Morning Update: 09/13/24

Friday the 13th Edition

Welcome to one of the most dreaded days of the year (by some)! Those who are superstitious are likely staying in bed today if they can, or being extremely careful if they can’t. I do want to put something to rest quickly, though: THERE IS NO FRIDAY THE 13TH IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR. I’ve seen the memes going around since June. They’re wrong. There is a supermoon, but the 13th lands on a Sunday next month. I know some were hoping for a super spooky Halloween season, but that particular element isn’t happening. If you are a spooky-oriented person, celebrate today instead.

Only one person gave me any direct feedback on yesterday’s video edition, and views were down compared to other days this week. I think, at least for today, we’ll mix it up a bit, giving video coverage where it makes sense, but going ahead and typing out the rest. There was some mention that some of the videos were blocked for some people. I don’t understand that at all. Most of the videos came from YouTube and should have been available to everyone. For them to be blocked doesn’t make any sense.

Kat is still quarantined. Queen Bit and Fat Guy have been taking care of her, Bit insisting on lying on her head most of the day. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to cure, but she’s definitely committed to the task. At least no one here is running to AI for medical advice. According to this morning’s Times, many Americans are taking the advice of AI chatbots for medical information. The primary reason is that it takes too long to see an actual doctor. But, of course, the question immediately raised is whether the advice is accurate. The answer is obvious: not always. Go see a real, living, breathing doctor before doing anything stupid.

Can we stop with the Springfield-related memes already? Yeah, I’ve seen some cute ones, but the issue is that they’re causing problems. Here’s your first video of the day.

As much as anything, this is a clear example of the degree to which words do matter, and Republicans such as the Orange Felon and his idiotic running mate don’t seem to care. If anything, they’re delighting in the chaos because it keeps bringing people back to the concept that immigrants are ruining the country. They’re not. They’re not ruining Europe, either. Immigration is not out of control. This is clear fear-mongering from the GOP. In the case of Springfield, they need immigrants. So, let’s just cancel the memes, okay?

Of course, the big news of the day is that 33,000 Boeing factory workers went on strike after rejecting the contract offer. This is going to put a big dent in Boeing’s cash flow as it means they can’t deliver the 737s that airlines have ordered. Boeing is already cash-strapped thanks to its multiple failures this year. They really can’t afford to let this strike go much longer than the weekend, and even then the ripple effect is going to cause numerous problems for the company. Boeing workers have put up with a lot of flack and no small amount of bullshit of late. This is their first work stoppage since 2008. The folks in Boeing’s C-Suite need to get their act together and end this strike quickly.

I totally forgot that there was a football game last night. I can’t believe that I let that slip my mind. I was in bed shortly after 9:00 anyway, and the Bills pretty much handled the Dolphins without any problem. No one is terribly surprised by that. There was some drama, though. Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion after hitting his head on the turf. This was a scary moment for Dolphins fans as much of the team’s hopes for this season ride on the quarterback’s abilities. There have been a number of problems with the turf in various stadiums already this season. If you were watching the Colts/Texans game last Sunday, you saw both quarterbacks plagued with slipping on Lucas Oil’s new turf. There were plenty of complaints at other stadiums as well. None of the teams want to lose their highly-paid star players to an injury. But can the problem even be addressed now that the season is underway?

Time for another video. This one is actually a little frightening in my opinion.

Considering that North Korea isn’t supposed to have any nukes at all makes this a slap directly in the face of the UN and its member countries. Why should this bother us? First of all, the world does not need another nuclear power, especially not one controlled by a family of power-hungry deranged lunatics. No one trusts a nuclear-equipped North Korea to not attempt a takeover of South Korea. Most critical, though, is the Russian factor. Putin has been under increasing pressure to utilize the country’s nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Among the multiple problems with that idea, including the fact that fallout would likely blowback over Russia, is that their nuclear arsenal is decades old and operates on what is now horribly obsolete technology that hasn’t been tested since the 1980s. However, European intel is saying that Russia has a new kamikaze drone. Putin’s been getting cozy with North Korea’s Kim of late. If Russia were to put brand new North Korean nukes on kamikaze drones, it could spell danger for all of Eastern Europe, including several NATO countries. Now, see why this is really a big deal?

There is some interesting moon-related news this morning. On one hand, New research suggests the moon had active volcanoes when dinosaurs roamed Earth. Granted, this was millions of years ago, but it’s still important as it may mean that underground deposits of both water and magma may still exist. This could be extremely important if anyone wants to actually attempt colonizing the moon.

However, the Times is reporting that a new mini-moon is being captured by Earth’s gravity. There are a couple of caveats here. First, what scientists are tracking is an extremely small space rock. So small, that you wouldn’t likely be able to see it with the naked eye. Second, not everyone agrees that it’s a moon. Again, size matters, but so does the shape of its orbit, which is still up for questioning. Nonetheless, it would be exciting, in my opinion, if Earth were to join the collection of cool planets that have more than one moon. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Who knows, maybe the little rock will grow!

Locally, it’s looking as though the drought across much of Indiana is going to continue. Any rain effect from Tropical Storm Francine is going to be limited to the Southwestern part of the state, leaving the rest of us hot and dry for at least the next week. This is unusual since September is normally a fairly wet month. Without any rain, fall foliage is going to suck. Already, I’m seeing the leaves on trees in our neighborhood beginning to turn brown. Belvedere’s been digging holes to lie in because the surface ground is too hot. This is not a good sign at all.

Fortunately, there’s football tomorrow. The big game for everyone in Indiana is Purdue vs. Notre Dame. Purdue is 2-0 and ND is coming off a devestating loss to Northern Illinois last week. This in-state rivalry is always a big game, but this year it could possibly determine how the rest of the season goes for both teams. The winner gets a shove forward in the polls, which is important come bowl time. The loser could be down for the count, especially if it’s Notre Dame. Either way, we’re looking forward to an exciting game tomorrow afternoon.

I need to eat breakfast and then probably take a nap. Or two. Maybe three. Or four. Never underestimate my napping ability.

Nor my need for MORE COFFEE!!