Linkee-poo you just don't know what you was missing last night

"Homes torn to timbers and vehicles tossed like toys littered whole neighborhoods as rescue teams on Wednesday continued to fight flooding and the waning outer bands of Hurricane Dorian to try to save those still stranded in the northeastern Bahamas."

"A commercial satellite image shows just how much of Grand Bahama Island is underwater following days of torrential rain and massive storm surge from Hurricane Dorian."

Video of the devastation is starting to show up. This will take decades to rebuild.

All Hollows Read posters to download. (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

"I had seen glimpses of it as I walked past on my way to AP Geometry, but now I was about to enter the school computer lab for the first time." Brings back memories for people of a certain age, from when we computed in bear skins using flint knives. Peek, poke, and call… ah the memories. (Grokked from John)

"People living in Central New York who reported hearing a loud, fearful boom on Monday night can rest relatively easily -- it was likely just a fiery rock from the far flung reaches of outer space." Relax, it was just a huge rock exploding in the atmosphere. You know, like what killed the dinosaurs. Nothing to worry about.

"China's Chang'e-4 lunar rover has discovered an unusually colored, 'gel-like' substance during its exploration activities on the far side of the moon." This is how the horror movie starts. (Grokked from Dan)

"Does anyone still believe that science can explain, well, everything? This belief was ascendant in the 1980s, when my career began. Bigshot scientists proclaimed that they were solving the riddle of existence. They would soon explain why our universe exists and takes the form it does, and why we exist and are what we are." You know nothing, Jon Snow. Unfortunately the essay quick devolves into Science vs Religion which completely misses the point, and then veers into this philosophical "can the ant understand the stars" questions. Science is a series of Russian nesting dolls, only we're starting from the very inside doll. As soon as we understand (or think we understand) that, we're suddenly confronted by an even larger shell of knowledge which was exposed by understanding the smaller doll. Our problem is that we think we're not inside the dolls, and that we are not the dolls. And because of that, our observations are tainted, which leads to misunderstand what we think we know.

"In recent years, Charleston-area historic sites have dramatically increased their interpretation of slavery and its vital role in the area’s early history… And some visitors have pushed back, uneasy with hearing a story many feel reflects poorly on their ancestors. The feedback can be particularly harsh with the relative anonymity of social media and a political moment where racism is debated almost daily in the news." Because the actual culture and heritage is too uncomfortable. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

"The first year of college is crucial for setting students up for success, laying a strong foundation for the rest of college and beyond. Research shows that if you finish your first year and sign up for the second, you're far more likely to get that degree."

"Families have really been transformed by debt, and really by the problem of dreaming about sending a kid to college and trying very hard to pay for it — oftentimes from the very earliest moments of a child's life. I think what we don't take account of, nearly enough, is what that experience is like — [what] the experience of trying to give a kid a shot by sending them [to] college means for most middle class families.That's the thing that I think that we need to be focusing on."

"In 2017 the 'S****y Media Men' list began making the rounds on the internet. Coming right on the heels of the downfall of movie producer Harvey Weinstein, the list seemed poised to take down even more men in media. The editable, crowdsourced spreadsheet contained accusations — all made anonymously, that ranged from 'creepy' direct messages to 'rape' — against prominent figures in journalism and publishing." A little too focused on the people named in the list (which they claim they were named wrongly).

"A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the White House to restore the hard pass of Playboy’s correspondent Brian Karem, whose credentials were suspended after a raucous incident in July in which he got in argument with former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka following a Rose Garden ceremony."

How goes Brexit? "Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Britain’s World War Two leader Winston Churchill, said he would vote against Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Brexit on Tuesday, a step that enforcers have warned would lead to expulsion from the Conservative Party." Turns out Boris tossed him and thirty other MPs from the party.

"Conservative MP Phillip Lee has defected to the Liberal Democrats ahead of a showdown between Boris Johnson and Tory rebels over Brexit." And he crossed the aisle on live TV as Boris was giving his speech. The Conservatives no long have a majority.

"The result sets up another key vote in parliament on Wednesday on whether to block the government from proceeding with a no-deal Brexit on October 31, if no Brexit deal is agreed by that date." Apparently there is a chance there maybe new elections… which would happen on Oct 15th. But that will only happen if Johnson is extremely lucky. He needs two-thirds of parliament to agree and there's very little chance of that (as polls indicate he may gain seats, and the opposition wouldn't approve of that). And then Boris said parliament was "on the brink of wrecking any deal that we might be able to strike with Brussels." What deal? There was no deal (other than what PM May secured).

How go the Trade Wars? "The inside story of President Trump’s gamble to confront China over trade. Reporting from the U.S. and China, FRONTLINE and NPR investigate what led the world’s two largest economies to the brink, and the billions at stake." For long time readers, you know I was calling the struggle between the US and China a New Cold War back before the Great Recession. It's only gotten worse. In this documentary (and it's almost an hour of audio or video, but I recommend it) they do touch on the solution, we, the US, need to out innovate and grow our economy instead of trying to punish China's economy. But it is complicated when the US government is in big business' pocket (it's the businesses pleading to not punish China or to implicate the businesses because then China will punish them). So part of what Trump is doing, the mentality, is correct. Tariffs and the open hostility is that policy being implemented poorly. However, to do what is necessary is damn hard work. The American Worker is ready and willing for that fight. It's the business leadership, the CEOs and investors, who have no idea and no willingness to actually do that work. Because it is hard (it is very hard) and it is risky. And the 1% won't make a move unless they know it's a winner. So you can see that our economy has been acting like a staggering drunk since the 70s. We're getting near the fall. The right struggle means China becoming a world power, but the US will be a larger power. Our economies are intertwined (and if you want to see what will happen if we try to extract ourselves, I give you Brexit and the pound being less than $1.50US). Nothing is preventing us from out growing and being the innovation hub of the world, winning this New Cold War. Nothing except ourselves.

"Popeyes customer pulls a gun after being told there were no more chicken sandwiches."

"In terms of fast food franchises specifically, this limited availability strategy was likely first used by McDonald’s in order to market the Shamrock Shake in 1970 and, later, the McRib… But it wasn’t until the advent of social media that this stratagem truly gained widespread traction, with various case studies from KFC’s DoubleDown to Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte to Dominique Ansel bakery’s cronut proving its success." Food as fad. It's all about the marketing, baby. And making sure there isn't enough to go around. Demand and supply.

"(Walmart), America's largest retailer, said it will stop selling handgun ammunition and 'short-barrel rifle ammunition,'… after selling all of its current inventory… And Walmart will request that customers no longer openly carry guns into its 4,700 US stores, or its Sam's Club stores, in states that allow open carry."

"U.S. grocer Kroger Co (KR.N) has begun asking customers to stop openly carrying firearms in stores, a change in policy, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday."

"Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam has finally fully withdrawn a controversial bill that allowed extradition to mainland China and sparked three months of dramatic protests in the financial hub." They always wait too long for half-measures.

"Trump’s economic record took another turn into dangerous territory Tuesday with a widely tracked gauge of the U.S. manufacturing sector contracting for the first time in more than three years, walloping the stock market and reigniting fears of a recession. It added to mounting concerns about a global economic slowdown under the weight of Trump’s trade war."