Quick Bites: Hot Stuff… Dumb Stuff… and an “Impossible” Challenge Smashed 

McDonald’s Under Attack!

You may have seen video clips of McDonald’s customers being harassed by pro-Palestinian protestors. It’s disturbing because… well, what could be more American than eating at McDonald’s?

Have no fear. Google is coming to the rescue of all McDonald’s customers. Google is working with the company to deploy generative AI to ensure that “large orders of fries are delivered hot.”

Meanwhile, here’s a tip from the New York Post to ensure that your fries are scalding-hot every time. Just specify “no salt,” which means they must make a batch especially for you.

An Unfounded and Oddball Allegation About Elon Musk 

I was about to write a short piece to express my astonishment at a piece I read this weekend from the WSJ about Elon Musk. But I saw that Alex Berenson had summed it up succinctly. Click here.

Boy Wonder Smashes 34-Year-Old Game Challenge

Millions of people all over the world play Tetris. As with many computer games, players try to advance their positions using natural intelligence and acquired skills. Since the launch of the standard NES Tetris game in 1989, no player has made it to the “kill screen” – a barrier that was astonishingly broken through on Dec. 31 by a 13-year-old phenom! Click here.

Quick Bites: UFOs?… Airborne Criminal… Just When You Thought Sports Couldn’t Get Crazier… a Powerful Motown Cover 

* I’m not up on my UFO history… although I do know that the topic has been getting more coverage since reports from the US military have confirmed hundreds of UFO sightings. Remember: UFO means “unidentified flying object.” It doesn’t mean visitors from outer space. But you don’t have to have an opinion about the origins of UFOs to enjoy these old paintings that seem to depict ancient sightings of bean-shaped flying objects. Click here.

* “I’ve turned over a new leaf!” That was the pitch that this several-times-convicted felon gave to the judge in his plea to be summarily forgiven for his latest assault. “I don’t drink anymore,” he told the court. “I don’t steal. I’m not violent.”

He was referring to the months he spent outside of jail after his arrest, thanks to one of George Soros’s progressive DAs that believe the only way to correct the “inequity” of the “overrepresentation” of Black Americans in US jails was to, at the very least, give them “free bail” – i.e., let them out of jail until they are convicted.

His plea, to me, sounded sincere. He was calm and spoke with what I took to be evident sincerity. On top of that, he looked like a nice, well-spoken, and possibly unfairly charged man who had truly turned his life around.

He did, that is, until the judge denied his request and told him he’d have to wait in jail until his trial date. Then this happened.

* Follow this lunatic down a snow-covered trail. “This is an insane sport!” said JS when he sent in this clip. “I am not even sure what it’s called. Ski biking?”

* A compelling rendition of the 1974 classic “What’s So Funny ‘Bout” by the great Postmodern Jukebox. Click here.

Quick Bites: Something I Don’t Understand… Something I Never Knew… Something Nobody’s Ever Heard Before
 
* A Question: What do people mean when they characterize the US as a “wealthy” country? How can a sovereign nation that is $33 trillion in debt be considered wealthy?

* Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas Jefferson? (From TS) Who knew? Click here.

* 10 Things Black Students DON’T Need. A Black father speaks out at a school meeting. Click here.

* He built a drumophone! Click here.

Quick Bites: Historical Photos… Baby Names… Cleaning the Lincoln Pool 

* Ancient Earth is a very cool tool that lets you input an address and see how the area has changed over the past 750,000 years. Click here.

* Number 3 Son and wife are pregnant and figuring out baby names. Click here for a list I sent them of names to avoid.

* Something you may have never wondered about: How to clean Lincoln’s reflecting pool on the National Mall in DC. Click here.

Quick Bites: TERF Wars… Hero of the Year?… Christmas Carol Mash-up… Regrets

Men are truly taking charge. Transwomen (i.e., biological men who “identify” as women) have succeeded in taking charge of feminism by redefining words we use to speak about women and usurping women’s rights by promoting a slate of “trans rights,” including the right of a biological man with a penis to use public spaces reserved for women (sporting contests, locker rooms, bathrooms, etc.). But recently, they may have taken their crusade one step too far by trying to take over the one remaining place that has, until now, been exclusively for women. I’m talking, of course, about Lesbianism. Click here.

