NJSailRacer

Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it! -Yuri Gagarin, first human in space (9 Mar 1934-1968) #totd

Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprang up. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., US Supreme Court Justice (8 Mar 1841-1935) #totd

Wow, indeed

@heavensbvnny You don't get in each other's way if the kitchen is well designed. We have a prep area, a cooking area, and a plating/cleanup area. She preps, I man the stove, we both help with cleanup.

Respectfully, I don't think cooking together is romantic. Please move tf out of my way. One person cooks, the other sits at the counter and drinks wine and says things like "that smells so good" or "I love the things you cook."

Beauty is the purgation of superfluities. -Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet (6 Mar 1475-1564) #totd

@johnkonrad How about rather than telling her where she can go, you tell her what you can afford and let her choose? If she wants to go somewhere above your budget, then she'll have to make up the difference via savings, loans, ROTC, etc. It'll be her choice.

@NJSailRacer Thanks for the insight What about just one year at CC?

@BuenoForMiami YouTube U. You may also live near a Maker place that will allow you to use their tools.

If one wanted to learn woodworking as an adult with absolutely no previous woodworking skills, where would you begin?

Well, I suppose at the end of the day you do what you've got to do in order to make it work. But, you don't yet even know how much this expensive school is going to cost, right? My son ended up doing a year at the local CC, because he ended up hating the expensive, city school his mother talked him into. He came home for Christmas break and told us both that he just couldn't waste any more of our money at that school. He got his head together for a year, and is now about to graduate from the beautiful, rural state school that he should have gone to in the first place.

Where is Isaac Asimov when you need him?

@realakkamara @Mark_J_Perry @FOX9 NPR was the same this morning

Looks like @FOX9 is trying to tell us something but I can't quite figure out what it is... yeesh

Sometimes they seem like living shapes, The people of the sky, Guests in white raiment coming down From heaven, which is close by. -Lucy Larcom, teacher and author (5 Mar 1824-1893) #totd

3 weeks ago I argued the US goal in Iran is to seize the global oil spigot. Venezuela in January -> Iran in February. Neutralize every supply channel outside the dollar system within 90 days. Achieve a compliant successor government and complete energy dominance. The oil thesis was the obvious layer. However, when you zoom out & view the last four years as a single sequence rather than isolated geopolitical events, the architecture of the grander US plan becomes visible. 1st was Europe, which laid the groundwork. The Ukraine conflict provided the justification for sanctions that collapsed Russian pipeline gas from 150 billion cubic meters to 40. Then Nordstream was destroyed, which rewired the entire European energy system permanently. The US went from supplying 28% of Europe's LNG in 2021 to 58% by 2025, exporting a record 111 million MTs, the 1st country in history to break 100 MT. Europe was transformed from a customer with options into a captive market now purchasing its survival in USD. 2nd was Syria. The fall of Assad severed the critical node connecting China's Belt & Road Initiative to the Mediterranean. The trilateral railway linking Iran, Iraq & Syria, designed to bypass Western maritime chokepoints, was completely destroyed. This isolated Iran geographically & cleared the path for what came next. 3rd was Venezuela. In January the US effectively took control of the world's largest heavy crude reserves. The US Gulf Coast has the most advanced refining complex on earth, specifically built for heavy sour crude. Phillips 66, Valero & the rest are now positioned to process hundreds of thousands of barrels of Venezuelan crude daily. The US captured a massive strategic reserve & solidified its position as the dominant exporter of refined petroleum products, an industry worth $110 billion in 2025 alone. Venezuela & Iran were the two major oil supply channels that existed outside the dollar system. Both produce heavy crude sold primarily to China & evaded US financial supervision. Both now being neutralized within 90 days, which leads us to.. 4th is Iran & the Middle East energy shock. Israel struck Iran's South Pars gas field, the world's largest natural gas reservoir. Iran retaliated against Qatar's Ras Laffan, the single largest LNG facility on earth, responsible for a fifth of global supply. QatarEnergy's own assessment is that 17% of export capacity is gone and recovery will take up to 5 years. The Strait of Hormuz is closed. European gas prices spiked 70%. Asian spot prices doubled. The only remaining scaled supplier? The United States. If Iran falls & a successor government is installed that the US controls or influences (the Delcy model described weeks ago) then roughly 40 to 45 million barrels per day of global production out of 103 million is effectively under US control. OPEC becomes irrelevant because the US coalition is now the marginal producer. Now add the gas dimension & it goes beyond oil. This war is solidifying the petrodollar system as it evolves into a hybrid petro/LNG-dollar. The old system was built on Saudi crude priced in USD. The new system is built on American crude plus American gas from the Gulf Coast, with no alternative supplier of comparable scale. The dependency is deeper because LNG infrastructure requires long term contracts & regasification terminals that lock buyers into supply relationships for decades. Europe & the Pacific allies (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc.) cannot pivot away as there is nowhere left to pivot to. They're now locked into the US energy system. The market confirms this. DXY went from 96 to 101. Gold down ~20% from its January all time high. Bitcoin down 20% on the year. Brent above $100. European & Asian institutions are liquidating precious metals and crypto to buy dollars because they need dollars to buy the only remaining scaled energy supply. The world is selling its gold to buy American energy in American currency. The dollar is now being weaponized through energy dependency. The structural repricing is happening regardless of how the conflict resolves. But the US grand strategy goes deeper.. Artificial intelligence is a physical industry. It runs on power and chips. Data centers require massive uninterrupted baseload electricity, primarily provided by natural gas. Semiconductor fabrication requires helium & rare earths. By choking the Strait of Hormuz & crippling Middle Eastern LNG & helium production, the US is systematically degrading China's ability to power its data centers & fabricate semiconductors at scale. The US is energy self sufficient, especially with newly captured Venezuelan reserves & expanding Gulf Coast capacity running on domestic gas. On the other hand, China is import dependent & every joule it imports effectively now transits chokepoints the US Navy controls.. Iran was the Belt & Road's overland energy bypass, the corridor that allowed China to mitigate the Malacca Trap. With Iran neutralized that corridor is severed. China faces a world where its compute infrastructure competes for scraps on a depleted global LNG market, while American data centers run at full capacity on domestic energy. Russia is next in the sequence. A post-war Iran reopening under US influence competes directly with Russia for the same refineries in China & India at lower cost. Iran's production costs are lower. Russia loses its last structural advantage in heavy crude & its economic lifeline. Additionally, under the Iran war cover, Ukraine has been opportunistically destroying Russian energy infrastructure & all signs point towards Russia being at the end of the line. The message from Washington becomes very simple: we dismantled two regimes in three months, your economy is about to get crushed, sign the Ukraine deal. Then Trump sits down with Xi holding every card. Complete energy dominance. The hybrid petro/LNG-dollar fortified, Iran cleared, Russia cornered, & China facing the Malacca Trap fully closed with no remaining energy bypass. Israel & the GCC are absorbing the kinetic cost of a conflict whose primary beneficiary, counter to the mainstream narrative, is actually America (First). Qatar offline for 5 years reprices the entire global gas market in favor of US exporters for the remainder of the decade. The Gulf states face years of rebuilding. Europe faces its 2nd energy crisis in four years. Sure, the average American might face temporary moderate inflation & higher gas prices. But if you are the architect of the US empire & you view the rise of China & Chinese ASI as an existential winner takes all scenario, the collateral damage is acceptable cost. Whoever controls the energy corridors controls the monetary system. Whoever controls the monetary system & the energy supply simultaneously controls the compute infrastructure that determines which civilization builds ASI first. The US is seizing all 3.

