Orin

Late night TV called out uncomfortable facts by making light of them. Calling out an unflattering truth exposes glaring hypocrisy. Rather than acknowledging or making an effort to address the hypocrisy, the response here was to silence the voices calling it out.
Consider the role of the jester, and his cousin, the clown. The clown entertains using comedy, audience interaction, and physical stunts to make people laugh and bring joy. The clown provides fun, if not superficial, unchallenging, entertainment by focusing on physical gags and tricks. The jester, however, provides a more consequential role in society.
The role of a jester in sparking positive change lies in using humor and satire to challenge authority, speak uncomfortable truths, and expose the flaws of those in power.
Though often seen as mere entertainers, jesters historically occupied a unique position with "jester's privilege," a license to mock and critique without facing the severe repercussions that others would. This made them potent, though often subtle, agents of change. 
Historically, jesters wielded influence within the court and beyond by:
* Speaking truth to power: Jesters could communicate harsh realities to rulers who were often surrounded by "yes-men" too afraid to contradict them. For example, after the French navy's destruction at the Battle of Sluys in 1340, King Philippe VI's jester delivered the bad news through a sarcastic joke, revealing the truth of the defeat when others wouldn't.
* Providing impartial advice: Unlike other court members seeking favor, a jester could offer rulers fresh, unfiltered perspectives on important matters of state. Their insight often helped heads of state gain perspective and make better decisions.
* Critiquing corruption and injustice: Jesters would often publicly mock corrupt officials, social norms, and the excesses of the ruling elite. This commentary, delivered through wit and observation, served as a subtle, yet impactful form of social critique.
* Exposing hypocrisy: Through their performances, jesters acted as mirrors to society, highlighting its flaws and the hypocrisy of its leaders. This prompted reflection among the court and revealed truths that went otherwise ignored. 
Contemporary jesters take the form of late night comedians, animated shows, video memes created by everyday people on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and more. By removing the role of the jester in society (and more broadly, free speech), those with power to do so are breaking all the mirrors. The proverbial emperor has no clothes, and without a mirror to reveal the facts, nakedness reigns supreme.
Once all the jester voices have been eliminated from society, all we are left with is a bunch of clowns.

I don't know if my experience is relevant. you decide. I felt discomfort after the few-blocks walk to get mail one day about 7 years ago. That was unusual, since I'd been taking regular walks with no issues. To be on the safe side, I made an appointment with my doctor, who then scheduled a heart stress test and imagery to get more data. That made it clear: I had a serious problem with my heart, but we had time to schedule corrective surgery.
After the follow-up PT, the surgeon said I could do what I wanted as regards to exercise. I'd already been on meds for hypertension, and that continued. I think the only significant dietary change since then was that I ended up making my own meals almost all the time, and stopped the occasional fast food exception. But really, that had more to do with having to limit my sodium intake since I also had stage 3 kidney disease, which for me meant one of them was stuck in Idle, and the other was at about 85% and stable.
Exercise, sure. I've got an old BowFlex in the garage for that. Since I've started having some aches and pains, though, I've been relying more on taking ~2.5 mile walks around the neighborhood hills when it's nice out, like today.

I don't know if my experience is relevant. you decide. I felt discomfort after the few-blocks walk to get mail one day about 7 years ago. That was unusual, since I'd been taking regular walks with no issues. To be on the safe side, I made an appointment with my doctor, who then scheduled a heart stress test and imagery to get more data. That made it clear: I had a serious problem with my heart, but we had time to schedule corrective surgery.
After the follow-up PT, the surgeon said I could do what I wanted as regards to exercise. I'd already been on meds for hypertension, and that continued. I think the only significant dietary change since then was that I ended up making my own meals almost all the time, and stopped the occasional fast food exception. But really, that had more to do with having to limit my sodium intake since I also had stage 3 kidney disease, which for me meant one of them was stuck in Idle, and the other was at about 85% and stable.
Exercise, sure. I've got an old BowFlex in the garage for that. Since I've started having some aches and pains, though, I've been relying more on taking ~2.5 mile walks around the neighborhood hills when it's nice out, like today.

