Linkee-poo, why do trolls suddenly appear when elections are near, just like me, they long to be close to you

"Dorian intensifies, regains category 3 major hurricane status."

"(The wild horses of the Outer Banks) will move to higher ground and gather under sturdy oak trees to shelter from the storm, said the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which manages the herd and sends a similar reminder during major hurricanes due to the outpouring of concern for the horses. 'They'll likely ride out winds and rain as their ancestors did before them — in huddles, butts to the wind,' it added."

"Getting ready for NaNoWriMo? Or just want to try building a daily writing practice? This class is for you." From K. Tempest Bradford, and she will email you a writing prompt/exercise every day in October. (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)

"For decades, architectural critic and photographer John Margolies obsessively documented roadside attractions: vernacular architecture, weird sculpture, odd businesses and amusements… The Library of Congress purchased the Margolies archive and has released it to the public domain, with hi-rez scans of 11,710 slides." I'll be in my bunk. (Grokked from Tania)

"Shapeshifting Sorcery: The Persistence of Mesoamerican Magic." In the songs of the present we hear the echos of our ancestors. (Grokked from Julia Rios)

"On Monday, the European Space Agency (ESA) was forced to move its observation satellite aside to make room for a SpaceX satellite in the Starlink constellation." Elon Musk, also an asshole in space.

"More recently, the IceCube array in Antarctica has reported 10 super-duper-high-energy neutrinos sourced from the bubbles, leading some astrophysicists to speculate that some crazy subatomic interactions are afoot. The end result: the Fermi Bubbles are even more mysterious than we thought."

"Choosing different lunar landing sites is important for science not solely in order to build a more complete picture of the moon's geology: The south pole is particularly intriguing. That's where instruments on board this mission's predecessor, the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter, detected slabs of water ice buried in the always-shadowed craters near the moon's south pole."

"Squirrels eavesdrop on the casual chitchat of birds to figure out when it's safe enough to be out in the open and foraging for food." Squirrels. But it's also a lesson I learned long ago, listen to the sounds of the animals when you're in the woods. You can learn a lot from them.

"Despite its popular image of teeth and claws and thunder, Tyrannosaurus rex was no hot-head. New research indicates that the two mysterious holes in the top of the dinosaur's skull likely helped regulate temperatures inside its head."

"While several studies have already shown the health risks of drinking sugary beverages (from weight gain to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease), a new study of nearly 452,000 people found that even sugar-free diet sodas are linked to a higher risk of death." Diet soda is worse for you in many other ways. Over the weekend we went to the Geauga Fair and we bought lemonades. I asked for "not as much" sugar in mine, which was ordered as a "half-sugar." It was still about a cup of sugar.

"The gunman who killed seven people and injured more than 20 in a shooting rampage around Odessa, Texas, purchased his weapon from a private seller, a transaction that does not require a background check, law enforcement officials told NBC News." Somebody went way off script. Except right-wing backlash in 3… 2… 1… Quick, to the NRA bunker! (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"The debate over gun control often focuses on guns themselves, but ammunition has played a big role in making recent mass shootings more deadly." With a video on the effects (in ballistic gel) of the different bullets. This is why when some asshole talks about going game hunting with the AR-15 you can know they're either lying or they're a fucking goddamn idiot. The .223 bullet destroys tissue, ruptures organs, and breaks bone. If you "hunt" with this round, if you're not hunting big game (think adult moose or larger) you are not coming home with anything usable. And if you want to say it's so the guberment is afraid of you, let me just laugh in your face. The government is not afraid of you using a weapon against it. See all those shooters, some of whom had body armor and (fewer) had training? See how many of them are dead? The government is not afraid of you.

"On average, nearly three homeless people are dying daily in the county, nearly double the rate of deaths by homicide. Illness, addiction, accidents, suicide and the ravages of being unsheltered are among the primary causes of death." (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)

"A judge Tuesday denied almost every request to dismiss charges or ease bail for three dozen counterprotesters who were arrested at the Boston Straight Pride event on Saturday, despite prosecutors' requests, according to NBC’s Boston affiliate."

"A new report from a government watchdog, obtained by NPR, says an expanded effort by Congress to forgive the student loans of public servants is remarkably unforgiving." When the goal is to cripple government, reduce spending, and attempt to privatize functions, it should be no surprise that government doesn't work and any opportunity to increase private profits (from loan servicing, which, say, doesn't the Sec. of Education have some business interests here?) will be taken.