Creativity -- like human life itself -- begins in darkness. We need to acknowledge this. All too often, we think only in terms of light: "And then the lightbulb went on and I got it!" It is true that insights may come to us as flashes. It is true that some of these flashes may be blinding. It is, however, also true that such bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary. -Julia Cameron, artist, author, teacher, filmmaker, composer, and journalist (b. 4 Mar 1948) #totd

@johnkonrad Congrats! Just because a school is expensive, doesn't mean it will cost you a lot of money (sounds weird, I know). The more expensive schools tend to offer more financial aide.

My liberal 4.0 daughter just got into her dream school. 7% acceptance rate. Absolutely unreal. Insanely proud of her. Now do I rob a bank, push a cheaper school, put her in student loan debt, or dust off the old captain’s hardhat and head back to sea? Decisions. Decisions.

@HannahIamthest1 I think the proper term for what you describe is "grilling", not BBQ.

BBQ RULES: We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion: (1) The woman buys the food. Ensuring she is educated in the correct cuts of steak to purchase. (2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert. (3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand. (4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman. Here comes the important part: (5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL. (6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery. (7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat Important again: (8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN. (9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table. (10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes And most important of all: (11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts. (12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women. 🤣🤣

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. -Alexander Graham Bell, inventor (3 Mar 1847-1922) #totd

