Tuesday, April 8, 2024

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[Immigrants] In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.  ~Theodore Roosevelt 1907

[I Still Hate Computers] I spent an hour f**king with passwords and verifications trying to cancel an unasked for trial of Tunein Radio in Google Play. The screens on my phone are missing the parts that Google said to follow. The bill from Google Play just appeared in my email and coincidence or not, most of my apps were missing from my home screen on my Android phone.

97-year-old Galápagos tortoise becomes first-time mom. ‘Mommy’ is the oldest first-time mother of her species. Link

[Browser] I’ve been using the DuckDuckGo browser for several months and find the lack of ads and data collecting very refreshing. My only complaint is every time I download anything, a pop-up window pops up over the content window. I download a lot and have to keep closing (X) the pop-up or the list keeps getting longer and eventually covers the whole right side of the screen. How stupid of DuckDuckGo. The free browser is open source but I don’t know how to code to put the pop up to sleep.

[Dagger] After a recent storm, two metal detectorists went searching for treasure at a beach in northern Poland. They discovered a piece of history lodged in a lump of clay: a small ornamental dagger decorated with stars, crescent moons and geometric patterns. Link

The annual free Health Fair is on April 26 from 8-3 at United Methodist Church BPK – please come.

[Pix] Brazil’s government-run payments system has become dominant. Pix has spiced up Brazil’s fusty banking sector, but it gives the central bank a worrying amount of power. Link

[Trading Cards] In the small town of Kawara in Fukuoka Prefecture, something unexpected is happening at the Saidosho Community Center. While kids in most parts of Japan are obsessed with Pokémon cards — or perhaps the franchise’s latest smartphone game, Pokémon TCG Pocket — the children of Kawara are clutching to something a little closer to home. They are playing a trading card game (TCG) where the stars aren’t fantasy creatures, anime heroes or even famous baseball players, but ojisan (middle-aged or older men) from the local community of Saidosho. Link

[Smog of the Mongolian Hoards] ‘Everyone is breathing this’: how just trying to stay warm is killing thousands a year in the world’s coldest capital. In Ulaanbaatar, coal fires heat almost every home. But as extreme weather drives families off the Mongolian steppes into the city the air is becoming more deadly. Steppes and the city: how smog has become part of Mongolians’ way of life – in pictures

[Tiny Pacemaker] World’s smallest pacemaker is the size of a rice grain. temporary heartbeat regulator smaller than a grain of rice that can be injected and controlled by light before dissolving. While still years away from being tested in humans, the wireless pacemaker was hailed as a “transformative breakthrough” that could spur advances in other areas of medicine. Link

[Hawaiian Freakosystem] This Hawaiian island’s ‘freakosystems’ are a warning from the future. O’ahu’s lowland forests are now almost entirely devoid of the plants and animals that grew here for millions of years before the arrival of humans. Settlers brought extinctions by cutting down trees to make farms and introducing voracious predators and disease-carrying animals. Today, these tropical forests are a tapestry of non-native species introduced from every corner of the planet. Link

[Zoo] Did you know there is a zoo in Palm Beach? I just heard about it on NPR talking about their new tiger. Link (Editor: I made this animation big to scare all the little kiddies out there. I know I am.)

[Protecting the World From Teens] Meta is expanding its safety measures for teenagers on Instagram with a block on livestreaming, as the social media company extends its under-18 safeguards to the Facebook and Messenger platforms. Under-16s will be barred from using Instagram’s Live feature unless they have parental permission. They will also require parental permission to turn off a feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity in their direct messages. Link

[Exploding Snack] The story goes that 60 years ago, Tunnock’s teacakes were banned from RAF flights after a cockpit marshmallow explosion. The chocolate-covered treats were apparently all the rage, eaten by nuclear bomber crewmen on training sorties at the height of the Cold War. But in the summer of 1965, a captain and student pilot forgot they had placed unwrapped teacakes above their instrument panels. When the captain pulled an emergency depressurising switch the iconic Scottish treat erupted – leaving a sticky mess over the airmen, the instruments and cockpit canopy. Now the RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine has now given them the all-clear to fly again, after tests in an altitude chamber found the teacakes did not explode.

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[Modern Job Interview] I just got off one of the most surreal video calls of my life – a live video call with a candidate who was interviewing to become an L3 software engineer at Kapwing, our online video editing startup. The interview started extremely well – the candidate seemed like a clear fit in terms of background and experience – until halfway through when they suddenly were unable to speak any further about any of their technical experiences. When I pressed a bit further, they eventually admitted to having prepared for the interview using AI, and we ended the interview. Link

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[Conspiracy] A poster in the C.T. mentioned that the 1985 Live Aid concert went to Ethiopian leaders and crooks instead of the starving people. I politely ask for proof of that assertion. Please show the proof of where and who received those funds. By the way, that money didn’t come from America’s federal government it was from private donations.

The next Full Moon Kayak Excursion is set for Friday April 11th.  The weather should be fabulous with the winds fairly calm. Big Pine Kayak Adventures is sponsoring the fundraising event with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Refuges of the Florida Keys. Please meet at the Old Wooden Bridge Resort & Marina 1791 Bogie Dr, Big Pine Key at 5:30 p.m. so we can get you set up with a kayak and gear. We’ll be departing about 6:00 p.m. Call Bill with your questions 305-872-7474 and then sign up on the events page of Floridakeyswildlifesociety.org and bring your receipt. Space is limited so reserve yours now.

[Worried About Tariffs] Stock up on TVs and Apple electronics up to 50% off while they’re on sale.

Fewer Canadians are flying to the U.S. amid rising trade tensions. Bookings on Canada-U.S. routes from April through September are down 70 percent year over year, according to flight analytics firm OAG. Airlines have cut more than 320,000 seats on flights between the two countries from March through October.

I’ve taken score of my later life’s activities.

[Big Pine Library Shetland Tea Murder Play] A big thank you to the cast.  What a fun event!  Also thank you to Faith for providing the venue, setting up and bringing the delicious scones.  The turnout was great, with many of the book club members encouraging friends to attend.  I was even asked at the end of the event, when we would have the next mystery.

[TB On The Rise] Cuts to USAID programs have resulted in more than 11,000 additional tuberculosis deaths over the past two months, according to the U.N.-affiliated Stop TB Partnership. TB infections are expected to climb 30 percent globally this year because of the cuts, raising the odds that a highly drug-resistant form of the disease could spread.

Baloney smuggler caught with 242 pounds at Texas-Mexico border. In these times of economic uncertainty, the drug cartels have certainly upped their game to include what people really need – food! Link

The current Coconut Telegraph was published on 4/8/25 at 9:13 am.