Sugoi & Yokunai

No it's not made from the grain. Scientists at Rice university engineered a material can reconnect severed nerves.  I hope this is really something that will make a difference, unlike all those battery breakthrough announcements that don't lead to anything.

––– 凄い –––
Toyota is developing an ammonia-powered engine. The goal is a carbon emission-free engine, but is it worth the danger and expense?

––– 凄い –––
Now that X/Twitter is degenerating, some people want blogs to come back. Hey, this ronin is already there.

––– 凄い –––
Huge kicker refund is still on the table for Oregon taxpayers. The biggest yet. Will it survive Democrat efforts to grab some of that money?

––– 凄い –––

Don't drive too close to the Tesla in front of you. Maybe it's the front facing camera seeing objects that aren't there.

––– 良くない –––
When I was young, I heard that being a veterinarian was great, because you could be a doctor, but that it was a lot easier than working on humans. In reality, it's taking a toll. Many are finding that the demands and stress are unbearable.

––– 良くない –––

The walls of the budge sinkhole are steeper. How did this happen? The US national debt increased by half a trillion in just 20 days. The GOP run the House now, so it's clear the UniParty is in charge.

––– 良くない –––
Warp drive - still a ways away. Oh well. Two hundred more years before the 23rd century.

––– 良くない –––
This is true. With all that surveillance, how did Israel not know? All those eyes to look – but no brains to see.

––– 良くない –––
Migration into Oregon appears to be slowing. But there are less people ditching Oregon drivers licenses for Washington, California or Idaho, so what's the net? Maybe they're going to other states, like Arizona.

––– 良くない –––

This looks cool. Get the "Hollywood Look" with an iPhone!  Can it be true?  It's free and it doesn't "phone home"?  What's the catch?

––– 凄い –––
This is worthy of the Nobel Prize? They should eliminate the economics, literature and peace prizes and start a mathematics Nobel Prize. 

––– 良くない –––
While everyone (it seems) is striking, some employers are already replacing "lazy girl" jobs with A.I.  No wonder they want us to pay off their student loans.

––– 良くない –––
Pretending to care. Why should we take the US Commission on Civil Rights seriously? The government wants to tell Asians what kind of oppression and discrimination is acceptable and what is not, basically. Anti-Asian violence is bad, unless it's by black people. Discrimination is bad, unless it impacts black people. Is that it?

––– 良くない –––

No psychoactive mushrooms in California?  Clearly someone wants to seem reasonable prior to running for president. We see you.

––– 凄い –––
Can you say "Conflict of Interest?" This story is everywhere.  JAMA didn't dig deep enough when asking about disclosures. Now the report that supports the reason for Measure 110 is utterly discredited. Credits to Jeff Eager for rooting this out.

––– 凄い –––
Sign of the times.  What happened?

––– 良くない –––

Interesting – these two images are working QR codes.  They take you to the creator's website - QRBTF.ai.

––– 凄い –––
Generative AI Is a Disaster, and Companies Don’t Seem to Really Care.  Nope, not when there are short-term profits to be had.

––– 良くない –––

....the preliminary results of this investigation suggest that the login credentials used in these access attempts may have been gathered by a threat actor from data leaked during incidents involving other online platforms where users have recycled login credentials,” they said.

“It’s very concerning that 23andme has such a big loophole in their website design and security where they are just freely exposing peoples info just by typing a profile ID into the URL.

––– 良くない –––
Don't get sick. U.S. cancer centers report ongoing shortage of chemotherapy drugs. Anyone done with the Biden administration, yet?

––– 良くない –––
First external links. Now news headlines for news stories. X/Twiiter is getting to be less usable.

––– 良くない –––
What?!? This came out last summer and I missed it, but apparently Pfizer had two vax manufacturing processes: one for the clinical trials, and one for general public consumption. The one for clinical trials used PCR amplification, but the one for the public used plasmids. Now there are reports of plasmid contamination in the vax product. This is crazy! Why was the FDA asleep at the wheel.

––– 良くない –––

A deep dive into how time is defined. Something most people aren't generally interested in.

––– 凄い –––
Another one bites the dust.  Portland commercial real-estate values are going down fast. It's not worth paying off the loans. People are cutting their losses. Shame.

––– 良くない –––

Alexey Guzey's lifehacks came out in March, and I missed it. Alas, this ronin is probably too old for many of these, but it is still good to be reminded of some of the others.

––– 凄い –––
Mainstream media is seeing a significant decline in viewership, largely from a decrease in referrals from social media links. Musk is eliminating links in news stories in the name of having a more streamlined look. Sure, whatever. It may be more than that. Can't feel too sorry for the MSM, however, as they've become so partisan as to be useless as a purveyor of news. More a purveyor of propaganda.

––– 凄い –––
Strike Nation!  Astoria nurses at Columbia Memorial Hospital are striking now.  Don't get sick.

––– 良くない –––
Mixed feelings  Patrick Bowman is trying to close a loophole and prevent doctors from selling their practices to private equity.  He claims that studies show a decrease in quality of care. Well it's been happening and I haven't seen people stop referring to practices that have sold out. Many doctors don't have the stomach to be business owners, and with the turmoil since Obamacare was passed, I can see why. Doctors would rather practice medicine than deal with wrangling with partnership equity, the vicissitudes of reimbursement rates, making payroll, and what happens in Washington D.C. and in Salem. So Patrick wants to make it difficult to sell a practice. I think he should just stay out, not interfere, and let doctors do what they need to do.

––– 良くない –––

That Kaiser strike is the largest healtcare strike in the nation's history. So it's big and things are going to have to change. In the meantime, don't get sick. Ah, Biden's America – everything's falling apart.

––– 良くない –––
Portland Criddlers is back on Reddit.  Whatever moderator issue they had has been resolved. Another place to go to get my daily outrage.

––– 凄い –––
Really?  Portland safety commissioner asks residents not to call 911. 

––– 凄い –––

Strike Nation? Try Strike World. Doctors across Europe are now striking. It's the same old thing.  They're tired and overworked, and they can't find enough qualified help.

––– 良くない –––
Opium dens are back! We haven't learned and must get instructed again. Scottish officials create safe drug consumption room. Idiots.

––– 良くない –––
Barcelona's Sagrada Familia is finally near completion, after all these years. Just in time for the migrants to vandalize it.

––– 凄い –––
Should be interesting, if true. Northern lights could become intense over the next 18 months.  Would be nice to see it in Portland. Been fooled so many times.

––– 凄い –––
Another one bites the dust. Allouette is closing. Too bad.

––– 良くない –––

Strike Nation. Now Kaiser pharmacists are going on strike.  Nurses and EMTs, too. Things are just breaking down all over.  When everyone demands higher pay for less work, and struggling employers can't pay it without cutting corners and taking away services and the nice things we used to enjoy, we all suffer.

––– 良くない –––
Back in 2012, the ILWU encouraged workers to do a work slow-down to protest a squabble with ICTSI that is detailed here.  I guess the union thought that the opposing party would cave, because that's what happens when union workers unite, right?  Now the ILWU is bankrupt from all those legal fees. No winners here, except the lawyers.

––– 凄い –––