I don't know if my experience is relevant. you decide. I felt discomfort after the few-blocks walk to get mail one day about 7 years ago. That was unusual, since I'd been taking regular walks with no issues. To be on the safe side, I made an appointment with my doctor, who then scheduled a heart stress test and imagery to get more data. That made it clear: I had a serious problem with my heart, but we had time to schedule corrective surgery.
After the follow-up PT, the surgeon said I could do what I wanted as regards to exercise. I'd already been on meds for hypertension, and that continued. I think the only significant dietary change since then was that I ended up making my own meals almost all the time, and stopped the occasional fast food exception. But really, that had more to do with having to limit my sodium intake since I also had stage 3 kidney disease, which for me meant one of them was stuck in Idle, and the other was at about 85% and stable.
Exercise, sure. I've got an old BowFlex in the garage for that. Since I've started having some aches and pains, though, I've been relying more on taking ~2.5 mile walks around the neighborhood hills when it's nice out, like today.

I don't know if my experience is relevant. you decide. I felt discomfort after the few-blocks walk to get mail one day about 7 years ago. That was unusual, since I'd been taking regular walks with no issues. To be on the safe side, I made an appointment with my doctor, who then scheduled a heart stress test and imagery to get more data. That made it clear: I had a serious problem with my heart, but we had time to schedule corrective surgery.
After the follow-up PT, the surgeon said I could do what I wanted as regards to exercise. I'd already been on meds for hypertension, and that continued. I think the only significant dietary change since then was that I ended up making my own meals almost all the time, and stopped the occasional fast food exception. But really, that had more to do with having to limit my sodium intake since I also had stage 3 kidney disease, which for me meant one of them was stuck in Idle, and the other was at about 85% and stable.
Exercise, sure. I've got an old BowFlex in the garage for that. Since I've started having some aches and pains, though, I've been relying more on taking ~2.5 mile walks around the neighborhood hills when it's nice out, like today.

I don't know if my experience is relevant. you decide. I felt discomfort after the few-blocks walk to get mail one day about 7 years ago. That was unusual, since I'd been taking regular walks with no issues. To be on the safe side, I made an appointment with my doctor, who then scheduled a heart stress test and imagery to get more data. That made it clear: I had a serious problem with my heart, but we had time to schedule corrective surgery.
After the follow-up PT, the surgeon said I could do what I wanted as regards to exercise. I'd already been on meds for hypertension, and that continued. I think the only significant dietary change since then was that I ended up making my own meals almost all the time, and stopped the occasional fast food exception. But really, that had more to do with having to limit my sodium intake since I also had stage 3 kidney disease, which for me meant one of them was stuck in Idle, and the other was at about 85% and stable.
Exercise, sure. I've got an old BowFlex in the garage for that. Since I've started having some aches and pains, though, I've been relying more on taking ~2.5 mile walks around the neighborhood hills when it's nice out, like today.

I don't know if my experience is relevant. you decide. I felt discomfort after the few-blocks walk to get mail one day about 7 years ago. That was unusual, since I'd been taking regular walks with no issues. To be on the safe side, I made an appointment with my doctor, who then scheduled a heart stress test and imagery to get more data. That made it clear: I had a serious problem with my heart, but we had time to schedule corrective surgery.
After the follow-up PT, the surgeon said I could do what I wanted as regards to exercise. I'd already been on meds for hypertension, and that continued. I think the only significant dietary change since then was that I ended up making my own meals almost all the time, and stopped the occasional fast food exception. But really, that had more to do with having to limit my sodium intake since I also had stage 3 kidney disease, which for me meant one of them was stuck in Idle, and the other was at about 85% and stable.
Exercise, sure. I've got an old BowFlex in the garage for that. Since I've started having some aches and pains, though, I've been relying more on taking ~2.5 mile walks around the neighborhood hills when it's nice out, like today.

Greetings folks...
As you might have noticed, this site has been offline since around mid-day Tuesday.   Our prior hosting provider decided that they are unable to continue hosting our website and had ended service to us.  Unfortunately they did not provide any notification to me about this decision and I was forced to move the site to a new server without any sort of heads up.  This includes arranging for the new hosting company, configuring the new server to meet the technical requirements, getting a copy of our current data, restoring that data (over 300GB of files), recovering the database (over 18.5 million records in that database taking up 11GB of space for the DB alone), and reconfiguring the software itself to run in the new environment.  
While migrating there was also some technical issues that I ran into that required me to coordinate with Invision's technical support team.  So that back and forth added additional time to the mix as well.  
And to pile on further… all of this occurred while I'm traveling for my day job. So I've been doing this while in a hotel in between doing my day job on the road.  
There are most likely several other things that will need to be fixed still and I'm working through them.  For example, email may only be partially working.  I still need to setup things like SPF and DKIM for the new server so our emails don't flag as spam.  There are other settings that might need to be redone to work in the new server as well that I'm not thinking about yet.  (As you might have imagined, I've not had much sleep during this whole process.)
But anyway... you get the idea.  No... we're not going anywhere!  This was a minor setback but we'll continue to move forward.  Thank you all for your understanding and support!
Rob