Hello Senator Thune, Let's expose what you're really doing with "reconciliation." You announced it yesterday, eleven months after the House passed the SAVE America Act. You're not trying to pass this bill. You're trying to kill it in a way you can blame on process. Here's how we know: Reconciliation requires the Senate parliamentarian to rule that provisions are "budgetary." Citizenship verification is not budgetary. Photo ID mandates are not budgetary. The parliamentarian will gut the bill. Then you'll shrug and say "we tried." We see through you. Meanwhile, you WON'T use the tools that actually work: Rule XIX limits each senator to two speeches per legislative day. Keep the Senate in continuous session, file cloture daily, and the filibuster exhausts in ~12-20 days. You dismissed it as "complicated." Because if you tried and succeeded, you'd have to actually pass the bill. Harry Reid nuked the filibuster in 2013 when he wanted results. Mitch McConnell changed Senate rules THREE times and canceled the August recess. Chuck Schumer used reconciliation within months on a 50-50 Senate. You have 53 seats. You've changed nothing, canceled nothing, and waited eleven months. Now let's talk donors: • Goldman Sachs: $150K to you - top H-1B user • Google: $75K - lobbies against E-Verify • Meta: $72.5K - Zuckerberg's FWD[.]us pushes mass immigration • Wells Fargo: $90K - banks undocumented immigrants Same corporations sponsor Punchbowl News, where you sit for "Fly Out Days" which nobody watches except Congress staffers and K Street lobbyists who pays premium bucks for legislative intelligence. Their reporter then telegraphs to the audience the SAVE Act "will ultimately fail." Corporate money flows to you AND to the outlet that frames your inaction as inevitable. We see the loop. You called grassroots anger a "paid influencer ecosystem." YOU are the paid influencer. You take the wrong side of a 80% issue because you are indistinguishable from a K Street mouthpiece, and an ineffective one to boot who won't bend the rules to get anything passed. What we want: 1. Force a real talking filibuster. 2. Stop hiding behind process. 3. Pass the SAVE America Act. YOU will become the reason that we will have our butts kicked in midterms. Not Candace Owens, not Nick Fuentes, not anyone else. You and you alone, and all because you want to make the 200 or so viewers of Punchbowl Fly Out Days happy. You're living in a K Street information bubble, addicted to the comforts and praises of lobbyists masquerading as journalists. You mistake the steak and martini dinners you get invited to as your own constituents. You are not "moderate." The SAVE America Act has 98% support among Republicans. Name one other thing that has 98% support. You are an extreme minority who prides himself on being a calm leader, when in reality you are well in the running for the most ineffective Majority leader of all time. Prove me wrong. Do the bare modicum of effort. Not symbolic. Actual effort. Cancel the recess. Get SAVE America Act passed.

Because the money doesn't all go to roads & bridges. Our (Republicans, at the time) legislature & governor raised the gas tax with the intent of the money going into the general budget. Know what's even more unfair? We tax diesel way more than gasoline. And now there's a new $250/year EV tax.

@NJSailRacer @RED_IN_PA This is about the gasoline tax. PA is second in the amount of tax they place on gas. Where's it going? Our roads should be the second best in the country. Maybe you could tell me why we pay so much and get so little.

#PENNSYLVANIA Read Doug Mastriano's letter to that weasel, Shapiro: Governor Shapiro, I write to urge your immediate action to temporarily suspend the Pennsylvania state gasoline tax in response to the sharp increase in fuel prices driven by the ongoing war involving Iran and resulting disruptions to global oil markets. Pennsylvania families are facing a sudden and severe financial burden that is largely outside their control. Global oil prices have surged dramatically since the start of hostilities in late February 2026. Prior to the conflict, crude oil prices were just above $70 per barrel, but have since climbed past $100 per barrel, with peaks reported near $119 per barrel supply routes were threatened and global markets destabilized. This escalation has translated directly into higher gasoline prices at the pump. Before the conflict, gasoline prices nationally remained below $3.00 per gallon for weeks, but have rapidly climbed to approximately $3.60 to $3.90 per gallon nationwide. Here in Pennsylvania, the burden is particularly severe. AAA data shows the statewide average price for regular gasoline has risen to approximately $3.58 to $3.59 per gallon, and prices in many regions are approaching or exceeding $4.00 per gallon. Compounding this hardship is the fact that Pennsylvania motorists already face one of the heaviest tax burdens in the nation. Pennsylvania’s gasoline tax stands at approximately 57.6 to 58.7 cents per gallon, making it among the highest in the United States and widely cited as the third-highest state gas tax in the nation. Families across our Commonwealth are struggling. Commuters, small businesses, farmers, and working families depend on reliable and affordable transportation. Many Pennsylvanians have no alternative to driving long distances to work, school, or medical appointments. When fuel prices rise this quickly, it functions as a direct tax on survival and productivity. Other states have already recognized the urgency of this situation. In response to war-driven fuel spikes, states such as Georgia have taken decisive action by temporarily suspending state gas taxes to provide immediate relief to residents. Pennsylvania should do the same. A temporary suspension of the state gas tax would: Provide immediate relief to families already strained by inflation Reduce pressure on small businesses and trucking industries Stabilize local economies during geopolitical uncertainty Demonstrate that state leadership prioritizes the needs of working Pennsylvanians This measure would not be permanent, but rather a targeted and responsible emergency response to extraordinary international circumstances. The people of Pennsylvania should not be forced to bear the financial consequences of global conflict without relief from their own state government. Governor Shapiro, the citizens of Pennsylvania cannot afford continued inaction. I respectfully call upon you to exercise your authority and work with the General Assembly to enact a temporary suspension of the Pennsylvania gasoline tax until global energy markets stabilize. Pennsylvania families deserve relief—and they deserve it now. Respectfully, DOUG MASTRIANO 33nd DISTRICT

No one holds a gun to your head to force you to work for $7.25. Find a better paying job if you're not happy with minimum wage. Also, be aware that the actual minimum wage is $0. That's the pay associated with a job that's been eliminated because of high labor costs. Look at what happened to the CA fast food industry when they raised their minimum wage.

The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 an hour. A regular Auntie Anne’s soft pretzel at the mall is $7.29. Imagine telling someone an hour of their time is worth less than a pretzel.