Quote:Screens and teens: it’s a combination that’s become increasingly tricky to navigate over the last decade. The switch from what I think of as “analogue” phones – those with buttons but no internet – to smartphones, compounded by an upsurge in digital living during pandemic lockdowns, has resulted in 46 per cent of adolescents reporting they are online “almost constantly”. Some 97 per cent of children have a smartphone by the age of 12, according to Ofcom data.independent

Quote:By designing a firehouse of addictive content that entered through kids’ eyes and ears, and by displacing physical play and in-person socialising, these companies have rewired childhood and changed human development on an almost unimaginable scale,” Haidt writes damningly. Companies are accused of behaving like the tobacco and vaping industries, designing highly addictive products and skirting laws in order to sell them to minors.

A couple of years ago, a good Ukrainian friend of mine, living here asked me if I could harbour an ukrainian girl (25 yo is a girl), running from war and abuse and her daughter, same age as my daughter, both 8 now. I saw no problem and both childs become like sisters. All was well untill she got a boyfriend, nothing wrong with that, but her boy got her out of a steady job that I got her (warehouse work) and since I am someone that once knew the drug &alcohol circles around here, she became more slim, horribly skeleton slim. I tried to talk to her, but she plays no effort. My wife talks to her and smelt the odour of cannabis smoke, my wife knows. She might be playing tricks and that is a dangerous game and my boys from the old gang know her bf is carrying.

What can I do? She is innocent in my view, she ran off war, just got a bad boyfried. I could go back and talk to my old friends, ya know, to give her leverage. I just want to stay away.

I need your help in this.

I'll be posting here to keep myself held -- to a higher standard......

First two entries:





First day has a fuck up;



today was a bit low on the calorie count, but I'm full.

Personally I dislike the current trend of people
covering their bodies with tattoos, regardless of
how "artistically" they're deemed to be—either
from the recipient's viewpoint, or that of others.

I have no issue with discreet little honey bears,
or hearts or rosebuds etc, but whole or large-part
body tattooing is an entirely different thing.

In my opinion, it's unattractive at the least and
often downright ugly or distasteful.

As an example, check out this young woman's
unstructured tatts—and yes, those on her face
are the real thing!



The funny thing is that when I was a young man
(yeah, I know LOL) tatts were considered the purview
of the lower socioeconomic classes.  They were only
commonly seen on old sailors or soldiers, or laborers,
or ex-jailbirds.  Nowadays they're apparently symbolic
of the chic, with-it younger set, or the sad older wannabees.

And I know a lot of people will say "it's their bodies to
do what they like with" or their tatts "are an expression of
some deeply-held inner feelings" or even—laughably—a
form of "art".

But then I still have to look at them;  on the streets, in
the supermarket, on the trains and buses, on the beach etc.

My eyes are hurting!   Stop it!    

My Prius finally forced me to get it repaired if I wanted to be able to get started in the morning without needing to jump it, so I took it to the Toyota shop out of expedience (I use an independent shop when I can but logistics won out this time).  While it was now on the OR floor, so to speak, I decided to have other squawks remedied too.  One of these was replacing the windshield since its latest rock encounter had actually started a crack.  How much to do that?  $1000.

I would have dropped the phone but I was on speaker.  That felt high.  I told the shop to leave the windshield alone until further notice.  A call to an auto glass shop produced another estimate to do it at my house.  $260.  OK.  Scheduled it.

But therein is a lesson, I think.  Service at the manufacturer's designated shop is apparently 4 times the cost of getting it done by independents.  4 times.  I'd've thought maybe that differential was 100%, but no, it's 400%.  Wow.

I was reading a review of the 2023 film "Daddio"
and I came across a confusing term used by the
reviewer—in reference to the dialogue between
the driver and his female passenger travelling in
his taxi.

 "eating a siskin"

All I could find was that a "Siskin" is a small European
bird—like a finch.    Or is it maybe an American term?

Any thoughts welcome.    

C'est la vie....sucks to be you.

At least it will give Fuckface another chance to lie about FEMA!


https://www.yahoo.com/news/hurricane-tra...53212.html

Quote:Hurricane Tracker: Milton to strengthen into a hurricane today, set to make landfall in Florida this week

Ms. Trump made headlines this week when a
reported excerpt from her book revealed that
she supported abortion rights—a notable position
given that her husband appointed three SC
justices who helped overturn a constitutional
right to the procedure.

"Melania Trump’s new memoir offers a few new glimpses into a life
she has carefully walled off from the public, but readers hoping to
understand one of the most mysterious first ladies in modern history
will not make it past the gilded front gate."

Check out the NYT's advanced release review here.

The food industry decided to call milk "white milk". Why? . . .

Milk is white! What you add to it can change the color, so qualify it when that's the case!

What's the problem? When I order milk, they ask me "do you want white milk or chocolate milk?" Another layer of unnecessary questioning. I have things to do.

Tory Scum or Labour Trash.

Quote:Labour has promised to invest £1bn in carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) to produce blue hydrogen and to capture carbon dioxide from new gas-fired power stations – with a decision on the first tranche of the funding expected imminently.

Quote:Leading climate scientists are urging the government to pause plans for a billion pound investment in “green technologies” they say are unproven and would make it harder for the UK to reach its net zero targets.
...Rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS) during the production of hydrogen – technology they say has been abandoned in the vast majority of similar projects around the world. Link

Quote:Rachel Reeves is paving the way for a multibillion-pound increase in public-sector investment at the budget after the government announced plans to commit almost £22bn over 25 years to fund carbon capture and storage projects. Link

Quote:The government expects to save £1.3 billion in 2024/25 and around £1.5 billion in subsequent years from cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment.