Snowflake's Forum

  Nothing earth shattering or major, but a realization that finally smacks home. Bunny and the missus driving to the store.  Mrs.Bunny playing with her phone, announces that something will be delivered tomorrow.  It hit Bunny what an amazing time we are in.   Would your great grandmother think you were nuts if you said that while sitting in a climate controlled, self propelled vehicle, you could shop for anything on the planet, and have it at you door within 24 hours?  All done using a device that fits in your pocket, that and be used to speak to or see anyone on the planet? What little light bulbs have smashed onto your head? J. P. Bunny

 Or any of my other authors beat me to it. I don't really have a theme though. I was thinking about posting something about New Years resolutions, but...... And let's face it, the topic gets old when discussed EVERY friggin' year. Amirite?  I would prefer, therefore, to just thank my loyal followers, and my authors, and those who casually drop in once in a while, for keeping this forum hopping. I know I have a hard time sometimes just thinking up topics to post, that is why I am especially grateful to the likes of Susan, Germaine, Funny Bunny, and anyone else who brings fresh topics to this forum. As for myself.......... I might as well bring y'all up to date: My son is leaving in January to travel the world. In his mid 30s no less. Quit his job and has dropped his personal possessions off at his mom's. Plans on being away 2 years, and work his way around the world. Good luck to him. He also intends to land in Australia at the end of the trip and maybe stay there. I...

Yesterday we talked about and thought about the “good” smells in life.  Welp, time to pay the olfactory piper.  Yes, everything doesn’t always come up smelling like roses for us humans.   I won’t ask you to rate this "bad odors" list (but you can if you want); just add or subtract from it: Skunk (ouuu weee!) Morning breath Other people's flatulence (if it’s your own, you can take it better for some reason) Exhaust pipe Limburger cheese Sweaty/Stinky feet (see limburger cheese) Some Asian cooking (Pat Chang, an old coworker, used to really stink up the office when he microwaved his leftovers for lunch!) Poopy diapers (especially the “mustard poopy” type 😳) Earthworms on sidewalks (gag-able) Armpit perspiration  Garbage  Port ‘o’ Potty (at an outside event) (by PrimalSoup)

  Nothing really serious, such as being the first on the Moon or first to live to 150, but silly things (to you) that others do…but you don’t get. For Bunny, it’s being first for things that don’t matter.  People will wait outside for days to be the first to buy the new phone or video game.  If the damn things are sold out, there will be more the next day. December 31st, 1999.  People spent a fortune in order to be the first to see the first sunrise of the millennium.  If you were to brag about that now, no one would care. What actions of others do you just not get? J. P. Bunny

  Rate these 12 smells in order of your favorites (1=best, 12=worst, ties are okay too): Baking bread Cinnamon rolls (a la the Bakkers*) Gasoline Freshly mowed grass Ocean smells (sand, sea and surf) Bacon Newborn and other baby smells Puppy breath Flowers shops Soap (your favorite kind) New car smells The coffee aisle at the grocery store Feel free to add other smells that are not on this "widely agreed upon by humanity" list. (by PrimalSoup) *Tammy Faye Bakker and her husband Jim Bakker once spent $100 worth of cinnamon rolls because they liked the smell of them in their hotel room. The Bakkers believed that material wealth was a sign of God's grace.

AI predicts that most of the world will see temperatures rise to  3C much faster than previously expected Three leading climate scientists have combined insights from 10 global climate models and, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), conclude that regional warming thresholds are likely to be reached faster than previously estimated. The study , published in Environmental Research Letters by IOP Publishing, projects that most land regions as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will likely surpass the critical 1.5°C threshold by 2040 or earlier. Similarly, several regions are on track to exceed the 3.0°C threshold by 2060—sooner than anticipated in earlier studies. Regions including South Asia, the Mediterranean, Central Europe and parts of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to reach these thresholds faster, compounding risks for vulnerable ecosystems and communities. The research, conducted by Elizabeth Barnes, professor at Colorado State Univers...

 Using a friend's computer to let you all know our internet went down and they can't get a tech to us till Saturday (it being the holidays and all). I won't be able to check in till all this is resolved, didn't wantchall to think I had dropped off the planet. Cheers: Snowy 

Anybody need/want to talk?   We’re here for ya!   We’re listening. 😊 (by PrimalSoup)

  Mr. & Mrs. Bunny just left our two night stay up north.  As usual, we straightened up as much as possible.  Desk and counters all cleaned.  Trash all in the bin.  Try to leave the place as clean as possible. If going to a restaurant, will not go if 30 minutes before closing.  Same for large department stores. Some feel that since they have paid for a room, no need to do anything.  Some feel that if a store or eatery say open until 9:00, it is fine to demand service at 8:55.  Bunny despises such. What type are you?  Have you worked at a place and experience such people? J. P. Bunny

A new analysis of existing cosmological data led researchers to hypothesize that because the cosmos is lumpy, not smooth, there is no need to posit the existence of dark energy. Dark energy has been hypothesized to exist to explain an apparent anti-gravity source that is causing the observed rate of expansion of the universe. The logic here is mind-blowingly simple:  Ouch, I need an aspirin In places with gravity, such as the space in and near galaxies time runs about 35% slower than in places of empty space with little gravity from nearby matter. The universe has intergalactic voids where time runs faster. Taking that simple understanding and attendant logic into account, existing cosmological data can explain the currently observed rate of expansion of the universe without invoking dark energy. Science Daily : Now a team of physicists and astronomers at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand are challenging the status quo, using improved analysis of supernovae ...