"Thieves used voice-mimicking software to imitate a company executive’s speech and dupe his subordinate into sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to a secret account, the company’s insurer said, in a remarkable case that some researchers are calling one of the world’s first publicly reported artificial-intelligence heists." A bright future in sales. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"The Trump administration is rolling back requirements for new, energy-efficient lightbulbs. The Energy Department announced the move on Wednesday, withdrawing standards that were to be put in place to make commonly used bulbs more efficient." And the lighting industry is backing it? Why? Because LED lightbulbs last too long. Incandescent lighting is hugely wasteful. LEDs have come down in price and have added color balancing.

How go the Trade Wars? "Looking more directly at trade, while Chinese exports to the United States have fallen by 13 percent or about $30 billion since tariffs were first imposed in mid-2018, its exports to the rest of the world have expanded by more than enough to offset the loss of sales to the United States. Measured in terms of yuan, China’s global exports in the first six months of 2019 were up 6.1 percent over a year ago, just before the United States first imposed tariffs." What gets lost in the US is that there is a whole wide world out there. We're not the only monkeys in this circus. But our government plays like we are. Or as the Japan/US trade wars were once described, "In the US we go for home runs, while in Japan they are satisfied to consistently and continually hit singles." Home runs might make a splash, but the team who consistently runs the bases one at a time will win the game. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"The United States and China have agreed to return to the negotiating table in Washington to discuss trade. It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the trade war's rapid escalation in recent weeks."

How goes Brexit? "After taking control of parliamentary business on Tuesday, a majority of MPs then on Wednesday approved a bill forcing the prime minister to ask the European Union (EU) for another delay to the U.K.’s departure date, pushing Brexit back to January 31, 2020, if there is no withdrawal agreement approved by October 19."

"PM's brother quits as Tory MP and minister." It isn't his first time quitting over Brexit.

"A top U.S. Department of the Interior appointee who pushed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil leasing is taking a job with an oil company seeking to develop a major project in Alaska." Remember when this was common? You know, before most of society agreed that this was corruption at its basic level. Well, the people who benefit from that corruption don't think it is.

"The US state department has confirmed it offered millions of dollars to the captain of an Iranian oil tanker which is at the centre of a diplomatic row." Ah, it's amateur time in the State Department.

"The $3.6 billion, taken from 127 projects across the globe, will go toward 11 projects in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which include both new construction and some fencing replacement." Robbing Peter to keep Jose out of the country. But now, get this, the Republicans want the Congress to restore funding to the Pentagon so they can do those other 127 projects (which are needed).

"Scaramucci told the network that the president is on 'replay mode' in which he has a few phrases 'he repeatedly uses.'" Thanks, Capt. Obvious. This is not news to anyone who has listened to him. The president is like a walking Ad-Libs. Same phrases, sentence structures, and pacing, just change the nouns, verbs, and adjectives (and usually not those) and you've got his speech pattern down. (Grokked from Chip Dawes)

"Migrant children separated from their parents through the Trump administration’s 'zero tolerance' policy experienced more severe mental trauma than children who were not separated, according to a government watchdog report." Well, now that we have the government report… nothing will change. Because cruelty is the point of it. It's the foundation all of this administration's immigration policy is set.

"In Washington State’s legislature, Rep. Matt Shea is controversial even among fellow Republicans: he has distributed white supremacist Christian Identity literature and openly advocated violence against Muslims, gays and others he considers enemies of the United States. And according to a report by Jason Wilson for The Guardian, Shea has enthusiastically encouraged an extremist group called Team Rugged." Such nice people. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"During a briefing on the storm’s threat to the U.S. east coast, the president had an aide show reporters a dated map from the National Weather Service showing initial projections of Dorian’s track into Florida. Someone appears to have altered the map with a Sharpie to extend the track beyond Florida -- into Alabama." There aren't enough face palms for this. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

Remember when Fox News was all over a former lawyer for Democratic presidents getting caught up in the Mueller investigation? "A federal jury on Wednesday found the prominent Washington lawyer Greg Craig, who worked for two Democratic presidents, not guilty of making false statements to the Justice Department about work he did for the Ukrainian government." I wonder if they'll cover that as heavily? Was he guilty? Yeah, probably. It was a tough case to prove, though.

"Nowhere was this (folksy saying) demonstrated more quickly than in the case of the meteoric rise and equally rapid fall of Andy Ngo, the provocateur and social media personality who garnered nationwide sympathy last June, when he tweeted that he was attacked by antifascist protesters at a Proud Boys rally. Last week, the local newspaper the Portland Mercury reported that a left-wing activist going undercover as a member of Patriot Prayer, a far-right group known for promoting and engaging in violent clashes with leftist activists, had given the publication an 18-minute video that included footage of Ngo with a group of Patriot Prayer members as the members discuss an upcoming brawl, including weaponry to be used in altercations with antifa. Ngo, who describes himself as a journalist, did not record the conversation, and does not appear to have his camera or notebook out. For part of the footage, he is seen on his phone." Trolls gonna troll. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)