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WTF is going on in the UK?

I hear this story about Dominic Raab who is accused of being a "bully". What the hell does that mean? Is he beating up on his fellow workers? So I look it up to find out exactly what he's accused of. (and it wasn't easy to find) Here's what he's accused of...

"It was language, it was tone, he would be very curt with people. .."

Really? That's his crime? Lots of bosses do that. That's a management style, not a crime. WTF?

Every other political commentator with a big microphone does that, often against people who don't have a big mic to defend themselves with.

The UK just killed 222,000 of their own citizens with their public health policy during the pandemic and this is what they're talking about? You guys are as screwed-up over there as we are.

(ps - if you think I'm bullying the UK, tough shit.)

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Pat

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Retro SciFi Film of the Week…

The Blob (1958)

This movie was marketed as a horror film but technically it’s also a science fiction because the Blob came from outer space on a meteor. This is a B-movie with a lot of cheesy special effects but it makes fun of itself and it was marketed to young people many of whom actually thought the film was scary.

The Blob itself was basically just watered down gelatin with food coloring and they got it to move by placing it on a table with a camera mounted on it. Then they would tilt and jiggle and move the table around at various angles to get the gelatin to move around. Then they’d film it in slow motion or print the film in reverse or turn the whole jig upside down to get the different effects that they wanted.

The scene where the blob jumps from the stick onto the man’s arm was simply filmed upside down to get the blob to defy gravity.

To the producers of the film, the Blob was a self-referential metaphor. The film was produced about a decade after the end of World War II; all the returning veterans had jobs by then and were making a lot of money. This was the beginning of the hay day for a new advertising and promotion industry for all consumer products including movies. Just a couple of years after this film was released, The Beatles arrived on the scene using the new promotion techniques to help fuel their meteoric rise, resulting in Beatlemania during the 1960s.

Here’s a trailer for the film, showing the style of advertising they used, which seems quaint compared to the psyops employed by businesses today.

Accessible video description:

The trailer opens with Steve McQueen and another woman entering the police station to tell the police about the blob then there are big title graphics that say “Beware of the blob” as the announcer talks about the film.
It shows a bunch of people sitting in a theater and it shows the blob oozing from the projection booth then it shows a bunch of people running from the theater screaming.
More Title Graphics say “it crawls... it creeps... it eats you alive!” The Blob, now very large, oozes out of the front doors of the theater. a man and a woman are briefly shown kissing in a car as they are interrupted by a falling meteor, the man and woman drive off. then it shows an old man with a stick with the small blob on it and the blob jumps up from the stick onto his arm. Shows the blob indoors, about the size of a bear, a man tries to shoot it with a gun. then it shows Steve McQueen trying to calm people down but they run towards a diner. then the blob engulfs the diner. next it shows Steve McQueen, the text says, “starring Steve McQueen”, then more title Graphics say, “Get Set it's coming soon”, then in huge type “The Blob” with smaller type that says “a Tonylyn production”, “color by Deluxe”.

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Pat

Chess puzzle

White wins in 546 moves...

No joke.

(from chess.com/forum/view/endgames/)

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Pat

Index of Pat’s pinned toots:


qoto.org/@Pat/1093064572536971

Guide to Content Warnings
qoto.org/@Pat/1093215339289551


y=${x##*pid=}; echo ${y%%,*}
qoto.org/@Pat/1078178931515951
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A properly worn respirator stops all variants of the COVID-19 virus -- past, present and future...
qoto.org/@Pat/1073640495460189
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A pseudorandomly selected list of ten films to critique regarding how they treat black actors/characters
qoto.org/@Pat/1071404103036091
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A list of
qoto.org/@Pat/1076429679575921
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What's wrong with this picture?
qoto.org/@Pat/1071115454963739

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Pat

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Once again, here's the link to that toot and thread...

qoto.org/@Pat/1096902644306466

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Pat

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This works in the summer, too, to help keep your home cooler. When it is hot outside, cover the windows to keep the heat out and the cool temperature inside.

Also, make sure to cover windows to prevent direct sunlight from shining into your living space.