  Enjoy in whatever fashion you celebrate the season, and ummm, in whatever language you celebrate the season. 

… so how about a little religion talk? I was thinking a few days ago (yes, I do that on occasion), why is it important to believe in God (pick a God, any God), if one is already a good and moral person by average human standards?  Or is it important??   Believers are always after non-believers to join their religious forces (pick a religion, any religion).  My understanding is that, in most religions, it’s even the believer’s duty/obligation to do so.   So, I have to ask, what’s the actual point of insisting on such belief: Is it a way/mechanism to self-preserve? And if so, isn’t that a selfish motive? Does God(s) find favor in that kind of selfishness/ME-ism? Other (you tell me the point/purpose of being a believer) Enquiring minds, like mine, want to know. 🤔💭 (by PrimalSoup)

  Canada Post says letters to Santa will be delivered by Christmas Postal service workers returned to the job on Tuesday after the  labour minister asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to put an end to an “impasse” in the month-long strike , extending the existing contract until May. Canada Post said that it will start accepting new commercial mail on Thursday amid warnings  it will take time for deliveries to ramp back up to speed . But the Crown corporation also signalled that mail destined for the North Pole will get special treatment. “The scanners in our plants are set up to locate Santa letters, which are identified by the HOH OHO postal code. This allows us to deliver these letters straight to the North Pole.” https://globalnews.ca/news/10924216/canada-post-santa-letters-by-christmas/#:~:text=Canada%20Post%20said%20that%20all,letters%20to%20the%20North%20Pole. The Santa Letter Program has been part of Canada Post’s operations for 40 years and in 2023 deliver...

  Is there a song(s) that always brings tears to your eyes / touches you? Here are three that come to my mind: Be (It stirs the poet in me.) Memory. (It makes me think of my orange cat, Lucky. I miss him so.) Sunrise, Sunset (How time just flies by at seemingly an ever-increasing speed.) (by PrimalSoup)

 And now Sarah Connors has tits. Sheesh! 😲 All kinds of questions are raised. Is this the future of Youtube? Are AI created images made for lonely frat boys to replace porn? I mean, seriously, who are the brains behind above video? Anyone know?  Does it matter?  Or, if you SO desire, are there more ridiculous Youtube videos than the above one? And if so, then what is holding YOU back from posting such video? Post your most ridiculous Youtube video!

  Someone else brought up the weirdness of memories, and this hit Bunny.  For years, couldn’t figure out what “wella witch”  meant in a song from the Little Mermaid.   Looked up the lyrics…well, a witch.  Now, Bunny can’t hear what he heard before.   Has happened with other things he misheard (Mondagreens).  Can only catch the correct version. Anything similar with you? J.P. Bunny

Note: It has been pointed out that comparing brain data processing speed with computer bits may not by a meaningful comparison. Although a computer bit is understood, a human thought is not understood physically or in terms of its subjective nature. Therefore, the attempt to measure the "speed of thought" in bits per second that is discussed in the quoted article may be fundamentally misaligned with the nature of human cognition and consciousness. In other words, this could be basically wrong. This is another indication of how complex the human mind and consciousness are and how difficult it is to study the human brain-mind. Over the years, I've followed research that deals with research about the data processing bandwidth of the human brain. My interest in this started after I read Tor Norretrander's amazing 1991 book , The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down To Size . At that time, information scientists and other researchers estimated that human consciousnes...

  No, not the soft around the waist or between the ears, but the emotional soft. Way back when, actors pretending to die on screen, was just that.  Now…. Also, programs involving family pets not making it, are most off limits. Have you gotten a bit softer? J.P. Bunny

 What ARE the drones flying over New Jersey and several other States? The FBI and DHS are investigating after recent reports of mysterious drones from residents across several states The  drones  have been spotted in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey,  New York , Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and  Virginia  over the last month. At least one airport was shut down late last week due to reported drone activity. “It is not the Iranians, it is not the Chinese. They aren’t Martians,” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/drones-new-jersey-east-coast-updates-b2665148.html YABBUT, WHAT ARE THEY? Speculate! A viral video posted by a user named Jim Ferguson has ignited a storm of speculation on social media. Ferguson shared a clip from a  Pentagon briefing , claiming that the mysterious  drones  spotted worldwide are “not human.” His dramatic caption—“PENTAGON CONFIRMS: THESE DRONES ARE NOT HUMAN”—has led to widespread...

  Stepping in for our SNOWFLAKE, since he is still busy playing nursemaid to his beloved, as she continues to recuperate.   Snowy thought this would make for a good OP: ...about how an offspring can be SO monumentally different from their parent or parents: in personality, in behavior, outlook on life, philosophy, attitudes, and so on. So, how different are you from your parent(s)? Chip off the old block?  Apple didn’t fall far from the tree?  Or was it a very windy day that day? 😮😉 (by PrimalSoup)

As people here know, my hobby is politics with a goal of having fun, getting some self-satisfaction, and preventing civilization collapse and human self-annihilation. It's a fun hobby, but the civilization and annihilation bits are a little tougher to achieve than those of most other hobbies, e.g., stamp, coin or car license plate collecting. Most hobbies tend to mostly emphasize the fun and self-satisfaction bits.  Part of my hobby is to try to keep an eye out for what trends at the human civilization level might be afoot. A recent study caught my eye. The research is by  Nafeez Ahmed  at the System Shift Lab, London, UK (Distinguished Fellow at Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems, Bristol, UK). This bit of research really resonates with me because it expresses about the same impending reality that I see. He sees the situation the same way I see it. That's my bias here.  A news item about Ahmed's research on civilization comments: Human civilization ...