Nobody Asked Me…

As a former navigator, I have always been intrigued by the Antikythera mechanism, first found in 1905.  There is a ‘new’ update on the findings and modeling that is definitely worth watching, although it’s 30 minutes long. It is HERE.  And it looks like it comes down to prime numbers! Simply amazing leap in the research, thanks to the new x-rays and 3D imaging.

 And the cancel culture strikes again! Rather than accepting that not everyone can be number one, a prof at Georgetown Law has been kicked to the curb for this on a PRIVATE Zoom call…

“I hate to say this — I end up having this, you know, angst every semester — that a lot of my lower ones are Blacks. Happens almost every semester,” Sellers says.

“Mmm hmm,” Batson says and nods.

“And it’s like, oh, come on,” Sellers continues. “Get some really good ones, but there are also usually some that are just plain at the bottom. It drives me crazy.”

“Yeah,” Batson says as Sellers shakes her head.

“So, I feel bad,” Sellers adds.

Full article HERE and HERE.

In the hypocrisy anyone category, NOW it appears Pelosi et al. want to jump in and overturn an election…

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she believes there is a possibility that duly elected Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), can be unseated by Congress. 

Full article, HERE.

Then there is the continuing hostage situation in the capital… The fence is still up, and I’m beginning to think the National Guard troops are now the hostages… sigh

The Department of Defense is reportedly considering issuing involuntary activation orders to keep National Guard troops stationed at the U.S. Capitol.

The deliberation on a mandatory activation of reservists comes just one day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he will be extending the National Guard troop’s time stationed at the U.S. Capitol until May 28, following a request from Capitol Police.

Full article, HERE.

Anybody want to bet ‘which’ states will get involuntary activation orders???

My guess is the first two will be Texas and Florida.

And in the ‘aren’t they nice’ category, the Dutch are now going to allow 451 containers of shelf stable product to get to commissaries in Europe (these include baby food, formula, canned meats, and other things)

BUT they are trying to enforce an old agreement dating back years to pressure the new administration.

The restrictions applying to dry food products with any animal-derived ingredient mean that suppliers have to go back and document the origin of the animal. For example, if there is a seafood component in the dry food product, the supplier has to document the waters that the fish swam in and the fishing boat that caught the fish. The origin of the milk in baby formula must be documented.

Full article, HERE.

Strike once again in where else…California…

A new “Hero Pay” mandate in Long Beach, California has inadvertently cost some frontline grocery workers their jobs. 

“Ralphs and Food 4 Less, both owned by the parent company Kroger, announced Monday that they will be closing 25% of their stores in Long Beach after the city council passed an ordinance requiring companies with over 300 employees nationwide to pay employees an extra $4 per hour,” local news outlet Fox 11 reports. Two stores in the area will be shut down.

A company spokesperson directly cited the city council’s ordinance mandating higher wages as the reason they are closing down. 

“The irreparable harm that will come to employees and local citizens as a direct result of the City of Long Beach’s attempt to pick winners and losers, is deeply unfortunate,” the spokesperson said. “We are truly saddened that our associates and customers will ultimately be the real victims of the city council’s actions.”

Full article, HERE.

Grocery stores are NOT a huge profit center, making on the average less than 3% profit year to year. When you look at the average pay, a $4/hr raise is a huge impact and probably puts most of those stores in the red, especially in California with the cost of rent, power, etc. out there.

The ones that will suffer are the local employees, now out of work, and the local consumers that probably counted on those stores. Anybody remember the term food desert?

If you don’t here’s a quick reminder… A food desert is an urban or rural area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food.

In the urban world, it is considered to be 1 mile from a grocery store (assuming inability to drive to stores and/or limited public transportation).

In the rural world, it is considered to be 10 miles from a grocery store (assuming inability to drive to stores and no public transportation). Depending on which report you read, 20% or more of flyover country is considered a food desert, primarily due to the big box stores running all the small, locally owned and located stores out of business due to profit margin (or lack thereof).

What really hurts is when the big box store(s) close in a rural area, meaning people may have to drive up to 50 or more miles to find a grocery store.

All this does is build on existing health problems, with a lack of fresh vegetables and fruit. What IS available is mostly fast food, which we know isn’t all that good for us, even if we like it… sigh…

Got the WuFlu shot on Wednesday, felt like crap all day yesterday. A little better today.

Problem is I can’t brain for anything, so you get ‘humor’…

Except this one is oh so damn true…

And this graphic is rather ‘interesting’. The sad part is they are bringing their crap politics with them, as we’ve already seen down in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

And anybody want to guess where this ad is from?

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