The Distract me from 2020s P&CE Thread Part Deux

Really fun read on a real life canary in a coal mine. And his equally interesting father.

https://wapo.st/3Xr9usa

 

Thanks for the link, man.
I started to read it and simply couldnot stop reading it till the end. Fascinating stuff.

 

Very disappointing. He’s generally a great read.

 

It's a good read and to some extent Lewis owns his own failure in the opening chapter, viz., "How did I spend months with this guy and miss the obvious fact that the whole enterprise was an immense fraud?"

I also recall feeling as if SBF was clearly on the autism spectrum and nobody seemed to acknowledge it. Somewhat less-than-ideal events occur.

 

Frederick R. Ruehr (Rühr), J.D., LL.M.

• 1 day ago
  The name "Kilroy" holds special significance for many people, evoking memories of a piece of American history. This piece of history is etched in stone at the National War Memorial in Washington, DC, tucked away in a small alcove.
  
  But who exactly was Kilroy?
  
  In 1946, the American Transit Association ran a nationwide contest through its radio program, "Speak to America," to find the real Kilroy, offering a prize of a real trolley car. Around 40 men claimed to be the genuine Kilroy, but only James Kilroy from Halifax, Massachusetts, provided the required evidence.
  
  During World War II, James Kilroy was a 46-year-old shipyard worker. He worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. His job involved counting the rivets completed by the riveters, who were paid per rivet. Kilroy marked the inspected rivets with semi-waxed lumber chalk to prevent double counting. However, riveters would erase his marks to get paid twice.
  
  To combat this, Kilroy started writing "KILROY WAS HERE" in large letters alongside his checkmarks and eventually added a sketch of a man with a long nose peering over a fence. This made it difficult for the riveters to erase his marks, and soon, his graffiti began appearing on ships leaving the shipyard.
  
  During the height of the war, these ships often went unpainted, leaving Kilroy's markings visible to thousands of service members who boarded them. The troops, amused and intrigued by the mysterious graffiti, began spreading the "Kilroy was here" message across Europe and the South Pacific, claiming it was already there when they arrived.
  
  Kilroy became a symbol of the U.S. service members' presence, appearing in unlikely places such as atop Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the underside of the Arc de Triomphe, and even in the dust on the moon. The legend grew, and it became a challenge for troops to place the logo in the most improbable locations.
  
  In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, Stalin used an outhouse built for Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill. After emerging, he reportedly asked, "Who is Kilroy?"
  
  In 1946, James Kilroy brought officials from the shipyard and some riveters to the contest to prove his authenticity. He won the trolley car he gifted to his nine children as a Christmas present, setting it up as a playhouse in their yard in Halifax, Massachusetts.
  
  So, Kilroy's tradition continues, a testament to the spirit and humor of the WWII generation.

 

Thanks for that. I always wondered what that reference meant since first hearing it on Mr. Roboto.

 

And now for something completely different, here's some jokes Seth can't tell because they are about blacks or LGBT+. Enjoy if you're not easily offended by black or gay humor.

 

Had my 57th Covid shot this morning. Guessing really because I’ve lost count.

As for Kilroy, growing up in war and post war Liverpool. The port that most US troops and supplies came in. I got to know Kilroy well. The myth not the man.

Even us kids would copy the image and leave our own messages.

 

Summer of '98, I was giving tours of petroglyphs. There was a vandalism incident where I discovered that Kilroy was drawn over a petroglyph. The initial reaction was that it was the work of one of the teenage visitors, but I told the investigator to focus on the adults because what teenager in the late 90s knew Kilroy?

 

I had the new booster on Monday. This was the first Pfizer shot for me. Oddly enough, my arm still has some soreness whereas the Moderna ones would be fine by now. Otherwise no issues.

 

I felt a tad sleepy, so while Mrs Scouse worked the Democratic office I took a nap.

 

They do that segment periodically - it's always good fun.

 

Getting mine domani. Of course it'll be my "58th"!

 

Ocean Photographer of the Year

A Bryde’s whale takes a bite. “A feeding frenzy is the biggest show on earth for me. The smallest animals on earth, plankton, attract bait balls of sardines and, in turn, giant whales show up,” says Fernández Caballero. “I was lucky to witness this show off Baja California Sur at the end of 2023. Due to El Niño and warmer temperatures, different species joined the party and I witnessed huge numbers of beautifully coloured dorados and large groups of sea lions that were attracted by the bait balls. The highlight was this whale coming out of nowhere with its mouth wide open.”

https://oceanographicmagazine.com/opa-winner/ocean-photographer-of-the-year-2024-rafcab8/

 

First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect...

 

Geologic time illustrated.