Thursday Overnight Open Thread (2/2/17) Groundhog Day Edition

Happy Groundhog Day!! At this point in time The ONT is surprised it isn't a National Holiday. Lord knows the UPS doesn't have enough holidays and Congress should just leave town, permanently.

Residing in the Upper Midwest, Spring should hit about Memorial Day weekend.

Quotes of The Day

Quote I

To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.-W. J. Vogel

Quote II

You can't get too much winter in the winter. -Robert Frost

Quote III

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter. -John Burroughs

Spring. It can't be far away.

Average annual extreme winter minimum temperatures in the United States

Maybe politicians should stay out of the Winter Season forecasting business.

De Blasio and the groundhog are both rodents. One survived being dropped on his head. The other didn't.

This damn politician tasted so bad, he was only worth one bite.

Well, this is a doozy. Everything you might know about the universe might be wrong. Is science ever settled?

Talk about a reality check: The entire universe could be a "vast and complex hologram," scientists reported Monday. Also, even more unsettling, what we think of as reality may be just an illusion.

"Imagine that everything you see, feel and hear in three dimensions (and your perception of time) in fact emanates from a flat two-dimensional field," said study co-author Kostas Skenderis of the U.K.'s University of Southampton.

The ONT's guess, if it were a betting organization, this is not going to go well. Boy Scouts to allow "trans" kids.

The Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910, and for over 100 years, it has been an organization where boys have learned how to become men. With its decision Monday to allow transgender boys into its ranks, the organization has changed that simple mission.

No longer will admission into the program depend on a child’s birth certificate or biological sex. The BSA will now accept anyone purely based on how this young person or his parents decide to identify the individual. A century of tradition is now gone thanks to leftist ideology. These days, it seems as if hundreds of years of tradition and culture are being erased by about 30 years of extreme liberal social engineering.

Education, new and improved? 2nd grade reading textbooks today compared to 1879.

After locating a popular modern second grade reading text, The Superkids Hit Second Grade, I used Accelerated Reader’s text analyzer to measure the reading level of the book’s first lesson. It came in at 2.0 – right on target for a child just entering second grade. So far so good.

But running the first lesson of the Second Eclectic McGuffey reader which my friend’s 2nd graders were using didn’t make the modern text look so impressive. In fact, a student hitting 2nd grade using the second McGuffey textbook would be starting the year at a 3.7 reading level – the level of a 3rd grader in the seventh month of the school year!

Yay!!!! Kommon Kore four fore the win!!!!

The Morons are a diverse group, grade school grads, high school grads, vo-tech grads, college grads, doctorate grads. Everyone is different. We need teachers, garbage collectors, electricians, brain surgeons. The left has been pushing for universal education. Not everyone is cut out for college.

But according to social critic Albert Jay Nock (1870-1945), America’s egalitarian push for higher education for all was doomed to failure from the start. According to Nock, it was doomed to failure because not every person is capable of higher education.

Why? Two reasons, both of which run contrary to the assumptions of those who think everything can be controlled and determined by systems.

One, human beings are endowed with free will, and not every person will choose to discipline themselves in the way necessary to receive instruction. No amount of tinkering with a system can substitute for the all-important element of a student’s free choice to become educated.

While we are on education, did anyone hear Rush on Tuesday discussing the Statue of Liberty? Very educational. Further insight into the Statue of Liberty.

The poem means the USA is willing to open their shores to people yearning for freedom not simply avoiding persecution, war or to attempt to bring about a political change via terrorism or any other means. This is saying we don't welcome people to establish colonies of their old world countries here on our shores. The entirety of the poem is a rejection of the ways of their former countries and a celebration of the new colossus that is the USA.

First marriage was between man and a woman. Currently it's between a man and a woman or 2 people of the same sex. Next? Who knows. University of North Florida pushing the life style of polyamory.

What's next, toasters and love seats?

The workshop, “Polyamory vs. Cheating: Lessons from a Former Serial Monogamist,” will be taught by a representative from the “Relationship Equality Foundation,” which purports to “provide outreach, education, and support for those involved in or seeking relationships with non-traditional structures.”

