional farming...