CNN’s Hero of the Year. Really? Is this the best example of a “hero” that CNN could come up with? Click here.

“Deck the Halls” Meets Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” I was sure I wouldn’t like this. But it got to me. Click here.

Ten Hollywood actors who regretted major movie roles they took. Can you guess who they are and what movies they regret? I guessed three of them. Click here.

Quick Bites

Emissions rising from a coal-fired power plant in Kansas 

After reading so many cogent arguments, essays, and research reports on the climate change debate… I no longer have an opinion on the key questions surrounding the controversy. How true is the basic contention? How much ecological change it will cause? How much damage versus benefit will come from it? And what is the best way to remedy the situation, if it can be remedied at all?

And because I don’t have a fixed opinion on this issue, I am always interested in the latest reputable studies and reports. Here is something I read recently from the United Nations.

Click here.

Five Things Rich People Buy That Jeopardize Their Wealth. The first item on contributor Cindy Lamothe’s list is, by far, the most important. And the danger goes way beyond what she says here.

What is the BDS movement? You’ve heard/seen the acronym. You may know that it stands for “boycott, disinvest, and sanction Israel.” But do you know what that means? What is the BDS movement’s core mission? Click here.

One of the most common criticisms of Israel going to war against Hamas… is that Hamas does not represent “most” of the people in Gaza. And that most Muslims are not at all happy with Hamas’s actions in provoking the war. Well, no. Click here.

In my personal opinion, Saturday Live stopped being funny about 20 years ago… when it decided to get involved in “social justice” and strain its comedic offerings through a screen of political correctness. When someone texted this “Battle of the Sexes” SNL skit, I had little hope I’d find it even remotely amusing. But I was laughing out loud. The gimmick here is obviously borrowed from Monty Python. But that makes it somehow better in my mind. Click here.

Quick Bites

Scott Young 

Have you noticed that some people are able to learn things – languages, facts, lyrics, etc. – much faster than others? Learning about learning – i.e., the science of learning – has been a recognized course of study since the early 1980s. Since then, it’s bloomed in a large and pretty exciting field of education. Scott Young, a learning expert, wrote a very good introduction to the field in this essay, where he lists the scientists and theoreticians that have most influenced his ideas.

Ready for the next global pandemic? According to the folks that brought you the COVID-19 hysteria, the next one is likely to be many times worse. Go here to see a review of the news stories touting the next great pandemic that have been published in just the last few months.

They spent 20 years reading one book… and they still don’t understand it! In my late teens, I sat in on a college course my father gave on Finnegan’s Wake. Prior to that, I had read only one book by Joyce, his collection of short stories (Dubliners). I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. Neither did this book club, apparently. Click here.

These stories are rare, but they are fun and inspirational for art collectors. Click here.

Quick Bites 

Oct. 7, 2023 – The Day the Delusions Died. In 1987, Thomas Sowell published A Conflict of Visions, which, among other things, provided an intriguing explanation of why people disagree about politics. The foundation of our disagreement, he says, is the disagreement we have about human nature. He argued that there are two fundamentally different ways of looking at the world, one of which he called “unconstrained” and the other “constrained.” Click here for an explanation of this as it relates to the Israel-Hamas War.

Another Hint on the “Handoff” to Newsom. Biden’s leaking it now… Click here.

John Stossel Looks into the Epidemic of “Food Insecurity.” On Nov. 14, I wrote about this crazy new problem that has been worried about in the past several years in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other left-leaning media. I said the term was a fabricated crisis issued by political and other organizations that make a living by selling the myth that there are millions of Americans going to bed or waking up hungry. And I’m not the only one talking about this idiocy. John Stossel recently did a documentary about it. He talks about it here.

The Most Dangerous Bird in the World. From AS: “The Cassowary, a flightless bird that lives in the forests in Australia, could kick either of our asses even when we were in our prime. They are six feet six inches tall and can weigh about 170. Holy shit! Look it up.” I looked it up. Click here.

How well would you eat on a trip overseas? I thought I’d do a lot better on this quiz. I got only 13 right, and at least three of those were guesses. I guess I’m not as worldly as I thought! Click here.