Show thread
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Pat

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Index of Pat’s Energy-Saving Tips
----------------

Energy-saving tip number 1
Drive an electric car…
qoto.org/web/statuses/11020955

Energy-saving tip number 2
Replace your oil or gas-powered furnace with a heat pump…
qoto.org/@Pat/1079416180398932
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Energy-saving tip number 3
Fill containers with water and keep them in your living space for thermal mass...
qoto.org/@Pat/1079211405068347
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Energy-saving tip number 4
Avoid driving...
qoto.org/@Pat/1079278529192650
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Energy-saving tip number 5
Insulate...
qoto.org/@Pat/1079619626419974
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Energy-saving tip number 6
Use a clothesline...
qoto.org/@Pat/1079308773038742
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Energy-saving tip number 7
Install solar panels…
qoto.org/@Pat/1079714437000199
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Energy-saving tip number 8
Choose a zero-energy home…
qoto.org/@Pat/1080117365673276
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Energy-saving tip number 9
Slow down...
qoto.org/@Pat/1079133415526170
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Energy-saving tip number 10
Invent the next breakthrough in energy…
qoto.org/@Pat/1079887479015600
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Energy-saving tip number 11
Save on hot water heating…
qoto.org/@Pat/1079487997212634
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Energy-saving tip number 12...
Cover windows with thick window coverings and mylar sheets to keep the heat in...
qoto.org/@Pat/1079009226100436
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Energy-saving tip number 13
Eat plants…
qoto.org/@Pat/1080478999950227

Extra…

How to set your hot water heater to the most efficient temperature...
qoto.org/@Pat/1086858997535704

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---------------

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Pat

---------------
Energy saving tip number 1
---------------

Drive an electric car…

It’s best to try to avoid driving whenever you can by planning your errands, living close to work/stores, car-pooling, walking or riding a bike. But if you need to drive, an efficient electric car can save a lot of energy (and money).

Here are some other advantages to driving an electric vehicle…

- low maintenance (no regular oil changes, less wear on brakes, less heat damage, fewer moving parts, no muffler or emission system...)
- if you charge at home, you can always start with a full “tank” in the morning
- much lower cost of fuel
- much quieter ride
- it safer because electric vehicles don’t explode or spill fuel like putt-putt cars
- no smell of gasoline on your hands
- avoid the adverse health effects of petrol
- electric vehicles have more self-driving features
- no smelly exhaust fumes
- no need to start or warm up the engine, save time
- often no need to stop to refuel just charge overnight at home, at work or while you shop
- less noise pollution
- no oil leaks in your parking spot, or on the roadway, or on waterfowl
- it’s better for the planet

The prices of electric vehicles continue to fall and more used EV’s are available for those on a tighter budget. And the range of electric vehicles continues to increase. Future EV’s will have a longer range than putt-putt cars.

Electric vehicle models each have different fuel efficiencies which are designated in watt-hours per km (or per mile) like 240 Wh/km, or sometimes as miles (km) per kilowatt-hour, like 4.3 mi/kWh. Watt-hour and kilowatt-hour are measures of energy, kind of like liters (gallons) of fuel. If it’s designated as energy per distance (Wh/mi or Wh/km) you want a lower number.

(image: Alexander Megl, CC-SA-BY-4.0)

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Pat

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Retro SciFi Film of the Week…

Killers from Space (1954)

This film was released less than a decade after the United States had bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII and just five years after the Soviet Union had tested their first nuclear weapon. It's very typical of 50s scifi during the height of the Cold War with all the giant bugs and lousy special effects -- but this one is special because it has a couple of well-known actors in it.

Steve Pendleton was a character actor whose face was well known to audiences at the time and Peter Graves, the protagonist in this film, was just getting his career going. He's probably most well known for his starring role in the comedy Airplane (1974), and to older folks he's most known for playing Jim Philps the lead character in the original Mission Impossible series.

Ironically the giant insects in this movie are not the result of exposure to nuclear radiation but they look just like the giant insects from any other 50s scifi. The rest of the special effects in this film are just as bad.

And the science facts presented in the film are just as bogus as most other scifi films at the time. (Some of the science mistakes are highlighted in this satirical trailer of film.)

You'll notice a picture of Eisenhower in the background on some of the shots in this movie. The actors were awkwardly positioned to make sure that you could see his picture in the background. I'm not sure what point the filmmakers were trying to make but it was obvious they were trying to include his picture in those scenes.

This is a really bad film with a ton of unintentional flaws but it's really rather entertaining for that reason. I recommend this film for anyone who enjoys watching silly 50s science fiction or who studies the Cold War period.

