Saturday Overnight Open Thread (11/13/21)

He dismounted, collected his winnings and rejoined Doug. "Where did you learn to ride a bucking bronco like that?" Doug asked. "Remember three months ago," Bill said, "when my wife had whooping cough...?" (H/T ALH)

Congress mandates safety features. But does the technology exist?

Congress is making its biggest push ever to stop drunk driving with President Biden's huge infrastructure bill. As we previously reported, one of the provisions included a mandate for anti-drunk driving technology in new cars. Now, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has passed Congress with the measure intact, Autoblog (AP) reports, and it's expected to be signed by the President soon. As part of the legislation, carmakers will have to include technology to detect and stop drunk drivers by as early as 2026.

First, though, the Department of Transportation will have to determine the best solution to curtail intoxicated drunk driving. Specifically, the bill requires something that will “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.” That sounds similar to infrared camera solutions already used today by GM, Nissan and others, Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst for Guidehouse Insights, tells the AP. It goes without saying that we'd need something more advanced than breathalyzers, which are already used as a punishment for convicted drunken drivers.

Speaking of auto safety measures. Holy Shit! Moose!

If you aren't afraid of winters, enjoy fishing and ice hockey. This might be the town and relocation for you.

Last year, like many Americans, Matt Fahrenbruch found himself suddenly doing his job from home. He lived in Topeka, Kan., where he audited programs for the state Legislature.

As remote work continued during the pandemic, and his team’s productivity didn’t suffer, he began to realize that if he could work from home, then home could be anywhere he wanted. He and his wife had often thought about relocating to the Upper Midwest. Fahrenbruch, 39, had studied at the University of North Dakota, and they loved the region.

Gadgets that are the worst?

Over its 10-year history, The Verge has reviewed hundreds of products: smartphones that have changed the way that we communicate, take photos, and engage with the world; incredible laptops that pack the power of a gaming PC into a portable package; and consoles that have revolutionized how we play.

These are not those products, though. As The Verge turns 10, we’ve taken the time to look back at some of the highest highs of the world of consumer technology… but also the biggest duds that ended up on our desks.

Welcome to The Verge’s gadget hall of shame. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Social media is garbage. Self-love is important, I guess. Especially when there is a whole lotta self to love.

GO FIGURE I’m fat and gorgeous so I post sexy photos in my underwear – people constantly troll me but they’re just fatphobes

ONE woman is hitting back at the haters saying that she is happy in her own skin even though constantly ridiculed for her weight.

21-year-old Jilly from Pennsylvania, says that others don't understand how she can post photos in underwear and feel sexy, but she says that's just fatphobia.

So boys are boys and girls are girls in outta space.

Hard to believe we are approaching Thanksgiving already. Study up, here are some Do's and Don'ts.

You’ve been invited to a Thanksgiving gathering. Hooray! You don’t have to plan, prep, shop, chop and cook for days. While the host will be doing the lion’s share of work to make the day tasty and festive, each guest also bears a portion of responsibility for it unfolds. You don’t need to baste a bird every 30 minutes, but you do need to bring thoughtfulness to the occasion.

It goes without saying you should avoid talking politics, religion, or your thoughts on the COVID vaccine. In the spirit of helpfulness and harmonious interaction, here are some less obvious things not to when invited to someone’s home on Thanksgiving (and what you can do instead).

On this day: 13 Nov 2016
Leon Russell died in Nashville, he was 74. He led Joe Cocker’s band Mad Dogs & Englishmen, and appeared at George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. Many of his songs became hits for others, among them 'Superstar' (written with Bonnie Bramlett) for the Carpenters, 'Delta Lady' for Joe Cocker and 'This Masquerade' for George Benson. More than 100 acts have recorded 'A Song for You,' which Russell said he wrote in 10 minutes.

Born on this day: 13 Nov 1947
Toy Caldwell, lead guitarist and main songwriter of the 1970s Southern Rock group The Marshall Tucker Band. He died on 25 February 1993 age 45. via thisdayinmusic.com

Genius Award Winner.

A Massachusetts family whose loved one’s casket fell open as it was being lowered into a grave, causing the body to fall out, has sued the funeral home and the cemetery.

The family of Andrew Serrano, a resident of Lawrence who died in March 2019, allege negligence and reckless infliction of emotional distress in the suit filed last Wednesday in Essex Superior Court, The Eagle-Tribune reported.

During the funeral handled by the Perez Funeral Home at city-owned Bellevue Cemetery in Lawrence on April 5, 2019, “one of the side straps on the city-owned casket lowering device broke, causing Mr. Serrano’s casket to fall into the grave and break apart,” according to the suit.

The “corpse fell out of the casket” in full view of “horrified family members who became visibly distraught and hysterical,” the suit said.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Presents On My Christmas Gift Wish List.

Notice: Posted with permission by someone at the Ace Media Empire custodial office. AceCorp, LLC has not been involved.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 10:00 PM

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