The Off Topic Topic

[HVC]

And yet, somehow, the world keeps turning.

Loss of communications and servers are the first sign of an impending war. You're gonna be obliviously peeing against a tree when Macron lives out Napoleon's dream and invades England

[Syt]

[Legbiter]

Very funny and accurate. 

https://x.com/gigabaseddad/status/2023744241579814943

[mongers]

And yet, somehow, the world keeps turning.

Loss of communications and servers are the first sign of an impending war. You're gonna be obliviously peeing against a tree when Macron lives out Napoleon's dream and invades England

 

It certainly would be amusing, for a day or two.

[Valmy]

Suddenly every video is playing Swan Lake 

That brings up memories. 

 

[Sheilbh]

Just received a letter notifying me that a neighbour is applying for planning permission.

Slightly concerned this may awaken something and in a few months time I'll be shouting "DO A BAT SURVEY!" at my bemused councillors

[HVC]

Do you normally get such letters in the UK? In other countries?

[Sheilbh]

It varies depending on the scale - obviously with big schemes there'll be whole public consultations.

This is fairly minor (two single storey extensions on two adjoining properties with the same owner to build a couple of one bed flats). But I think they have to send letters to immediate neighbours (which I kind of am) and then put notices up on lamp-posts near the property.

[crazy canuck]

Do you normally get such letters in the UK? In other countries?

It is a requirement in many (most?) municipalities in BC that neighours within a particular distance (usually a couple of blocks) are notified.  Don't know about other provinces.

[Syt]

From an article about the Colonia Dignidad in Chile:
https://theamericanscholar.org/the-torture-colony/

[...]

All challengers to Schaefer's authority—real or imagined—were rooted out and destroyed. No one inspired greater love and admiration among the children of the Colonia than Santa Claus. It is said that in the days shortly before Christmas one year in the mid-1970s, Schaefer gathered the Colonia's children, loaded them onto a bus, and drove them out to a nearby river, where, he told them, Santa was coming to visit. The boys and girls stood excitedly along the riverbank, while an older colono in a fake beard and a red and white suit floated towards them on a raft. Schaefer pulled a pistol from his belt and fired, seeming to wound Santa, who tumbled into the water, where he thrashed about before disappearing below the surface. It was a charade, but Schaefer turned to the children assembled before him and said that Santa was dead. From that day forward, Schaefer's birthday was the only holiday celebrated inside Colonia Dignidad.

[...]

"It is said" does some heavy lifting, obviously, but damn. There's being a nazi kiddie diddling cult leader and torturer and then there's going the extra mile of literally killing Santa in front of kids.

[Syt]

Those left-wing socialist muckrackers of the WSJ at it again. 

[Tonitrus]

YouTube is acting wonky, so that probably means WWIII is starting.

If you're talking about comments disappearing, turning off and then on ad blocker fixes that for one video.  I'm sure YouTube is hard at work fixing that.

I've noticed it getting wiser to my VPN over the last week or so.