What a fine use of tax payer dollars.

Kids might not read better now than years ago. But, they sure can take some awesome photographs. National Geographic International Children's Photography Contest winners.

Did you ever get into photography? What was your first camera? Your humble Cob's first camera was a Kodak Instamatic X-15 that used 126 film cartridges. My how technology has improved. Wish we could say the same thing for mankind.

Technology. What were some of the predictions from 100 years ago. Coal would no longer be used in 2017. Damn if Obama didn't try to make that prediction come true.

Some, however, foresaw a future that stood at the cusp of possibility; like the writer who wrote a piece for the Lincoln Evening Journal called Looking Forward. In it, he describes 2017 as a world that is no longer dependent on coal for energy. The author envisioned a future where technology would be able to harvest energy from the sun and run it through pipes for electricity.

Obviously, we’re not quite there yet.

Next on the agenda. Europe. The ONT is not trying to discuss politics per say. But the American people have spoken. And Europe is short on ears and long on mouth. Perhaps they should shut the f*ck up. Review our system of government and the fact that we have bailed their sorry asses out for decades. The EU appears to be at war with the US.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk has joined Verhofstadt in denouncing the Trump administration in a letter to European heads of state, clearly conveying the ranks of EU bureaucrats are closing. According to Tusk, unity is necessary since:

“Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy.”

While the EU is flapping its jaw and Hollywood moonbats are freaking out. One actor has spoken some common sense. Wonder when he gets crucified.

The Left has their collective thong bunched up in an uncomfortable position. The Trump Immigrant Executive Order to blame. Where was their outrage when Israelis couldn't enter 16 Muslim countries?

A total of 16 nations around the world prohibit entry to Israeli citizens. And, as some commentators have pointed out, this group includes six of the seven countries targeted by Trump’s action.

Photos showing the list of the 16 nations — including Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen

The ONT's guess? Being unable to travel to Bangladesh won't burst anyone's bucket list.

Hooters is changing. Guys will be servers now as well.

Our friends to the north have some active accountants. Euthanasia could save big bucks. No whammys.

And last week researchers from the University of Calgary calculated that when euthanasia reaches the level of Belgium and the Netherlands, the country’s health system could save up to up to C$139 million every year. “Medical assistance in dying could reduce annual health care spending across Canada by between $34.7 million and $138.8 million, exceeding the $1.5–$14.8 million in direct costs associated with its implementation,” they wrote in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Keep this fellow out of Canada.

This could qualify of for a feel good story of the day award. After we read about the value of life, it's wonderful to see a touching story like this. Not all government workers are hardhearted. Fireman adopts baby girl he delivered. h/t rhomboid

We've all wished to be rich at least once in our lives, haven't we? If you were loaded what would you do? Would you buy an island? A desert compound? Falcons? A Saudi Prince has a boat load of money. And he spends it on his falcons.

This is a recent shot from an Airbus A330 of some of a Saudi prince's 80 falcons getting ready to fly the easy way. Falconry and competitive bird sports are all the rage with the affluent in the middle east, and birds can cost up to $250,000 apiece. A plane seat for a bird costs around $650, and they also have to have their own passport. Still, 80 falcons? That seems like a lot. When you're rich a rich prince when do you know it's time to stop buying falcons and start buying dragons? That was a trick question, the answer's four -- just like upgrading from houses to hotels in Monopoly.

Falcons? These kids are into pigeons. Join The Group.

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Be careful when you file a complaint with the local PD. Genius Award Winner.

Fishing partners are hard to come by.Today's Feel Good Story of The Day.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Celibacy. Or why Daddy drinks. Or both. The ONT apologizes for its lack of certainty.

Notice: Posted with permission by AceCorp, LLC. Burning the ONT inside can kill you. It gives off carbon monoxide which has no odor. (Unlike The ONT) Never burn the ONT inside taverns, pubs, bars, bistros, automobiles, mobile homes, unmobile homes and tents. Direct orders from Shelvey McShelf-Shelf himself.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 09:57 PM

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