StukaFox said:

I'm right there with you. Get my second dose of Pfizer yesterday and I feel like death warmed over today. However, if this is all I have to deal with to get the immunity working, I'll be happy.

StukaFox said:

Not only did he abolish it, but it was one of the highest priorities of the GOP once Reagan came in. Haynes Johnson writes extensively about this in his frighteningly-prescient book 'Sleepwalking Through History'. The GOP was already following the lead of Roger Ailes (later of Fox News) after he polished the turd named Nixon and the GOP understood if they controlled the narrative, they could stay in power. Newt Gingrich, and the shitshow that followed, was the natural extension of Ailes's methodology. Abolishing the Fairness Doctrine will be studied for centuries as one of the single greatest acts of self-destruction in world history.

StukaFox said:

It's fairly amazing how short the Stelliferous Era (the time period in which stars exist) is during the entire birth-to-death of the universe. It's roughly 10^6 - 10^14 years (one million to 100 trillion years from the Big Bang to stellar death, or a span of one million million x 8 years). This seems like a very long time, but on the universal time scale, it's not. "Matter" in the universe will exist for ~10^~125 years, or ten unquadragintillion (yes, that's a real word)

This is the equivalent (if I'm doing the math right) of the total life of the universe being a length of one mile, the entire age in which stars exist is the width of a playing card approximately one millimeter from the start.

For comparison, the atomic decay of Xenon-124 into Tellurium-124 is about 18 sextillion years (1.8 x 10^22 years), roughly 1 trillion times the current age of the universe.

StukaFox said:

"(...) I wonder why you believe he should he be coddled?"

- I'm not saying he should be coddled anymore than anyone else here. He did something humane and cool, and that's what everyone here has been asking him to do (each in their own way; mea culpa etc), but instead of saying "hey, that was really a cool video. Thanks.", it was time to take shots at him. I make no secret of where my feelings are on him, his politics and the world at large, but I also feel that cool things should be rewarded, especially in this case and in this place and at this time.

"Are you saying he doesn't follow the golden rule, to treat others as you would have them treat you? I thought disingenuous discussions dripping with disrespect was what he wants."

- Congratulations, then, you just gave him everything he wanted and lowered yourself in the processes. It's not for others to follow the Golden Rule, the point is you're the one who's supposed to live by it even if others don't. If you blame him for not being the bigger man, you should at least try to be that man himself.

Christ knows there'll be enough ugliness for everyone involved the other 364.

FWIW, Merry Christmas to you, BSR, all the fun and raucous people who make Sift a daily view -- and that includes Bob.

StukaFox said:

I love 84!

I had some friends into exotic cars and we'd take 84 over to the coast now and again, mostly because we had a shit-ton of money and a shit-ton of spare time to kill -- the Dot-Com fucking rocked!

There's a bend in the road just outside La Honda on the coastal side that's a 15mph hairpin with a tree at the apex. It's a lovely goddamn thing, especially when you forget it's there. So here we all come, lane-trading and exercising general assholery in cars that cost what a nice single-family home does.

Oh FUCK, the turn!!

My friend in the 911 does this beautiful trail-brake and swings through the curve. Elise follows suit, complete with smoking tires. Next up is Countach. He BARELY holds it together, but gets through without any real drama.

Now it's my turn.

Did I mention I was driving a '97 Camaro Z-28? Yeah, Camaros of that year are good at exactly one thing: driving very fast in very straight lines. Corners? Yeah, not so much. I realize I'm in trouble and I'm coming into the turn WAY too fast. I grab the shifter and get ready. My plan is that I'm going to slam it into first, let the rev limiter do its thing to save the engine, pull the e-brake and swing the tail, then punch it and swing the ass-end around and launch out of the curve with smoking Z-rated tires and all!

And HERE WE GO -- grab the shifter, yank it all the way down and...

That's when California emissions standards fucked me.

You see, when you buy a Camaro Z-28 in California, you don't actually get first gear. You get what's called a California First, which is actually SECOND gear, because if you were actually able to use FIRST gear, the goddamn car would belch enough emissions to make a farting Brontosaurus blush. And second gear ain't exactly gonna work for my little plan.

tl;dr is that I hit the no-lock brakes hard enough to get my speed down and was able to bring the ass around with the little e-brake trick. I wasn't out of the woods because I over-corrected on the way out and spun. The same God that I spite and don't believe in actually saved my ass and I didn't end up going off the road. Apparently, he loves fools and Z-28 Camaros.

I honestly had more fun in that car than the law allows: sometimes literally, like when I got clocked at 110 coming onto the straight at King City. Good times, man, good times.

StukaFox said:

Newt,
......

StukaFox said:

"Well I gave 'im my baby to kiss and 'e bit it on the 'ead!"

"I'd pay some Dutchman to set fire to Lord Snoad..."