Excessive sodium intake can damage the kidneys, so they tell you to keep it under 2,000-2,400 mg a day. That suggested using potassium chloride instead, except some physicians also warn on that. So I avoid or reduce salt on and in foods as possible, and use a mix of NaCl and KCl when necessary. My working kidney is stable, even though my diagnosis is Stage 3 CKD. Go figure.

Excessive sodium intake can damage the kidneys, so they tell you to keep it under 2,000-2,400 mg a day. That suggested using potassium chloride instead, except some physicians also warn on that. So I avoid or reduce salt on and in foods as possible, and use a mix of NaCl and KCl when necessary. My working kidney is stable, even though my diagnosis is Stage 3 CKD. Go figure.

Facts:
Police are not required to identify themselves as law enforcement, even if asked directly.
Police are legally allowed to misrepresent who they are when conducting investigations.
These tactics are common in sting operations, particularly in prostitution cases.
Relying on the misconception that officers must reveal their identity can lead to legal trouble. 
-----
I don't know why escorts ask or put in their ads no law enforcement.

Thanks, @azdr0710.
I've been spending a lot of my social media time on BlueSky, because there's a contingent of folks from various government agencies providing insight into what's really happening there. In the time since @RadioRob dropped the politics area here, I've wondered whether the members who really wanted to discuss it have found another venue to do that in, especially since this site and the people in it can be directly affected.
Anyway, we've been in NC for couple of years now. I guess the surgeon who did my triple-bypass 6 years ago did a good job, because I'll hit 74 this month, I'm still doing 2.4 mile walks around the hilly neighborhood, and my top speed is 4.3 mph according to my watch and phone.

Thanks, @azdr0710.
I've been spending a lot of my social media time on BlueSky, because there's a contingent of folks from various government agencies providing insight into what's really happening there. In the time since @RadioRob dropped the politics area here, I've wondered whether the members who really wanted to discuss it have found another venue to do that in, especially since this site and the people in it can be directly affected.
Anyway, we've been in NC for couple of years now. I guess the surgeon who did my triple-bypass 6 years ago did a good job, because I'll hit 74 this month, I'm still doing 2.4 mile walks around the hilly neighborhood, and my top speed is 4.3 mph according to my watch and phone.

With one good kidney, and one idling at 5%, one of the dietary changes I need to honor is keeping my salt intake down. (Grumble. Back in the 80s, I'd been introduced to mizithra cheese, which has about half my daily target per ounce, and that's just one of the things I miss.) Anyway, sauces can be problematic because most of them have a goodly load of salt to make them yummy. Fortunately, low-sodium worcestershire sauce is just the ticket, so I started with that, and found a recipe starter using Dash garlic seasoning. It goes something like this...
Put some worcestershire, crushed garlic and crush red peppers in a coverable baking dish, stir it up Add cut-up chicken, I fill the base of the dish with small pieces Sprinkle with Dash garlic seasoning and mix it in to coat the chicken. Flatten the layer of chicken pieces Cover with cut up carrots, celery, bell pepper and onion; add more worcestershire and Dash Put cover on dish and cook for 25 minutes at 375 F Remove dish from oven, take off cover, add unsalted pistachios and cut up broccoli Put dish back, uncovered for 10 minutes Break up clumps of chicken and mix it all up before serving Garlic bread goes well with it.

With one good kidney, and one idling at 5%, one of the dietary changes I need to honor is keeping my salt intake down. (Grumble. Back in the 80s, I'd been introduced to mizithra cheese, which has about half my daily target per ounce, and that's just one of the things I miss.) Anyway, sauces can be problematic because most of them have a goodly load of salt to make them yummy. Fortunately, low-sodium worcestershire sauce is just the ticket, so I started with that, and found a recipe starter using Dash garlic seasoning. It goes something like this...
Put some worcestershire, crushed garlic and crush red peppers in a coverable baking dish, stir it up Add cut-up chicken, I fill the base of the dish with small pieces Sprinkle with Dash garlic seasoning and mix it in to coat the chicken. Flatten the layer of chicken pieces Cover with cut up carrots, celery, bell pepper and onion; add more worcestershire and Dash Put cover on dish and cook for 25 minutes at 375 F Remove dish from oven, take off cover, add unsalted pistachios and cut up broccoli Put dish back, uncovered for 10 minutes Break up clumps of chicken and mix it all up before serving Garlic bread goes well with it.

