While we’re on the topic, we all have very slightly webbed digits, multiple involuntary reflexes for when we get wet, and a nasal/respiratory system that is (partially) adapted to swimming. I wonder how far our DNA could be pushed to pad out what was started here?

I love that “Uh, guys?” is a real in-character reaction and moment in many episodes of SG1. This story easily could have been a plot in the show.

While Star Trek had these wonderful “this is why we explore the galaxy” moments, SG1 wasn’t afraid to place characters face-to-face with something or someone that would just erase existence or end humanity if the next moment wasn’t handled the right way.

So, “what in the isomorphic fuck” covers all the bases?

So… this sent me down a little rabbit hole. I just want to advise you all, fellow lemmings, to be good to your back from here on out.

https://www.umms.org/ummc/health-services/orthopedics/services/spine/patient-guides/lumbar-herniated-disc

As the annulus weakens, at some point you may lift something or bend in such a way that you cause too much pressure across the disc. The weakened disc ruptures while you are doing something that five years earlier would not have caused a problem. Such is the aging process of the spine.

As a (perhaps unintentional) slip, “an insensitive” works rather well here. Gatekeeping your field in a forum of open(ish)¹ information exchange is just categorically “not nice”.

Personally, I would have opted for a portmanteau like “incentsitive”.

¹ - Paywalls notwithstanding.

The only good bug is a dead bug.

Why am I suddenly staring at the sun?

Looking for bread tumors?

I have done nothing but teleport bread for three days.

This is basically how Ixion went. The game didn’t need a soundtrack to go this hard, but it absolutely put it over the top.

Completely relevant song for your living-fossil, crab-based browsing: Clutch - Slaughter Beach

Background:

• https://dnr.maryland.gov/ccs/Pages/horseshoecrab-medical.aspx
• https://abbyventure.com/2019/01/04/how-to-experience-delawares-horseshoe-crab-phenomenon/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter_Beach,_Delaware

My wild-ass guess here is that some filtering effect is in play. Secret service people that can perform at that level, with a clean enough background, can absolutely move on to a better (and less lethal) job if they want¹. This is a position where “will you take a bullet for this president?” is absolutely front-and-center for the interview process. Also, it doesn’t take a brainiac to see that this President has a tendency to attract violence, which is not ideal for anyone with that security detail. So, trump got the best security he could possibly get which, due to his repugnant personality, are probably not the best in the business.

¹ “Our new company head of security is former Secret Service, can you believe it?”

Not to come off as a musk fan-boy (I am most certainly not), but that’s a damn good photograph. Absolutely a professional photoshoot with hilariously high-end wardrobe.

Time to refer to the checklist:

[x] Hat
[ ] Cattle

I now endorse my idealogical rival.

I’m confused. Who is endorsing Trump? Clearly you don’t mean wishing the man well or condemning this attempt on his life?

also libs: I stand with trump after this appalling act

Hard disagree. From what I’m reading, politicians are condemning an attempt at homicide, nothing more. Voters are following suit.

Which car company bar did you say you work for?

A major one.

My favorite was the hostess who didn’t want to clean the bathroom so she would just fill the soap and and paper products and fill a spray bottle with Lysol that she would spray around to give the smell of a clean bathroom.

This is exactly the kind of BS I’m talking about. I once knew some pool lifeguards that had to rotate through bathroom cleaning duty. I overheard that their MO was to just get everything wet with a hose, splash pinesol on the floor, and call it a day.

I’m one of these people. I can smell an apartment roach infestation from the front door, every time.

And yes, restaurants always get the “sniff check” before we sit down. No-go odors are:

• bleach
• pine-sol (amonia)
• heavy perfume (think “Glade plugin-in”)
• insects (roaches, etc)
• pet odor (wet dog, litterbox)
• sewage (usually a dry floor drain but that’s still not okay)
• dingy carpet (think: “old movie theater”)

The first two are obvious attempts at covering up something worse with “clean” smells, and/or the staff has no idea what “clean” actually means. And they obviously don’t care what olfaction means to someone trying to enjoy a meal, which says heaps about what they think food service actually is. Everything else just speaks to the “I don’t care what you smell” part, or there’s something very wrong with how the kitchen is run. /rant

An example of a top-shelf dining odor experience? I once went to a Japanese restaurant at opening time. The only smell in the dining room was that of the specific kind of imported cedar in the cutting boards. This is traditionally cleaned with boiling hot water, and nothing else. This released a gentle woody and pine-y scent that just filled the space and invited the senses. I came hungry, but I sat down ravenous. The meal to follow was something I will never forget.

Edit: some clarification since this got some traction. I know that bleach and ammonia are s-tier disinfectants and absolutely necessary for food prep, health standards, and the rest. I use this stuff at home. My issue is with establishments that utterly fail at ventilating these odor and spoil the dining experience with strong chemical odors. Looking deeper I find very strong cleaning odors (long after opening hours) suspicious since it’s very easy to splash stuff around, giving the impression of cleanliness, but not actually clean anything. Strong chemical smells also make it impossible to detect sewage, rot, mold, soil, and other things that would easily flag a restaurant. I’d rather not take the chance.

I am not a lawyer.

I think an argument can be made that a moving vehicle is no different than a lethal weapon, and the autopilot, nothing more than a safety mechanism on said weapon. Which is to say the person in the driver’s seat is responsible for the safe operation of that device at all times, in all but the most compromised of circumstances (e.g. unconscious, heart attack, taken hostage, etc.).

Ruling otherwise would open up a transportation hellscape where violent acts are simply passed off to insurance and manufacturer as a bill. No doubt those parties would rush to close that window, but it would be open for a time.

Cynically, a corrupt government in bed with big monied interests would never allow the common man to have this much power to commit violence. Especially at their expense, fiscal or otherwise.

So just or unjust, I think we can expect the gavel to swing in favor of pushing all liability to the driver.