Accessible video description:

The video starts with a title, then the protagonist in tattered clothing stumbles up to a poorly acting guard at a building. then he's in a doctor's office with his shirt off and the doctor points at a large scar on his chest. then in an office with military men with Eisenhower's picture in the background. then his wife, is talking to a man who is investigating the protagonist and they subtly flirt as he lights her cigarette. then a man in a phone booth asks for the police. then a woman takes a printout from a teletype and puts it into a message tube which is sent to a dispatcher who reads it. then the protagonist is in the laboratory of the humanoid aliens who have big eyes. then a video screen shows pictures of an alien city. then a bunch of closeups of giant insects, lizards, a cockroach and a grasshopper with silly sound effects dubbed over them as the protagonist looks frightened. Then the protagonist is walking with the leader of the aliens and the alien tries to convince him to be a traitor. then the protagonist is talking to one of the military guys about how to destroy the alien facility while it briefly cuts to a shot of the woman in silence. after he gives his plan there are close-ups of people looking incredulously into the camera including a woman from another 1960s comedy and finally Larry Tate from the old TV show Bewitched.

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(fair use satire with scenes from this film, The Absent Minded Professor (1961) and Bewitched (circa 1970) plus well-known sound effects from other films)

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Pat

It was prescient of the producers of this old movie to use this metaphor.

Show thread
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Pat

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(Here's a GIF version of the video.)

Putt-Putt cars are headed off a cliff 😂

(fair use clip - Radar Men from the Moon, 1952)

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Pat

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The future of putt-putt cars...

(fair use clip - Radar Men from Mars)

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Pat

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Oh yeah... and know sarcasm.

Show thread
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Pat

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Ban all weapons:

- no guns
- no knives
- no rope
- no clubs
- no stones
- no poison
- no viruses

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People who lack morals or ethics are very easy to lead. You can lead them around by the nose just by waving a few dollars in front of their face.

This is why the plutocrats put them in office.

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Pat

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Here's a button. If you push it, all humans will become infertile. No one will be killed, but no more people will be born and the human species will become extinct in the early 22nd Century.

Do you push the button?

12 people · Apr 18, 2023, 23:26
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Pat

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That chess-playing stream is done now, but you can see an archived video of it at:

twitch.tv/videos/1790028089

Show thread
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Pat

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Grandmaster vs. NYC chess hustler...

(the grandmaster is on the left)

Streaming live now:
twitch.tv/akanemsko

Here's a sample...

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Pat

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Retro SciFi Film of the Week…

The Day Time Ended (1979)

Remember that film about an extraterrestrial (ET) that comes to Earth and befriends a little girl? The ET does miraculous feats and at first he doesn’t talk and just uses hand gestures to communicate with the little girl. The ET has a large head, skinny limbs, and pale reptilian-like skin. In the beginning she is the only one who knows but later everyone finds out about the ET.

I’m referring, of course, to The Day Time Ended (1979). Yeah, three years before the movie “E.T. the Extraterrestrial” was released in 1982 there was this low-budget movie with a similar plot. Other writers have claimed that E.T. had plagiarized their work. (I far as I know, the producers of this film made no claims of infringement.) The courts ruled that the plot was too general to claim infringement, so if anyone wants to do a remake of E.T. without purchasing adaptation rights, there’s plenty of material available out there that predates E.T.

The Day Time Ended had a plot that was a lot more complicated with multiple alien species, time travel, and other stuff that I can’t make heads or tails of. It’s a poorly executed project with bad acting, lousy special effects and cinematography, and an unclear story arc. The best actor in the film was the little girl, which gives you an idea of just how bad the acting was.

This one’s probably not worth watching unless you like to see rare B-movie science fiction along with some of the historical artifacts, like an analog dial AM car radio, a detachable pull-top soda can, and of course those goofy late-70s haircuts.

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Accessible video description:

A little girl watches as smoke flows under a door and an alien appears. It is about one foot tall with a large head, big eyes, thin body and pale skin. It jumps up on the bed post and then jumps across the room to a dresser as it accidentally knocks over a potted plant. The ET spins around and stops like a figure-skater as the plant rights itself. Silly music plays in the background.

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Pat

nytimes.com/2023/04/07/nyregio

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