That picture is definitely a THIRST TRAP!! You have a very lucky partner!!

Thanks. The photo is from a little over a year ago. Here's a better copy. 

Thanks, @azdr0710.
I've been spending a lot of my social media time on BlueSky, because there's a contingent of folks from various government agencies providing insight into what's really happening there. In the time since @RadioRob dropped the politics area here, I've wondered whether the members who really wanted to discuss it have found another venue to do that in, especially since this site and the people in it can be directly affected.
Anyway, we've been in NC for couple of years now. I guess the surgeon who did my triple-bypass 6 years ago did a good job, because I'll hit 74 this month, I'm still doing 2.4 mile walks around the hilly neighborhood, and my top speed is 4.3 mph according to my watch and phone.

Back in 2014, I had some lab work, and my GP panicked: the results indicated that I had kidney trouble. Soon after, I had imagery, which revealed stones, and had them removed. They were made of sodium oxalates, so I needed to restrict some things from my diet. Spinach, you say? Can't stand the stuff, so no problem. But almonds? Geez. And salt, too. But you can get used to that.
Anyway, I needed a nephrologist. The one I was recommended by my GP had a hell of an attitude, though. The guy said my kidneys will only get worse, there's no cure, only dialysis treatments, and I'll eventually die from kidney failure. Needless to say, I found another nephrologist.
Some time later, I had some more imagery. This time, to see how they were functioning. It was interesting to watch. The one on my right side was working pretty well, but the one on my left was stuck at idle, about 5% of normal. So the plan was to keep an eye on function with regular lab work, and keep hydrated.
Now it's 2025, six years after a triple by-pass that was not triggered by a heart attack, and I'm still flying with one mostly working kidney, one kidney idling, and my labs stable or getting slowly better.
I have to conclude that there's more money to be made with dialysis centers than would be made from some drug that hasn't been developed.
I guess I'll celebrate my 74th this month by seeing if I can best my top walking speed, 4.3 mph,  on my 2.4 mile walks around the neighborhood hills.

Thanks, @azdr0710.
I've been spending a lot of my social media time on BlueSky, because there's a contingent of folks from various government agencies providing insight into what's really happening there. In the time since @RadioRob dropped the politics area here, I've wondered whether the members who really wanted to discuss it have found another venue to do that in, especially since this site and the people in it can be directly affected.
Anyway, we've been in NC for couple of years now. I guess the surgeon who did my triple-bypass 6 years ago did a good job, because I'll hit 74 this month, I'm still doing 2.4 mile walks around the hilly neighborhood, and my top speed is 4.3 mph according to my watch and phone.

Thanks, @azdr0710.
I've been spending a lot of my social media time on BlueSky, because there's a contingent of folks from various government agencies providing insight into what's really happening there. In the time since @RadioRob dropped the politics area here, I've wondered whether the members who really wanted to discuss it have found another venue to do that in, especially since this site and the people in it can be directly affected.
Anyway, we've been in NC for couple of years now. I guess the surgeon who did my triple-bypass 6 years ago did a good job, because I'll hit 74 this month, I'm still doing 2.4 mile walks around the hilly neighborhood, and my top speed is 4.3 mph according to my watch and phone.

Thanks, @azdr0710.
I've been spending a lot of my social media time on BlueSky, because there's a contingent of folks from various government agencies providing insight into what's really happening there. In the time since @RadioRob dropped the politics area here, I've wondered whether the members who really wanted to discuss it have found another venue to do that in, especially since this site and the people in it can be directly affected.
Anyway, we've been in NC for couple of years now. I guess the surgeon who did my triple-bypass 6 years ago did a good job, because I'll hit 74 this month, I'm still doing 2.4 mile walks around the hilly neighborhood, and my top speed is 4.3 mph according to my watch and phone.

I'm surprised the opposition didn't claim that the various pastries depicted something else entirely, so that the painting was actually covert communication intended for others 'in the know'. 

Well, I had a different reason for walking out of one. I don’t recall which city it was, but the cinema played Fantasia with the reels out of order. 

It’s been three years and Daddy’s legacy continues and remains strong.  It is a testament to doing something right when others remember you after you’re long gone. 
Here’s to keeping the memories alive!