Weekend Open Thread

He shouts, he scores!

Oh wise and all knowing Magic 8-ball, is Phil Monkress (CEO of All-Points Logistics) still a turd?

… a classic unfinished poem was created in a dream? Kubla Khan, the classic poem by Samuel Coleridge (1772-1834), came to its author in 1797 in a vivid opium-influenced dream. When Coleridge awoke, he began transcribing the poem. It is unfinished because, while Coleridge was writing, a visitor came to his door. Coleridge greeted his guest and interacted with him, but when he returned to his work, he realized he had forgotten the rest of the poem. (And the unnamed visitor was probably never welcomed again.)

… there are three continents on which bears do not live? You won’t find bears in Antarctica, Australia, or Africa. Bears have never lived in Antarctica or Australia, and though bear fossils have been found in Africa, there are no bears there now. No one knows why bears died out in Africa. (And before some wiseacre out there tries to say, “What about polar bears?” let me point out that they live in the Arctic, near the North Pole, not the Antarctic, where the South Pole is.)

… what the first television series was that had its theme song sung by the leading performers of the show? That would be Green Acres, which debuted in 1965. The show, a sister show of the popular Petticoat Junction, starred Eddie Albert (1906-2005) and Eva Gabor (1919-1995), who also performed the popular theme song. The show was a re-formatting of a 1950 radio comedy, Granby’s Green Acres, adjusted to tie in to the world of Petticoat Junction. Additional trivia note: The radio show on which the series was based starred Bea Benaderet (1906-1968), who went on to play the lead in Petticoat Junction. In a way, then, Benaderet’s old radio show became a spinoff of her new television show. (Figure that one out, Oliver.)

… people who watch videos on YouTube see an awful lot? According to Mental Floss, an informal analysis shows that collectively, viewers of the online video service watch more than two billion hours of videos every day. That adds up to 200,000 cumulative years of content watched every day. (Which is nice, since there isn’t anything on television worth watching any more.)

… honey bees can be taught to distinguish odd from even numbers? According to Mental Floss, scientists in an experiment rewarded bees with sugar water when they landed on an image featuring an even number of shapes. A separate group of bees received the same treat for landing on images with an odd number of shapes. Both groups of insects quickly learned which grouping of shapes gave them the sweet treat. (That’s odd. Or even. Bee-lieve it.)

… whales have no natural predators other than humans? Human populations have hunted whales since at least 3000 BC, when Inuit people used stones, driftwood, and the body parts of other animals to hunt whales. (But what did whales do to us?)

… only 14 nations participated in the first modern Olympic games in 1896? A total of 484 athletes from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States competed in nine different sports. Additional trivia note: Some histories say the first Games had 12 nations, excluding Chile and Bulgaria, while others list 13 and leave off Italy. Belgium and Russia had entered names of competitors, but withdrew their lists before the Games began. (That kept the band’s work on playing national anthems easy, anyway.)

Joining my voice with the others to welcome you back CW.

Be sure to heed your doctor’s instructions.

Now, the reasons as to why I like philosophy and like to share it is because I am a Christian Philosopher. Now, as far my proficiency in both of these descriptors, I am still very much a novice (I’m working on it!) and I do feel like I will not reach the same level as Aristotle and Rand, though if I do work at it, I think I may be at least proficient at it by the time I reach the end of my life. Besides, the title of Philosopher really doesn’t have as much of a special meaning as it sounds. All it means is “lover of wisdom.” Not only that, but a good number of philosophers do not receive recognition for their work in their lifetimes. For the most part, this is fine because the job of a philosopher is NOT to achieve fame or glory like a celebrity, politician, or national hero. It’s to leave something behind that will aid future generations. This is what I believe.

But anyway, here’s Aristotle with some of my commentaries on him: I do think he’s wrong in the sense that happiness is out of reach of people depending on what your profession is. Happiness is what you make of it based on your own values and state of mind. A billionaire or child of a billionaire (if I may use that trope) may be unhappy or miserable compared to a blue collar worker who is content with what he owns, but finds happiness in his experiences with loved ones, family, and friends. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean to give away all your money to be happy or that money has no value at all. All that means is being happy with what you have and using reason in the expense of it.

Aristotle’s take on Democracy Part 2:

😆🤣😂

I used to scam the scammers. My phone had this feature where it would warn a certain call was likely a scam and, when I answered, I would say this:

“Hello, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. This Deputy (insert real name here). How may I help you?”

99% of the time they would hang up.

Sounds like a good plan. 8 years until retirement, but its not like you’re counting.
Are there any civilians in your job title, and will they be hiring? Maybe one of those folks will be retiring about the same time and you can slide right in, but wearing jeans instead.